List of Important Publications in Physics - Optics

Optics

• Alhacen (1021). Book of Optics.

(Arabic: Kitab al-Manazir, Latin: De Aspectibus) – a seven volume treatise on optics and physics, written by the Muslim scientist Ibn al-Haytham (Latinized as Alhacen or Alhazen in Europe), and published in 1021.

• Huygens, Christiaan (1690). Traité de la Lumiere (A Treatise on Light).

Huygens attained a remarkably clear understanding of the principles of wave-propagation; and his exposition of the subject marks an epoch in the treatment of Optical problems. Not appreciated until much later due to the mistaken zeal with which formerly everything that conflicted with the cherished ideas of Newton was denounced by his followers.

• Newton, Isaac (1704). Opticks or, a Treatise of the reflexions, refractions, inflexions and colours of light . Also two treatises of the species and magnitude of curvilinear figures. (available online). London: printed for Sam. Smith. and Benj. Walford.

• Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von (1970) . Theory of Colours. Translated from the German, with notes, by Charles Lock Eastlake ; introduction by Deane B. Judd (Reprint London 1840 ed.). Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. ISBN 978-0-262-57021-3.

• Fresnel, Augustin (1819). "Memoir on the Diffraction of Light". The Wave Theory of Light – Memoirs by Huygens, Young and Fresnel. American Book Company. pp. 79–145. http://books.google.com/?id=_0hWAAAAMAAJ&dq=memoir%20of%20fresnel&pg=PA79#v=onepage&q&f=false.
• Fresnel, Augustin (1819). "On the Action of Rays of Polarized Light upon Each Other". The Wave Theory of Light – Memoirs by Huygens, Young and Fresnel. American Book Company. pp. 145–156. http://books.google.com/?id=_0hWAAAAMAAJ&dq=memoir%20of%20fresnel&pg=PA145#v=onepage&q&f=false.

Work by Thomas Young and Fresnel provided a comprehensive picture of the propagation of light.

• Udem, Th.; Reichert, J., Holzwarth, R., Hänsch, T. W. (1999). "Accurate measurement of large optical frequency differences with a mode-locked laser" (PDF). Optics Letters 24 (13): 881. Bibcode 1999OptL...24..881U. doi:10.1364/OL.24.000881. Archived from the original on 2010-08-04. http://web.archive.org/web/20100804120440/http://www.mpq.mpg.de/~haensch/comb/people/thomas/OL99.pdf.
• Reichert, J.; J. Reichert, R. Holzwarth, Th. Udem, T. W. Hänsch (1999). "Measuring the frequency of light with mode-locked lasers". Optics Communications 172 (1–6): 59–68. Bibcode 1999OptCo.172...59R. doi:10.1016/S0030-4018(99)00491-5.
• Udem, Th.; Holzwarth, R., Hänsch, T. W. (2002). "Optical frequency metrology". Nature 416 (6877): 233–237. Bibcode 2002Natur.416..233U. doi:10.1038/416233a. PMID 11894107.

These three papers introduced the Frequency comb technique. The earlier presented the main idea but last is the one often cited.