Light Sources: Technologies and Applications

[Old Stagehand]

From the dialogues of the ancient Greek philosophers right up through the physical laws of Newton, the experiments of Thomas Young and the quantum physics pioneers, the study of light was all about observing its characteristics and defining its behavior. At the end of the 19th century, wicks, wax, and oil gave way to electricity, filaments, and gases, and scientific minds began to focus on the technological creation of light, as well as its control and diverse uses. Yet, despite more than a century of profound research and development, until now, the most complete resources on lighting technology have always been compiled by and subject to the biases of commercial lighting companies.

Light Sources: Technologies and Applications answers the need of a huge and diverse range of scientists, technicians, and engineers involved in the use and development of light sources across any number of fields. Spectroscopy, architecture, lighting design, irradiation, optics, and imaging are just a few of these uses.

After delving into basic principles of light and vision, the book focuses on the three main technologies used to create light through electricity (incandescent/filament, charged gas, solid state diode) and the various families of light sources and applications born out of the three. Written by Dr. Spiros Kitsinelis, highly respected for his work on the development of novel and energy efficient light sources, the book includes data needed by researchers and technicians, as well as comparative charts and explanatory diagrams.

Dr. Kitsinelis also includes descriptions and photographs of representative products of each family of light sources. Concise and practical, while remaining both thorough and elegant, he offers a deeper analysis on the nature of light and the processes of creating it. Ultimately, he offers the depth required to satisfy pioneering research as well as applications to serve the immediate needs of everyday life.

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