Physics:Optical properties

From HandWiki
Short description: How a material interacts with light


The optical properties of a material define how it interacts with light. The optical properties of matter are studied in optical physics (a subfield of optics) and applied in materials science. The optical properties of matter include:

A basic distinction is between isotropic materials, which exhibit the same properties regardless of the direction of the light, and anisotropic ones, which exhibit different properties when light passes through them in different directions.

The optical properties of matter can lead to a variety of interesting optical phenomena.

Properties of specific materials

Literature

  • Fox, Mark (2010). Optical properties of solids. Oxford New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-957336-3. 
  • Papadopoulos, Manthos G., ed (2006). Non-Linear Optical Properties of Matter. Challenges and Advances in Computational Chemistry and Physics. 1. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands. doi:10.1007/1-4020-4850-5. ISBN 978-1-4020-4849-4.