Fermat's principle
nameEtymology
First proposed by French mathematician Pierre de Fermat in 1662.
- derived from mathematician Pierre de Fermat in 1662
Definitions
The principle, which links geometrical optics (or "ray optics") with wave optics, that…
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).
- […], Keller simply postulates these rays and finds their direction from Fermat's principle adapted to the hypothesis that these rays exist.
The neighborhood
Vish — recursive loop
No curated loop yet for Fermat's principle. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.
sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA