Light and Color in the Outdoors - by Marcel Minnaert

About the Book

For anyone intrigued by visual effects apparent to the observant eye, this classic work combines lucid explanations and over 80 photographs, half in color, to explore the interplay between our visual apparatus and light in the atmosphere. This book encourages readers to observe these effects and to perform simple and instructive experiments. A beautifully produced book. 223 illustrations. 40 color plates.

Book Synopsis

All of science springs from the observation of nature. In this classic book, the late Marcel Minnaert accompanies the reader on a tour of nature's light and color and reveals the myriad phenomena that may be observed outdoors with no more than a pair of sharp eyes and an enquiring mind. From the intriguing shape of the dapples beneath a tree on a sunny day, to rainbows, mirages, and haloes, to the colors of liquid, ice, and the sky, to the appearance of the sun, moon, planets, and stars - Minnaert describes and explains them all in clear language accessible to the layman. This volume includes 80 new photographs, over half in color, illustrating many of the phenomena - ordinary and exotic - discussed in the book. Most of the new photos are by Pekka Parviainen, the renowned Finnish nature photographer.

Review Quotes

"Minnaert's book is a gem!...It is a wonderful book that should be known by everyone who has an interest in the natural visual world." Am. J. Phys.
"...just about everything imaginable that refracts or reflects light or shows color...a marvelous book, one that I highly recommend to every observer" Sky & Telescope