Bouncing and Bending Light

School Library Journal

Both of these books have appealing texts and are profusely illustrated with color photos and diagrams. However, they are often confusing because of oversimplification, gaps, or omissions. In Color and Light , chromatography is defined in the text as ``color pictures,'' but in the glossary as ``a way of separating mixtures of gases, liquids, or dissolved substances.'' Bouncing and Bending Light offers experiments that demonstrate the reflection, refraction, interference, and dispersion of light by mirrors, lenses, and other materials. The discussion of concave and convex lenses is muddled, and readers are asked to choose which material is opaque, but that word is never defined. Rainbows to Lasers (Gloucester Pr, 1989) by Kathryn Whyman covers the same subject matter, and includes discussion of lasers, holograms, the invisible spectrum, artificial light, and photosynthesis. Its diagrams, experiments, and descriptions are clearly presented without gaps or omissions. Light Fantastic (Lothrop, 1983) by Philip Watson has excellent experiments. Both are superior to these two books. --Renee Blumenkrantz, Davis Community Library, Bethesda, MD