Pauli Lectures on Physics: Volume 2, Optics and the Theory of Electrons

Lectures on optics that serve as a concise and rewarding introduction to the topic.

These lectures covering topics basic to classical and modern physics were given by Wolfgang Pauli at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. The lectures on optics serve as a concise and rewarding introduction to the topic. From the introduction by Victor Weisskopf: "Pauli's way of presenting physics is never out of date... The reason for this remarkable fact lies in Pauli's style, which is commensurate to the greatness of its subject in its clarity and impact. Style in scientific writing is a quality that today is on the point of vanishing. The pressure of fast publication is so great that people rush into print with hurriedly written papers and books that show little concern for careful formulation of ideas. Mathematical and instrumental techniques have become complicated and difficult; most of the effort of writing and learning is devoted to the acquisition of these techniques instead of insight into important concepts. Essential ideas of physics are often lost in the dense forest of mathematical reasoning. This situation need not be so. Pauli's lectures show how physical ideas can be presented clearly and in good mathematical form, without being hidden in formalistic expertise."