Cover Story
Optics in the Forefront of Airport Security

Tyler Krupa
Coupled with enhanced detection equipment to alert security personnel to the presence of hidden weapons, biometric technologies could prove to be a viable, long term solution to the problem of guaranteeing airline safety. more>>
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Hamilton's Optics:Characterizing Ray Mapping and Opening a Link to Waves
G. W. Forbes
Because of the simplicity of his characterization of the map from the rays at the entry of an optical system to those at its exit, Hamilton's methods spawned new insights into the limits of system performance. Remarkably, his methods are sometimes dismissed as being either esoteric or overly complicated. more>>
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The 200th Anniversary of Thomas Young's Wave Theory
Douglas S. Goodman
Thomas Young presented his wave theory of light, which included the phenomenon of interference. Young presented his theory to fellows of the Royal Society in a lecture entitled "On the Theory of Light and Colours." This article describes some of Young's ideas about light, and the response they elicited from his contemporaries. more>>