Physical Optics

About the book

Published by Macmillan in 1905, the book covers interference, diffraction, polarization, absorption, fluorescence and related optical phenomena. Wood emphasizes experimental work while also explaining the theory of light.

Why read it

Best if you want the technical text behind Land's early interest in polarized light, alongside the Founders episodes that explain its place in his life.

Evidence and original sources

Sources: official Founders episodes — #134, #263, #264, #366

This record is supported by 4 public evidence rows linked to original Founders episodes.

• Edwin Land (Polaroid vs Kodak) — A quoted source identifies Robert Wood’s Physical Optics as a formative textbook for Edwin Land.
• Land's Polaroid: A Company and the Man Who Invented It — David discusses how Robert W. Wood’s Physical Optics influenced Edwin Land, quoting Land’s account of reading it nightly and relating it to Land’s scientific ambitions.
• The Story of Edwin Land and Polaroid — David retells Land finding Robert Wood’s textbook, sleeping with it and reading it at night like the Bible, and says a polarization chapter shaped Land’s work, pointing back to the prior week’s named Physical Optics discussion.
• Mr. Beast Leaked Memo — David uses Edwin Land's obsessive reading of this textbook to draw a founder theme about single-minded study and dedication.