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Rays and wavefronts. 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 ...
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: propagate in straight ...
A ray tracing diagram for a converging lens. A device that produces converging or diverging light rays due to refraction is known as a lens. Lenses are characterized by their focal length: a converging lens has positive focal length, while a diverging lens has negative focal length. Smaller focal length indicates that the lens has a stronger ...
Fermat's principle, also known as the principle of least time, is the link between ray optics and wave optics. Fermat's principle states that the path taken by a ray between two given points is the path that can be traveled in the least time. First proposed by the French mathematician Pierre de Fermat in 1662, as a means of explaining the ...
Optical axis (coincides with red ray) and rays symmetrical to optical axis (pair of blue and pair of green rays) propagating through different lenses. An optical axis is an imaginary line that passes through the geometrical center of an optical system such as a camera lens , microscope or telescopic sight . [1]
Coma occurs when an object off the optical axis of the lens is imaged, where rays pass through the lens at an angle to the axis θ. Rays that pass through the centre of a lens of focal length f are focused at a point with distance f tan θ from the axis. Rays passing through the outer margins of the lens are focused at different points, either ...
Simple ray diagram showing typical chief and marginal rays In most areas of optics, and especially in microscopy , the numerical aperture of an optical system such as an objective lens is defined by
An optical telescope is a telescope that gathers and focuses light mainly from the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum, to create a magnified image for direct visual inspection, to make a photograph, or to collect data through electronic image sensors . There are three primary types of optical telescope: