The Principles of Physical Optics: An Historical and Philosophical Treatment

In this classic exposition, Ernst Mach presents a detailed account of the experimental and theoretical evolution of our understanding of light phenomena and apparatus. Beginning with the philosophic and physiological speculation arising from early experiments on light and color perception, he proceeds to a thorough examination of the history of diopterics, including the roles of Huyghens, Galileo, Descartes, the Bernoullis, Kepler, and other scientists.
Full descriptions of hundreds of exper...