ABSTRACT
Biophotonics entails how we play tricks with a myriad of light prop-
erties in order to help perform different diagnostic and therapeutic
tasks in basic life science research and clinical applications. Before
we go into learning how to make good use of light as a versatile tool
in biophotonics, understanding what light is and how light interacts withmatter should be regarded and emphasized as the foundation of biophotonics. While there are numerous comprehensive references
and handbooks of optics/photonics [e.g., 1-5], this chapter of the
book is geared toward highlighting the fundamental concepts that
are most relevant to biophotonics. Hence, it serves as a condensed
review for the readers who already have a background in photonics.
On the other hand, this chapter, without tedious mathematics, can
help newcomers to photonics to grasp the most essential concepts,
which should be sufficient to comprehend the overall picture of
biophotonics. The next chapter covers the essential concepts of
light-matter interactions.
