Fundamentals of electromagnetic waves.

Optical sensing became a key technique for many measuring tasks. The manifold use of optics, however, requires a good understanding of the basic laws of light propagation. The principal objective of this article is to provide a unified and comprehensive overview of optical radiation and its propagation. The number of equations is kept small, complicated mathematics have been omitted and only basic laws have been compiled in order to facilitate the reading. A number of textbooks are given as references in order to provide more detailed information. Particular attention is paid to wave phenomena described by Maxwell equations. The most essential laws of planewave propagation, interference, refraction and reflection are discussed. Before the main properties of light are described, as we understand them today, a short historical overview shows the long and troublesome way from the first preception of seeing to modern optics.