Classic optics. From the visible to the measurable. Exhibition catalogue

Optics is the study of light. Optical phenomena have always held a great fascination for us humans - and not only in our childhood days - perhaps also because they are directly related to our ability to see. Thus, the perception of phenomena only takes place behind the eye, through the conversion of light into electrical signals that are transmitted to our brain. But their physics takes place even before that. One of the aims of the Deutsches Museum's permanent exhibition "Classical Optics" is to investigate phenomena with light and explain how they have been studied over the centuries and what applications have arisen from them. It concentrates on the two classical approaches to describing the propagation of light: wave optics and geometrical optics. The temporal focus is on the insights gained from antiquity to the beginning of the 20th century. This volume accompanies the exhibition with numerous essays, exciting object stories, fascinating insights behind the scenes of the museum's work and a richly illustrated catalogue section. In addition to the manifold interactions with other disciplines, for example astronomy or art. Special attention is paid to the optical instruments from the outstanding collections of the Deutsches Museum. They document the extraordinary development of a scientific discipline that has made the invisible visible to man and the indeterminate measurable.