ART. 148 - Wave Theory of Light

Summary

§ 1. A general statement of the principles of the undulatory theory, with elementary explanations, has already been given under Light [Enc. Brit. Vol. xiv.], and in the article on Ether the arguments which point to the existence of an all-pervading medium, susceptible in its various parts of an alternating change of state, have been traced by a master hand; but the subject is of such great importance, and is so intimately involved in recent optical investigation and discovery, that a more detailed exposition of the theory, with application to the leading phenomena, was reserved for a special article. That the subject is one of difficulty may be at once admitted. Even in the theory of sound, as conveyed by aerial vibrations, where we are well acquainted with the nature and properties of the vehicle, the fundamental conceptions are not very easy to grasp, and their development makes heavy demands upon our mathematical resources. That the situation is not improved when the medium is hypothetical will be easily understood. For, although the evidence is overwhelming in favour of the conclusion that light is propagated as a vibration, we are almost entirely in the dark as to what it is that vibrates and the manner of vibration. This ignorance entails an appearance of vagueness even in those parts of the subject the treatment of which would not really be modified by the acquisition of a more precise knowledge, e.g., the theory of the colours of thin plates, and of the resolving power of optical instruments.