Discusses ultrafast phenomena that may influence device performance and describes new experimental methods utilizing short optical pulses to investigate materials and device structures. (JN)

Discusses advances in optics research including the role of lasers and high-speed computers, image processing, medical imagery, and classical optics. (JN)

Polarization of laser light is discussed and the theoretical and experimental aspects of fluxes are considered. (Author/SK)

Discusses a proof for determining the localized fringes position arrived at when one considers the interference of two extended sources when one is able to observe fringes only at certain points in space. Shows how the localized fringes may be found in a device used to observe Newton's rings. (Author/CS)

Presents eight short articles on the following topics: demonstration of possible excitations in liquids; Mohr's circle and the determination of moments of inertia; braking distance versus mass for automobiles; a constant gravity model of the earth's interior; diffraction pattern of a hair; hyperbolic mirrors; sulfation plates; and principles of…

Uses a diode array spectrometer to explain why blue objects appear red when viewed through the yellowish amber lens of "blue blocking" sunglasses. (JRH)

Presents a problem involving the double-slit interference pattern that relates to the real-world situation of guiding an aircraft to a safe landing. (JRH)

Describes an exercise that allows the measurement of the sizes of biological samples by means of the diffraction of light. (JRH)

Investigates the idea that teachers are not passive transmitters, and that some general trends can be found in the way they transform proposed strategies. Presents the case of elementary optics in grade 8 in France in which four sets of data--interviews before teaching, logbooks, assessment tasks, and video-recorded class observations--lead to…

Presents an activity in which students study geometrically the structure of tiling in a cafe in Bristol. (ASK)

Describes the experimental and theoretical details for constructing and calibrating an inexpensive, homemade liquid-lens refractometer. Measures refractive indices that are within the experimental errors discussed and close to the literature values. (JRH)

Describes a method to combine two learning experiences--optical physics and matrix mathematics--in a straightforward laboratory experiment that allows engineering/physics students to integrate a variety of learning insights and technical skills, including using lasers, studying refraction through thin lenses, applying concepts of matrix…