The Physics of Invisibility: A Story of Light and Deception

by Martin Beech

Overview

The ability is see is fundamental to our very existence. How true our perceptions really are depends upon many factors, and not least is our understanding of what light is and how it interacts with matter. It was said that the camera, the icon of light recording instruments, never lies, and in the day of the glass plate and celluloid roll-film this might well have been true. But in this modern era, with electronic cameras and computer software, it is often safe to assume that the camera always lies. The advertising images that bombard our every waking moment are manipulated in shape, profile, color, and form. In this new era, light can be manipulated with metamaterials to make one object look like another or even cause that objects to vanish, literally before our eyes; not only can the image we see be manipulated, but so can the light itself.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781461406167
Publisher:	Springer-Verlag New York, LLC
Publication date:	10/27/2011
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	206
File size:	7 MB

About the Author

Martin Beech is a Professor of Astronomy at Campion College, the University of Regina in Saskatchewan, Canada. He has written numerous research articles on topics ranging from meteor physics, Martian meteories, stellar structure and evolution, cosmology, the history of science and mathematical number theory. He lives in Regina with more than visible wife, a brother-in-law, five dogs (a.k.a The Five Pugs of the Apocalypse) and three cats - there are times when he certainly wishes he could be invisible.

Table of Contents

Introduction.- Chapter 1: Of All Things Visible and Invisible.- Chapter 2: A Very Brief History of Light.- Chapter 3: Mirror Tricks, the Art of Cloaking and Seeing the Impossible.- Chapter 4: Maxwell's Marvelous Waves.- Chapter 5: The Metamaterial Revolution.- Afterword.- Appendices.- Index.

Editorial Reviews

From the reviews:

“Beech … eases readers into the topic after explaining the well-known behavior of light and giving examples of tricks of optics from magic, art, and nature. … This book is packed with fascinating examples of current work and possibilities for the future. Drawings and photographs help illustrate the physics. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through professionals; general readers.” (M. Dickinson, Choice, Vol. 49 (10), June, 2012)

From the Publisher