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In optics, a ray is an idealized geometrical model of light or other electromagnetic radiation, obtained by choosing a curve that is perpendicular to the wavefronts of the actual light, and that points in the direction of energy flow. [1] [2] Rays are used to model the propagation of light through an optical system, by dividing the real light ...
Geometrical optics. Geometrical optics, or ray optics, is a model of optics that describes light propagation in terms of rays. The ray in geometrical optics is an abstraction useful for approximating the paths along which light propagates under certain circumstances. The simplifying assumptions of geometrical optics include that light rays:
This relates the ray vectors at the input and output planes by the ray transfer matrix (RTM) M, which represents the optical component or system present between the two reference planes. A thermodynamics argument based on the blackbody radiation [ citation needed ] can be used to show that the determinant of a RTM is the ratio of the indices of ...
Fourier optics is the study of classical optics using Fourier transforms (FTs), in which the waveform being considered is regarded as made up of a combination, or superposition, of plane waves. It has some parallels to the Huygens–Fresnel principle, in which the wavefront is regarded as being made up of a combination of spherical wavefronts ...
Visulization of flux through differential area and solid angle. As always ^ is the unit normal to the incident surface A, = ^, and ^ is a unit vector in the direction of incident flux on the area element, θ is the angle between them.
In both diagrams, f is the focal point, O is the object, and I is the virtual image, shown in grey. Solid blue lines indicate (real) light rays and dashed blue lines indicate backward extension of the real rays. In optics, the image of an object is defined as the collection of focus points of light rays coming from the object.
Waveguide (optics) An optical waveguide is a physical structure that guides electromagnetic waves in the optical spectrum. Common types of optical waveguides include optical fiber waveguides, transparent dielectric waveguides made of plastic and glass, liquid light guides, and liquid waveguides. Optical waveguides are used as components in ...
In optics, an image is defined as the collection of focus points of light rays coming from an object. A real image is the collection of focus points actually made by converging/diverging rays, while a virtual image is the collection of focus points made by extensions of diverging or converging rays. In other words, it is an image which is ...