Fermat's principle
Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word Fermat's principle. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word Fermat's principle, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say Fermat's principle in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word Fermat's principle you have here. The definition of the word Fermat's principle will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofFermat's principle, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Etymology
First proposed by French mathematician Pierre de Fermat in 1662.
Proper noun
- (physics, optics) The principle, which links geometrical optics (or "ray optics") with wave optics, that the path traversed by a ray between two given points is: (in the original "strong" formulation) the one that takes the least time, or (in a weaker but more general formulation) one that takes a time that is "stationary" with respect to variations of the path (so that, loosely speaking, a small change in the ray path entails a very small change in the traversal time).
- 1960, John Clarke Slater, Quantum Theory of Atomic Structure, McGraw-Hill, page 39:
- But we now see that, if we use Fermat's principle, a fundamental result of any wave theory, and combine it with de Broglie's assumption about the relation between momentum and wavelength, we are led at once to the principle of least action.
- 1968, Petr Beckmann, The Depolarization of Electromagnetic Waves, Golem Press, page 108:
- […] , Keller simply postulates these rays and finds their direction from Fermat's principle adapted to the hypothesis that these rays exist.
- 1976, Donald E. Tilley, Walter Thumm, Physics for College Students, Cummings Publishing Company, page 558,
- students wishing to pursue this branch of physics further will find that refraction too can be explained in terms of Fermat's principle.
Translations
principle in optics
|