Although optics is a specialized branch of pysics, the field has worked its way into popular culture and imagination in a variety of circumstances. From the ancient solar weapon of Archimedes to the ray guns found in comic books and movies, the study of light has made appearances in many surprising ways throughout history. Physicist and science writer Stephen R. Wilk collects his previously published essays on optics to survey the past and present of optics. There are essays on how light mesmerized ancient mathematicians, the various ways that physicists have experimented with lasers, and the development of photographs and film. Optics is at the same time ancient and constantly changing. How the Ray Gun Got Its Zap is a survey of the quirky space in our history and culture that only optics can occupy.