Describes a career and technical education program on photonics, the study, research, and development of equipment and concepts used in the transmission of information through light, including fiber optics and experimental laser technologies. (JOW)

Describes the construction of lithographic gratings and Young's double slits by a contact print method that does not require any special skill or equipment. (JRH)

Describes the physics behind the shadows cast on a stream bed by subtle dimples on the surface of transparent water. (JRH)

Describes methods used to investigate the working of 3-D glasses available with comic books. Reports that the glasses are produced using methods of binary optics and that a prism effect, as well as diffraction grating, is incorporated in the design. (JRH)

Explains the theory behind the working of Scotchlite, a retrodirective material used for coating automotive license plates, and the Ensure Imaging System that allows law enforcement officers to verify the authenticity of the plate. (JRH)

Describes the construction of a new lighting system that uses a sulfur light source no bigger than a golf ball that emits enough light for an entire large room. Discusses the theory behind the system. (JRH)

It is argued that a reflectance channel that requires priority information is shown to be less plausible for the human visual system than J. L. Dannemiller (1989) argued. In the response, Dannemiller replies that lightness is not an illuminant invariant surface descriptor when daylight illuminant substitutions are considered. (SLD)

Argues that the concept of optical activity is vague to students because it is difficult for instructors to demonstrate the phenomenon in the classroom. Presents a demonstration that allows students to observe and manipulate the optical path of polarized light through optically inactive and active solutions. (CCM)

Describes methods to observe diffraction effects without special equipment. Discusses the theory behind the different methods and associated problems. (JRH)

We develop a fundamental principle depicting the generalized ray formulation of optics provided by the Wigner function. This principle is formally identical to the Huygens-Fresnel principle but in terms of opposite concepts, rays instead of waves, and incoherent superpositions instead of coherent ones. This ray picture naturally includes…

This study explored 3- and 4-year-old children's development of scientific vocabulary from participation in repeated interactive read-aloud events and retellings of three informational picture books about light and color, followed by hands-on science activities. Thirty-two children attending a YWCA preschool were matched by age and general…

A new type of DVD spectroscope, the periscope type, is described and the numerical analysis of the observed emission and absorption spectra is demonstrated. A small and thin mirror is put inside and an eighth part of a DVD is used as a grating. Using this improved DVD spectroscope, one can observe and photograph visible spectra more easily and…

Background: This preliminary study served as a pilot for an ongoing analysis of spectral power in adults with Down syndrome (DS) using a 151 channel whole head magnetoencephalography (MEG). The present study is the first step for examining and comparing cortical responses during spontaneous and task related activity in DS. Method: Cortical…

To help students develop an understanding of the proper use and function of spectrographs and monochromators we describe a student-assembled spectrograph using a "webcam" detector. The apparatus also works well as a low-cost demonstration, helping students make connections between an atomic spectrum observed by eye and a plot of the relative…

An undergraduate laboratory was designed for undergraduate students to make long persistent light emitting diode (LED) indicators using phosphors. Blue LEDs, which emit at 465 nm, were characterized and used as an excitation source. Long persistent phosphors, SrAl[subscript 2]O[subscript 4]:Eu[superscript 2+],Dy[superscript 3+] (green) and…