Fermat's principle
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In optics, Fermat's principle or the principle of least time, named after French mathematician Pierre de Fermat, is the principle that the path taken between two points by a ray of light is the path that can be traversed in the least time. This principle is sometimes taken as the definition of a ray of light.
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See also
- Adequality
- Eikonal equation
- Fermat’s and energy variation principles in field theory
- Geodesic
- Hamilton's principle
- Huygens' principle
- Path integral formulation
- Pierre de Fermat
- Principle of least action
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