Book Description
Fourier analysis is a ubiquitous tool that has found application to diverse areas of physics and engineering. This book deals with its applications in optics, and in particular with its applications to diffraction, imaging, optical data processing, holography and optical communications. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Amazing, a textbook that's easy to understand!
I took a class in Fourier Optics and found this text to be indispensable.It explains everything very clearly and concisely, which is a minor miracle for a text at this level.I didn't have any particular background in optics, and was able to pick this up and understand every word.

I do agree with the earlier poster that more 'physical' or graphical representations of concepts would have been useful as I tend to be a visual learner.

Simply the best
Only the best will do - and this is it.

Mandatory reading for anyone involved in optics.Goodman's books are treasure troves.

A very nice book , but nothing is ever perfect...
Overall I like the book for it is clear, the mathematics is lucid and has all the essentials in a comprehensive way. I have found it quite useful for research. In addition, for the most parts it is quite accurate.

Some criticisms though:
Contains everything from a more mathematical point of view. By that i mean, problems are usually not very physically motivated and some of the conclusions drawn are not very physical. that is you are given at the end of a discussion only an integral. It would have been nice if there were more discussions on the physics of Fourier Optics, for example pictures of actual experimental results or clear diagrams that show for example how does the diffraction pattern for a given input looks like. So getting an intuitive grasp of the subject at a pictorial level, where you can 'see' the results is a bit challenging to get out of this book. also very expensive.

Goodman's Fourier Optics 3rd Edition:An Improved Classic.
For the last month, I have been using this book for self study to aid me in my work with lasers.Originally, I was working from the 1st edition (borrowed from a co-worker), but decided to buy my own copy.I wound up buying the 3rd edition, a significantly expanded version of the original.

Goodman's writing style is conversational and his treatment of the subject is thorough.I appreciate his inclusion of enough optics/E&M background within the text that I am not constantly having to go to my bookshelf to consult other references.Note, the 3rd edition has several helpful appendices not found in the 1st edition.

There are also many instructive problems given throughout the text to help students solidify their understanding of the material.

This is an excellent book for self study, and would certainly make a fine text for a senior undergrad course on the subject.I recommend it highly.

Charlie.

The best book on the topic
This is the best book on Fourier Optics that I'm aware of.There is sufficient detail that you can follow the math, but also has well written text explaining concepts.The problems are sometimes trivial and sometime challenging, but they are very much an integral part of the book and doing them is necessary to get a full understanding of the material.There is a 3rd edition of the book with an additonal chapter, which is available at a much lower price, but Amazon does not seem to be carrying it yet.Hopefully they will soon.(...) ... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (1)

A dry classic
The book opens with a long preface and introduction in excellent 19th century style. Chapter 1 also gives the basic principles of heat, such as what we call "Newton's law of cooling" (sec. 3). From here we derive the heat equation (chapter 2, esp. §142). In chapter 3 we solve the heat equation for an infinite rectangle with given boundary conditions. This of course calls for the principles of Fourier analysis, which are explained in full generality (sec. 6). Then in chapters 4-8 we do the same thing for other bodies (rings, spheres, infinite cylinders, infinite rectangular prisms, cubes). In the case of cylinders, Fourier series are not appropriate to solve the corresponding heat equation in polar coordinates, so we must introduce Bessel functions. In chapter 9 we study the diffusion of heat in bodies with no boundary influence. The simplest example is the isolated, infinite line. This leads to Fourier integrals. Throughout, the theory is essentially identical to the modern one, except that Fourier couldn't care less about about convergence and such. It is understandable that Fourier wished to devote an entire book to the rudiments of Fourier analysis. I still think it's a pity that he didn't find it appropriate to include his favourite application: "The problem of the terrestrial temperatures presents one of the most beautiful applications of the theory of heat", he says (§12), but does not treat this problem further here. ... Read more

Book Description
Beyond being the first substantial publication on Fourier, this work contains the text of Fourier's seminal paper of 1807 on the propagation of heat, marking the first time it has ever appeared in print. This paper incorporates many of the mathematical creations on which Fourier's fame rests, including derivation of the diffusion equation, the separation of the treatment of surface phenomena from internal phenomena, the use of boundary values and initial conditions, and the development of "Fourier series" and the so-called "Bessel functions."

When submitted to the examiners of the Institut de France, the originality of the paper and the surprising nature of some of its mathematical revelations caused great controversy, and it was denied publication both in 1807 and in later years. Fourier had the support, among the examiners, of Laplace and Monge, but Lagrange was adamantly in opposition, so that Fourier's work did not appear in print until 1822, reworked into book form.

Fourier's mathematical discoveries are intimately related to his interest in the solution of physical problems and their experimental verification. The mathematical methods he developed in connection with heat diffusion apply to physical situations far beyond the boundaries of this area. Generally, Fourier may be credited with one of the first major extensions of mathematical physics beyond the applications of Newton's laws of motion and universal gravitation.

