Summary of Material in Chapters 1-3
You should understand the meanings of the following terms:
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transverse and longitudinal waves
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sine wave
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period, wavelength, angular and rotational frequency, wavenumber,
phase speed
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wave displacement, wave amplitude (for sine waves)
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superposition principle, interference
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wave packet, group velocity, dispersion relation
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plane wave, wave vector, diffraction, spreading angle
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diffraction grating
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reflection, refraction, total internal reflection
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isotropic, anisotropic
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thin lens approximation, object, image, focal length
You should understand the following topics:
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Superposition principle
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Dispersion relations in 1-D
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Wave and group velocities and the differences between them
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Wave packets and their motions in 1-D
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Simple interferometers such as the Michelson and Fabry-Perot
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Thin film interference
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Plane waves and their superposition in 2-D
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Dispersion relations in 2-D and their graphical representation (constant
omega curves in kx-ky plane)
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Orientation of wave fronts, lines of destructive interference, beams
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Passage of light through a single slit, two slits, a diffraction
grating
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The approximations behind geometrical optics
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The law of reflection
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Snell's law and its limitations
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Use of the thin lens formula
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Fermat's principle