This paper presents the approach adopted to teach diffraction and laser beam propagation to under graduation students of Mathematics. First it is presented a phenomenological approach for the Huyghens Principles and how an adequate mathematical analysis of this principle can result the basics of the Fourier optics. Later it was postulated an laser beam with a electric field amplitude distribution given by a gaussian function and the propagation of this beam was calculated by using the Fourier optics. As result of this calculation it was obtained the propagation properties of a gaussian laser beam. Although the propagation of gaussian beams is largely known in the literature, the approach showed to be very useful to introduce students into the wave physics without using the electromagnetism theory
Fourier optics; diffraction; laser beam propagation
