This book is a long-term history of optics, from early Greek theories of vision to the nineteenth-century victory of the wave theory of light. It shows how light gradually became the central entity of a domain of physics that no longer referred to the functioning of the eye; it retraces the subsequent competition between medium-based and corpuscular concepts of light; and it details the nineteenth-century flourishing of mechanical ether theories. The author critically exploits and sometimes completes the more specialized histories that have flourished in the past few years. The resulting synthesis brings out the actors' long-term memory, their dependence on broad cultural shifts, and the evolution of disciplinary divisions and connections. Conceptual precision, textual concision, and abundant illustration make the book accessible to a broad variety of readers interested in the origins of modern optics.

About the Author
Olivier Darrigol is Research Director at Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, where he has been a researcher since 1983. He won the Marc-Auguste Pictet prize of the Societe de Physique et d'Histoire Naturelle de Geneve in 2000 and the Grammaticakis-Neumann prize of the French Academy of Sciences in 2004.

Reviews
In this impressive new book Olivier Darrigol, Director of Research at the eminent Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris, charts the complex and by no means near development of optical theories from the pre-Socratics to just before the advent of quantum theory. Darrigol is a sure-footed guide as he displays a close acquaintance with the sources and supplies helpful quotations and an abundance of visual illustrations. ... He has written an impressive account of the history of optics and one that deserves to be read both by historians of science and by practicing physicists. s Geoffrey Cantor, American Journal of Physics
Although aimed at historians of science, anyone with an interest in optics will benefit from this book. Like any serious history of science, the author recounts a multifaceted story of inspired reasoning, imperfect empirical support, skill, confusion, rhetoric, failure to cite contemporary work, priority disputes, and the weight of authority .... The author has done a great service in charting a clear narrative through the messy detail. * Peter Holland, Contemporary Physics *
This highly recommended book is rigorous in its physics and mathematics and totally enjoyable to read. * Barry Masters, Optics & Photonics News *
Olivier Darrigol's A History of Optics: From Greek Antiquity to the Nineteenth Century is a lucid, compact account of the science of light over the past 2,500 years. ... This work is the first to tackle a long-term history of optics of such scale and depth ... Darrigol's concise and elegant work gives an excellent overview of the history of optics. It makes few theoretical claims and steers clear of historiographical debates. But its clear presentation of the important continuities of the debate over optical theory through the centuries shows the benefit of looking beyond a single narrow context. * Theresa Levitt, Metascience *
This book presents a comprehensive survey of optical theories from Descartes to the late 19th century. The clear explanations and orderly presentation certainly make it into a major reference tool for those interested in the history of optics as well as to historians of science and philosophy in general. * Raz Chen-Morris, Centaurus *
Darrigol's judicious and thorough historical analysis of the use of the analogy between light and sound is a particularly nice feature of the book. * Alan Shapiro, Isis *
A History of Optics is a welcome addition since it is the only concise, intellectual history of optics covering such a long period. Instructors in the history of science will no doubt use it as a textbook in introductory history of physics courses; physicists, and specifically optical physicists, may enjoy witnessing the development of the discipline through the millennia. * Jacqueline Feke, Physics Today *
As an intellectual history the book is well researched, well written, and does an excellent job in showing the importance of optics (and the lightasound analogy) throughout the development of classical physics. * Ga!bor ZempeA (c)n, International Studies in the Philosophy of Science *



Book Information
ISBN 9780198766957
Author Olivier Darrigol
Format Paperback
Page Count 340
Imprint Oxford University Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Weight(grams) 1g
Dimensions(mm) 244mm * 173mm * 18mm