The Nature of Light - the Classical View General. In this course we will deal mainly with travelling, periodic, transverse waves.
Periodic waves come in many shapes and sizes - square, sinusoidal, sawtooth, to name but a few.
This means that waves can interfere with each other. The ability to interfere in this manner is an important signature of waves . If however the wavelength approaches d , interference effects will begin to be observed. Isaac Newton suggested that light, in view of its ability to travel in straight lines and form sharp shadows round opaque objects, was corpuscular in nature. This hypothesis, supported by Newton's authority and the lack of any contrary evidence, held sway till the 19th century when improved measurements allowed the observation of what appeared to be wave-like properties.