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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 ...
Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. [1] Optics usually describes the behaviour of visible, ultraviolet, and infrared light. Light is a type of electromagnetic radiation, and other forms of ...
A curved mirror is a mirror with a curved reflecting surface. The surface may be either convex (bulging outward) or concave (recessed inward). Most curved mirrors have surfaces that are shaped like part of a sphere, but other shapes are sometimes used in optical devices. The most common non-spherical type are parabolic reflectors, found in ...
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:
Reflection phase change. A phase change sometimes occurs when a wave is reflected, specifically from a medium with faster wave speed to the boundary of a medium with slower wave speed. [1] [2] Such reflections occur for many types of wave, including light waves, sound waves, and waves on vibrating strings. [3]
In describing reflection and refraction in optics, the plane of incidence (also called the incidence plane or the meridional plane[citation needed]) is the plane which contains the surface normal and the propagation vector of the incoming radiation. [1] (. In wave optics, the latter is the k-vector, or wavevector, of the incoming wave.)
A typical surveying prism with back target. In surveying, a retroreflector—usually referred to as a prism —is normally attached on a surveying pole and is used as a target for distance measurement, for example, a total station. The instrument operator or robot aims a laser beam at the retroreflector.
Diffuse reflection is the reflection of light or other waves or particles from a surface such that a ray incident on the surface is scattered at many angles rather than at just one angle as in the case of specular reflection. An ideal diffuse reflecting surface is said to exhibit Lambertian reflection, meaning that there is equal luminance when ...