How Light Works

Level: Introductory Length: 3 hours Format: Online Intended Audience: Intended for engineers who want to increase their knowledge of laser technology and technicians working with lasers, viewers should have a basic understanding of scientific principles and elementary algebra. Description: SPIE online courses are on-demand and self-paced, with access for one year. For more information: ONLINE COURSES 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 5-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. Learning Outcomes: This course will enable you to: - describe what radio waves, visible light, and x-rays have in common - explain what is meant by refractive index and how it affects light propagation in materials - describe what is meant by polarization of a light wave - explain how light can be transmitted through crossed polarizers - describe the effect of a medium's refractive index on light passing through it - explain birefringence and describe its applications in lasers and photonics - explain optical polarization and how it can be used to manipulate light - list examples of when light must be viewed as a wave, and when it must be viewed as a particle - explain the operation of a Fabry-Perot interferometer Instructor(s): Breck Hitz served for 20 years as the executive director of LEOMA-the Laser and Electro-Optics Manufacturers' Association-and organized much of the U.S. laser industry's political activities during that period. He is the current chairman of the ISO Laser Standards Committee, and has represented the U.S. laser industry at export-control negotiation at both COCOM (Paris) and Wassenaar (Vienna). During the past 25 years, he has presented the course to literally thousands of engineers, scientists, technicians, and business people. He holds Bachelor and Master degrees in physics from the Pennsylvania State University and the University of Massachusetts, respectively.