Interference The History of Optical Interferometry and the Scientists Who Tamed Light

Ever wonder why soap bubbles become invisible right before they pop? Or why lenses are so blue they look purple? How is it possible to image black holes at the heart of distant galaxies? The answer to all these questions is Interference. This book tells the story of the science of optical interferometry - mankind's most sensitive form of measurement - and of the scientists who tamed light to make outstanding discoveries, from lasers and holograms to astronomy and quantum physics. In the past several years, interferometry has been used to discover exoplanets orbiting distant stars, to take the first image of a black hole, to detect the first gravitational waves and to create the first programmable quantum computer. This list of achievements points to the fertile and active field of interferometry for which this book provides a convenient and up - to - date guide for a wide audience interested in the science of light.

1 - Thomas Young Polymath: The Law of Interference
2 - The Fresnel Connection: Particle versus Waves
3 - At Light Speed: The Birth of Interferometry
4 - After the Gold Rush: The Trials of Albert Michelson
5 - Stellar Interference: Measuring the Stars
6 - Across the Universe: Gravitational Waves, Black Holes and the Search for Exoplanets
7 - Two Faces of Microscopy: Diffraction and Interference
8 - Holographic Dreams of Princess Leia: Crossing Beams
9 - Photon Interference: The Foundations of Quantum Communication
10 - The Quantum Advantage: Interferometric Computing

David D. Nolte is the Edward M Purcell Distinguished Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Purdue University. He received his BA from Cornell University in 1981 and his PhD from the University of California at Berkeley in 1988, was a post-doctoral member of AT&T Bell Labs. He is a Fellow of the Optical Society of America, a Fellow of the American Physical Society and a Fellow of the AAAS.