Discovering Differential Equations in Optics
Discovering
Differential Equations in Optics
Mueller, Bill and Thompson, Richard
College Mathematics Journal, Vol. 28, no. 3, pp. 217-223, May
1997
A multi-part project for examining two problems in geometric optics
is presented. Slope fields are approximated by gathering virtual
data, and solutions to the underlying differential equation are
plotted.
The differential equation is derived and analytically solved. The
authors state that "… the point of these investigations has little to do
with optics, or even differential equations per se. The point
is to have students appreciate the many approaches available to them as
they struggle with a realistic problem, to see both the value and the
limitations
of each of these approaches, and to see the way in which the various
approaches
interact."
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