Abstract:
Light is an electromagnetic wave possessing dual nature of particle and wave.
The duality of light was also advocated by the two ancient Indian schools, the
Samkhya and the Vaisheshika. While the former conjectured light to be continous
(wave like), the later surmised that light rays are jet of high velocity particles (particle
nature).
The study of nature and properties of light and light matter interactions is called
optics, derived from Greek word optikos meaning vision or sight. One of the first
optical elements, Nimrud lens, can be dated back to 700 BC indicating that the
curiosity over light prevailed then as well. Most of the development in the branch of
optics happened in the later half of second millennium through the pioneering works
of eminent philosophers like Kepler, Descartes, Newton, Huygen, Planck, Einstein,
de Broglie, Maxwell and others whose discoveries eventually lead to the development
of electromagnetic theory of light and quantum optics.
