Fortson N. Discovering the Nature of Light. The Science and the Story 2022

Textbook in PDF format

This book is a science text about light for the general reader; it is also an adventure story and a detective story revealing how the secrets of light were uncovered.
Reflection and Refraction of Light
Huygens Founds the Wave Theory of Light
Newton Turns His Genius to the Study of Color
The Speed of Light 1: Timing Jupiter’s Moons. Paris 1671–1676
Speed of Light 2: The Advent of Precision Astronomy
1800: Thomas Young Revives the Wave Theory
The Wave Theory Triumphs: Fresnel 1815–1825
Light is an Electromagnetic Wave
The Entrance of the Photon and the Birth of Quantum Theory