In physics, coherence theory is the study of optical effects arising from partially coherent light and radio sources. Partially coherent sources are sources where the coherence time or coherence length are limited by bandwidth, by thermal noise, or by other effect. Many aspects of modern coherence theory are studied in quantum optics.
The theory of partial coherence was awoken in the 1930s due to work by P. H. van Cittert and Frits Zernike.
Read more about Coherence Theory: Topics in Coherence Theory
Famous quotes containing the words coherence and/or theory:
“Twentieth-century art may start with nothing, but it flourishes by virtue of its belief in itself, in the possibility of control over what seems essentially uncontrollable, in the coherence of the inchoate, and in its ability to create its own values.”
—A. Alvarez (b. 1929)
“Won’t this whole instinct matter bear revision?
Won’t almost any theory bear revision?
To err is human, not to, animal.”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)