Optics
| Title | ΟΠΤΙΚΗ / Optics |
| Code | ΓΘΥ3212 |
| Faculty | Sciences |
| School | Physics |
| Cycle / Level | 1st / Undergraduate |
| Teaching Period | Winter/Spring |
| Coordinator | Ioannis Arvanitidis |
| Common | No |
| Status | Active |
| Course ID | 600021679 |
Programme of Study: PROGRAMMA SPOUDŌN 2022
Registered students: 169
| Orientation | Attendance Type | Semester | Year | ECTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KORMOS | Compulsory Course | 5 | 3 | 6 |
| Academic Year | 2025 – 2026 |
| Class Period | Winter |
| Faculty Instructors |
|
| Weekly Hours | 4 |
| Total Hours | 65 |
| Class ID | 600280738
|
Type Of Offer
- Disciplinary Course
Course Type 2021
General Foundation
Mode of Delivery
- Face to face
Digital Course Content
- e-Study Guide https://qa.auth.gr/en/class/1/600280738
- At the Website of the School: https://www.physics.auth.gr/courses/141
- eLearning: https://elearning.auth.gr/course/view.php?id=15137
Erasmus
The course is also offered to exchange programme students.
Language of Instruction
- Greek (Instruction, Examination)
- English (Examination)
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- Understand the nature of light as waves, rays, and particles.
- Apply fundamental laws of reflection, refraction, polarization, interference, and diffraction.
- Use mathematical tools to solve problems in optics.
- Perform and evaluate experiments related to optical phenomena.
- Connect theoretical knowledge with everyday phenomena and modern applications.
General Competences
- Apply knowledge in practice
- Work autonomously
- Work in teams
- Generate new research ideas
- Advance free, creative and causative thinking
Course Content (Syllabus)
- Electromagnetic waves in one and three dimensions: plane and spherical waves, wave equation, wavefunctions.
- Light as an electromagnetic wave: superposition of electromagnetic waves, standing waves. Exercises.
- Quantum nature of light and energy quantities: photons, energy and intensity of radiation, radiation pressure. Exercises.
- Dispersion and absorption of light: Lorentz model for light dispersion, normal and anomalous dispersion, phase and group velocity, light dispersion through a prism, Beer–Lambert law. Exercises.
- Geometrical optics: Fermat’s principle, reflection, mirrors.
- Geometrical optics: refraction, diopters, lenses. Exercises.
- Polarization of light: definitions, description (linear, circular, elliptical), properties. Exercises.
- Polarization of light: generation, detection, applications in nature, birefringence. Exercises.
- Interference and coherence of light: concept of interference, demonstration of interference phenomena, spatial and temporal coherence.
- Interference and coherence of light: interference setups with wavefront division. Exercises.
- Interference and coherence of light: thin film interference, interference setups with amplitude division. Exercises.
- Diffraction of light: concept of diffraction, far-field and near-field diffraction, single-slit diffraction. Exercises.
- Diffraction of light: examples of diffraction from common symmetric apertures (rectangular, circular, grating), resolution, applications. Exercises.
Keywords
Electromagnetic waves, wave equation, interference, diffraction, polorization, dispersion, geometrica optics, ray, lens, refraction
Educational Material Types
- Notes
- Slide presentations
- Multimedia
- Book
Use of Information and Communication Technologies
Use of ICT
- Use of ICT in Course Teaching
- Use of ICT in Communication with Students
Course Organization
| Activities | Workload | ECTS | Individual | Teamwork | Erasmus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lectures | 117 | 3.9 | |||
| Tutorial | 45 | 1.5 | |||
| Exams | 3 | 0.1 | |||
| Total | 165 | 5.5 |
Student Assessment
Description
- Μidterm written exam comprised of extended answer questions and problem solving on the on half of the teaching material, which is rewarded with 20% of the final course grade (optional).
- Final written exam comprised of extended answer questions and problem solving on the entire teaching material of the course (compulsory).
Student Assessment methods
- Written Exam with Extended Answer Questions (Formative, Summative)
- Written Exam with Problem Solving (Formative, Summative)
Bibliography
Course Bibliography (Eudoxus)
Πανεπιστημιακή φυσική με σύγχρονη φυσική, Ηλεκτρομαγνητισμός - Οπτική - Σύγχρονη Φυσική, Β ΤΟΜΟΣ, Young H., Freedman R., 2022, Έκδοση: 4η ελληνική, ΕΚΔΟΣΕΙΣ ΠΑΠΑΖΗΣΗ (Εύδοξος: 112690846)
Οπτική, Βασικές αρχές και εφαρμογές, Hecht Eugene (επιστ. επιμ. Βές Σωτήρης), 2018, Έκδοση: 1η, GUTENBERG (Εύδοξος: 77111969)
Additional bibliography for study
Optics, E. Hecht, Adisson Wesley
Theory and problems of Optics, E. Hecht, Mc Graw Hill
Optics, M. V. Klein, J. Wiley & Sons
Principle of Optics, M. Born and E. Wolf, Pergamon Press
Θέματα οπτικής, Ι. Σπυριδέλης, Εκδόσεις ΖΗΤΗ
Σημειώσεις Ε. Βανίδη
Last Update
23-07-2025
