Principles of Optics, colloquially known as Born and Wolf, is an optics textbook written by Max Born and Emil Wolf that was initially published in 1959 by Pergamon Press. After going through six editions with Pergamon Press, the book was transferred to Cambridge University Press who issued an expanded seventh edition in 1999. A 60th anniversary edition was published in 2019 with a foreword by Sir Peter Knight. It is considered a classic science book and one of the most influential optics books of the twentieth century.
Background In 1933, Springer published Max Born's book Optik, which dealt with all optical phenomena for which the methods of classical physics, and Maxwell's equations in particular, were applicable. In 1950, with encouragement from Sir Edward Appleton, the principal of Edinburgh University, Born decided to produce an updated version of Optik in English. He was partly motivated by the need to make money, as he had not been working long enough at Edinburgh to earn a decent pension, and at that time, was not entitled to any pension from his time working in Germany. Also published in Germany: Max Born – Baumeister der Quantenwelt. Eine Biographie Spektrum Akademischer Verlag, 2005,
The first problem that Born had to tackle was that after the US joined the war in 1941, Optik had been reproduced and sold widely in the US, along with many other books and periodicals. This had been done under the aegis of the Office of Alien Property which was authorised to confiscate enemy property, so that neither the authors nor the publishers received any payment for these sales. When the war ended, the printing continued, still with no payment of royalties to authors or publishers. Born had been writing regularly to try and reclaim his book, pointing out that he was not an alien, as he had been a British citizen at the start of the war. He enlisted the support of various people and organisations, including the British Ambassador in Washington. In response, he got a letter saying that he would have to pay 2% of the retail price of any new book he wrote which was based on Optik. An article in the Manchester Guardian about how Jean Sibelius had been deprived of royalties in the same way, prompted him to write a letter describing his own situation. Eventually, his rights to the book were returned and he received backdated royalties.
He quickly realised that the important developments in optics which had occurred in the years since the original book had been written would need to be covered. He approached Dennis Gabor, the inventor of holography to collaborate with him in writing the book. Emil Wolf, a research assistant at Cambridge University, was invited to write a chapter in the book. Gabor subsequently dropped out because of time constraints. Born and Wolf were then the main authors with specialist contributions from other authors. Wolf wrote several chapters and edited the other contributions; Born's input was a modified version of Optik and also collaboration with Wolf in the planning of the book, and many discussions concerning disputed points, presentation and so on.
They hoped to complete the book by the end of 1951, but they were "much too optimistic". The book was actually first published in December 1959.
Problems with Pergamon Press and Robert Maxwell
Pergamon Press was a scientific publishing company which was set up in 1948 by Robert Maxwell and Paul Rosbaud. The latter had been a scientific advisor for Springer in Germany before and during the war and was one of the editors dealing with Optik. He was also an undercover agent for the Allies during the war. He persuaded the authors to place the book with Pergamon Press, a decision which they would later regret.
A detailed account is given by Gustav Born, Max's son He explains how the libel laws in the UK prevented him from speaking about this until after Maxwell's death.
Maxwell tried to get the authors to agree to a much lower rate of royalties for US sales than was agreed in their contract because the book was to be marketed by a different publisher which would mean reduced profits for Pergamon. It was then actually marketed through the US branch of Pergamon but the authors still received reduced royalties. They also found that the sales figures in their statements were lower than the true figures. A clause in the contract meant that they had to go to arbitration rather than go to court to resolve this. Gustav acted for his father in the matter as Max Born was now living in Germany and was in his late seventies. The case was heard by Desmond Ackner(later Lord Ackner) in 1962. He found in favour of the authors on all counts. Nonetheless, they continued to be underpaid. Opening figures in one year's statement did not agree with closing figures from the previous year's statement. Some editions were reprinted several times but did not appear in the accounts at all. After Born's death, Wolf found that an international edition was being distributed in the Far East which he had not been told about. Pergamon sent him a small cheque when he raised the matter with them. When he threatened them with legal action, they sent another cheque for three times the amount. Wolf said that the book was re-printed seventeen times (not counting unauthorized editions and translations).
Rosbaud left Pergamon Press in 1956 “because he found Maxwell to be completely dishonest”. Other authors told Gustav Born that they had had the same problems with Maxwell. They included Sir Henry Dale, who shared the Nobel prize in medicine in 1936 and Edward Appleton.
Contents
1st edition The book aimed to cover only those optical phenomena which can be derived from Maxwell's electromagnetic theory and is intended to give a complete picture of what was then known derived from Maxwell's equations.
