SPIE - Education How Light Works SC365

Lasers are becoming increasingly important in our high-technology environment. Many technicians and engineers who sell, install, operate, and maintain them have limited training in the field of electro-optics. The result can be less efficient usage of these important tools. This five part series seeks to rectify that problem by presenting the fundamental operating principles of lasers in an intuitive, non-mathematical manner. Part 2 of this 5 part series addresses how light works by covering such topics as: waves and photons, refractive index, polarization, birefringence, and interference. Lasers are becoming increasingly important in our high-technology environment. Many technicians and engineers who sell, install, operate, and maintain them have limited training in the field of electro-optics. The result can be less efficient usage of these important tools. This five part series seeks to rectify that problem by presenting the fundamental operating principles of lasers in an intuitive, non-mathematical manner. Part 2 of this 5 part series addresses how light works by covering such topics as: waves and photons, refractive index, polarization, birefringence, and interference.