The opening biographical chapter of this book follows Fourier's career up to the submission of the 1807 paper, and the two closing chapters take up his life and work from that point on. Fourier had strong political motivations and spent much of his life in the public service. These chapters trace his political difficulties, both before and after 1807, when he was the prefect of a department of France and was subjected to the dislocations of Napoleon's ups and downs. These chapters also describe aspects of the turbulent but productive development of French science from the Revolution to 1830.

The core of the book presents the paper of 1807 in its original French and with the original notation. Grattan-Guinness has divided the paper into sections by the sequence of the problems taken up, and he introduces and, where necessary, closes each section with commentary relevant to Fourier's later work in these areas. The paper itself (cllows the chronology of Fourier's discoveries, and among the topics treated are, in this order: heat diffusion between disjoint bodies and in continuous bodies; the appearance of partial differential equations; the special solution for the lamina; sine and cosine series for an arbitrary function; reflections on the vibrating string problem; solution for the annulus; the full Fourier series for an arbitrary function; reflections on n-body analysis; solution for the sphere; solution for the cylinder; steady-state diffusion in the rectangular prism; time-dependent diffusion in the cube; and Fourier's experimental work. ... Read more

Book Description
A companion volume to Weaver's Applications of Discrete and Continuous Fourier Analysis (Wiley, 1983). Addresses the theoretical and analytical aspects of Fourier analysis, including topics usually found only in more advanced treatises. Provides background information before going on to cover such topics as existence of the inner product, distribution theory, Fourier series representation of complex functions, properties and behavior of the Fourier transform, Fourier transform of a distribution, physical interpretation of convolution, the fast Fourier transform, sampling a function, and much more. Includes exercises, problems, applications, over 150 illustrations, and a Fourier transform FORTRAN subroutine. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Excellent teaching book, Excellent reference book
Weaver's book is exceptionally well-written, with clear step-by-step explanations of each concept.It is a great teaching tool, and a great reference book.It is one of the few books in which I can quickly find the answer I need. ... Read more

Book Description
The Fourier transform is one of the most important mathematicaltools in a wide variety of science and engineering fields. Itsapplication - as Fourier analysis or harmonic analysis -provides useful decompositions of signals into fundamental(`primitive') components, giving shortcuts in the computation ofcomplicated sums and integrals, and often revealing hidden structurein the data.
Fourier Transforms: An Introduction for Engineers develops thebasic definitions, properties and applications of Fourier analysis,the emphasis being on techniques for its application to linearsystems, although other applications are also considered. The bookwill serve as both a reference text and a teaching text for aone-quarter or one-semester course covering the application of Fourieranalysis to a wide variety of signals, including discrete time (orparameter), continuous time (or parameter), finite duration, andinfinite duration. It highlights the common aspects in all casesconsidered, thereby building an intuition from simple examples thatwill be useful in the more complicated examples where careful proofsare not included.
Fourier Analysis: An Introduction for Engineers is written bytwo scholars who are recognized throughout the world as leaders inthis area, and provides a fresh look at one of the most importantmathematical and directly applicable concepts in nearly all fields ofscience and engineering.
Audience: Engineers, especiallyelectrical engineers. The careful treatment of the fundamentalmathematical ideas makes the book suitable in all areas where Fourieranalysis finds applications.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

"Applications..." yields amazing Clarity on Transforms
Mr. Weaver's "Applications ..." has saved me twice.Here's how:

I was warned by a graduating Electrical Engineering Senior to study Fourier Transforms before taking ECE-303, Signals and System theory.Quite simply, ECE-303 was the weeding course, because most students were struggling with the transforms while also trying to learn system theory.Fortunately, I heeded the senior's advice and picked up copy of "Applications ...".At the time, it was a bit much for my tight student budget, but it earned its keep.I read the book over the summer before the class.Because the book is so well written, I was able to digest it completely on my own.It has the greatest clarity I've seen on the topic.Having an Engineering disposition, I immediate consumed his explanations that tie things back to the "frequency content" view.I not only aced the class, but I really enjoyed it.It's what Engineering was about.

Here I am (fast forward 10 years) taking an Engineering Statistics class to get back into things.Low and behold, Weaver comes in again.In the advanced areas of studies in statistics I've picked up on references to the Fourier Transform in the topics of moments, moment generating functions, and the Central Limit Theorem.As it happens, Chapter 11, Stochastic Analyis covers this topic, and I've now got the concepts.Of course, I've had to re-read Chapter 3, The Fourier Transform, since it has been, after all, a great while since I applied them! ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document is an article from Mechanical Engineering-CIME, published by Thomson Gale on August 1, 2005. The length of the article is 1158 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Fourier: is this French mathematician the true father of modern engineering?
Author: Eugene F. Adiutori
Publication: Mechanical Engineering-CIME (Magazine/Journal)
Date: August 1, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 127Issue: 8Page: 30(2)

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Product Description
Date of publication unknown. Translated for St John's College, Cambridge. ... Read more