Guest Editorial
Optics in Italy, Part 1:: Historical review; organizational aspects; and contributions in interferometry, holography, speckle techniques and photoelasticity

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0143-8166(01)00166-XGet rights and content

Section snippets

Italian pioneers in optics: a brief historical overview

“Wherefore I thought it better to write true things that are profitable, than false things that are great. True things be they ever so small, will give occasions to discover greater things through them …In our method, I shall observe what our ancestors have said; then I shall show by my own experience, whether they be true or false,…” is from Giambattista della Porta's Preface of his famous book Magiae naturalis first published in 1558 (Fig. 1) in Naples [1]. Giambattista della Porta

Research institutions operating in Italy in the field of optics

Public institutions perform most of the research activities in Italy; this is especially true in the field of optics. The public research system in Italy depends on the Minister of Education, University and Research (MIUR) and is organized in different kinds of agencies, institutions and universities. Some important institutions operating in the field of optics are given below:

Istituto Nazionale di Ottica Applicata (INOA): is a public research institution, operated by the MIUR, engaged in

Optics activities at institutions contributing to Part I

Department of Mechanical Engineering of the University of Cagliari is involved in the application of optical methods in the field of experimental stress analysis. These activities go back to 1969 with the use of moiré methods in topography. Activities developed over the last 10 years include image processing, fringe pattern analysis using Fourier transform and phase shifting, and applications of holographic interferometry, moiré, and photoeleasticity in stress and strain analysis. Optical

Acknowledgments

We would like to very sincerely thank all those who have helped us in the preparation of this special issue. A special thanks goes to all the authors for their enthusiasm and understanding in preparing their manuscripts. We are extremely thankful to the referees for their promptness in reviewing the manuscripts. Their work, courtesy and active cooperation has made it possible for us to complete this ambitious project in time. We would like to express our sense of thanks and gratefulness to Dr.

References (6)

  • Porta JP, Natural Magick (Magiae Naturalis). (Giambattista della Porta), Transcribed from 1658 English Editon, Printed...
  • Price DJ, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, Giambattista della Porta and his Natural Magick, June 10...
  • Grimaldi FM, Physicomathesis de lumine, coloribus, et iride (Bologna),...
There are more references available in the full text version of this article.

Cited by (0)

View full text