Table of contents Chapter TitleIBasic properties of the electromagnetic fieldThe properties of the electromagnetic field are described, and the way in which electromagnetic waves interact with matter is consideredIIElectromagnetic potentials and polarizationWhen an external electromagnetic field interacts with a material object, each element of the object gives rise to secondary wavelets which combine to give the observed macroscopic electromagnetic wave.IIIFoundations of geometrical opticsThe limiting case of Maxwell's equations at short wavelengths leading to geometrical optics. Rays, wavefronts and the propagation of field vector directions.IVGeometrical theory of optical imagingThe geometrical theory of imaging based on Hamilton's methods of characteristic functions.VGeometrical theory of aberrationsA unified treatment of aberrations based on the deformation of wavefronts which covers all aberrations, which were traditionally studied with geometric optics (larger aberrations) and diffraction theory (small aberrations)VIImage-forming instrumentsA brief description of image forming instruments providing the background for the theory of image formation contributed by Dr.P.A. Wayman.VIIElements of the theory of interference and interferometersThis chapter was written by Dr. W.L. Wilcock, who based the theoretical descriptions on sections in Optik but with greatly expanded coverage.VIIIElements of the theory of diffractionFresnel-Kirchhoff diffraction theory and its applications. Detailed analysis of the three-dimensional light distribution near the optical focus. Also an account of Thomas Young's boundary diffraction wave model. Also included an account of Gabor's "ingenious method of reconstructing wavefronts" for which Gabor was later awarded the Nobel Prize, and became known as holography.IXThe diffraction theory of aberrationsNijboer-Zernike diffraction theory. Imaging of extended objects using Fourier transforms.XInterference and diffraction with partially coherent lightA systematic theory of interference and diffraction with partially coherent light. An account of partial polarization described by coherence theory. This chapter was a cause of some contention between the authors. In 1957, Born, who was concerned about how long it was taking to complete the book, suggested that Wolf leave it out, saying, "Who, apart from you, is interested in partial coherence?" Two years after the book was published, the invention of the laser meant that optical physicists and engineers became greatly interested in the topic. The book was the first to cover it in detail, and Born was then very happy that it had been included.XIRigorous diffraction theoryThis chapter was written by Dr. P. C. Clemmow. It covers a field which had been stimulated by advances in short-wave radio techniques.XIIDiffraction of light by ultrasonic wavesWritten by Prof. A. B. Bhatia. it used the techniques developed in Chapter II.XIIIOptics of metalsWritten by Dr. A. R. Stokes. A revised and extended version of the chapter in Optik.XIVOptics of crystalsThis was written by Dr. A. J. Taylor and was also a revised and expanded version of the chapter in Optik. Appendix TitleICalculus of VariationsWritten by Born, and are based on David Hilbert's lectures at Göttingen which Born had attended in the early 20th century.IILight optics, electron optics and wave mechanicsWritten by Gabor. Shows the formal analogy between geometrical optics, classical mechanics and electron optics analysed using the calculus of variations.IIIAsymptotic approximation to integralsWritten by Dr. P. C. ClemmowIVThe Dirac Delta functionWritten by Born and WolfVMathematical Lemma used in the derivation of the Lorentz-Lorenz lawWritten by Born and WolfVIPropagation of discontinuities in an Electro-magnetic fieldWritten by Born and WolfVIIThe circle polynomials of ZernikeWritten by Born and WolfVIIIProof of an inequalityWritten by Born and WolfIXEvaluation of two integralsWritten by Born and Wolf
2nd edition
This was published in 1962. It contained corrections of errors and misprints.
Lasers had been developed since the 1st edition was published but were not covered because laser operation is outside the scope of classical optics. Some references to research which used lasers were included.
3rd edition
This was published in 1965. It again had correction of errors and misprints, and references to recent publications were added.
A new figure (8.54), donated by Leith and Upatnieks, showed images of the first 3-dimensional holographic image. This related to the section in Chapter VIII which described Gabor's wavefront re-construction technique (holography).
4th edition
This was published in 1968 and included corrections, improvements to the text, and additional references.
5th edition
This was published in 1974 and again included corrections, improvements to the text, and additional references.
Significant changes were made to Sections 13.1-13.3. which deals with the optical properties of metals. It is not possible to describe the interaction of an optical electromagnetic wave with a metal using classical optical theory. Nonetheless, some of the main features can be described, at least in quantitative terms, provided the frequency dependence of conductivity and the role of free and bound electrons are taken into account.
6th edition
This was published in 1985, and contained a small number of corrections
7th edition
In 1997, publication of the book was transferred to Cambridge University Press, who were willing to reset the text, thus providing an opportunity to make substantial changes to the book.
The invention of the laser in 1960, a year after the first edition was published, had led to many new activities and entirely new fields in optics. A fully updated "Principles of Optics" would have required several new volumes so Wolf decided to add only a few new topics, which would not require major revisions to the text.