Kirchhoff's theory for optical diffraction, its predecessor and subsequent development: the resilience of an inconsistent theory (Q332274): Difference between revisions

How bad is it if a physical theory is inconsistent? It depends, it seems. In the late 1880s, Poincaré discovered that Kirchhoff's theory for optical refraction is inconsistent. The boundary conditions and the wave equation led Poincaré to a solution that contradicted the boundary conditions. It turned out to be a stubborn inconsistency that could not be resolved easily. It took 80 years until in [``Comparison of the Kirchhoff and the Rayleigh-Sommerfeld theories of diffraction at an aperture'', J. Opt. Soc. Am. 54, No. 5, 587--594 (1964; \url{doi:10.1364/JOSA.54.000587})] \textit{E. Wolf} and \textit{E. W. Marchand} came up with a solution. In the meantime, physicists happily continued to use Kirchhoff's theory. This fascinating case study once more shows that mathematics and physics are quite different disciplines.