conoscopic
adjectiveOptics and imaging
Relating to, or produced by conoscopy
Optics and imaging
189 entries in this trade.
constringence
A measure of a material's dispersion (variation of refractive index with wavelength) in relation to the refractive index.
convex lens
A lens having at least one convex surface, such that light passing through it may be brought to a focus.
correlator
A type of device used to compare two signals
corrugated lens
A type of lens where concentric portions are cut out from the surface to lessen the weight without affecting the focal power.
critical angle
The angle of incidence beyond which light traveling through a medium experiences total internal reflection upon encountering a boundary with a less refractive medium.
Dawes resolution limit
A criterion for a telescope's resolving power, representing the minimum angular separation between two stars that a human observer can distinguish as separate objects.
decentre
To place away from the centre; to make eccentric.
decollimation
Any mechanism in which rays either diverge or converge from parallelism
defocus
The distance by which the focal point is in front of (positive defocus) or beyond (negative defocus) the image or target surface.
diascopic
adjectiveOptics and imaging
Describing an optical device in which light traverses (rather than being reflected by) the object being observed.
dichromatic
adjectiveOptics and imaging
having two hues, either of which may be visible depending on both the concentration of the absorbing substance and the depth or thickness of the medium traversed, such as in pumpkin seed oil. A form of polychromatism.
distortion
An aberration that causes magnification to change over the field of view.
DVCS
Initialism of direct view camera system.
eigenray
A ray that has a specific destination
eikonometer
An instrument for determining the magnifying power of a microscope
episcopic
adjectiveOptics and imaging
Describing an optical device in which light is reflected by (rather than traversing) the object being observed
equiconcave
adjectiveOptics and imaging
Having surfaces with the same concave radius of curvature.
equiconvex
adjectiveOptics and imaging
Having surfaces with the same convex radius of curvature.
equisolid
adjectiveOptics and imaging
Relating to the same solid angle
etendue
A conserved property of the light in an optical system which characterizes how "spread out" the light is in terms of angle and area: it is the product of its cross-sectional area (normal to the direction of propagation) and the solid angle it subtends.
ferroelectric shutter
A shutter consisting of a slab of ferroelectric crystal located between polarizers whose planes are at right angles
field lens
a positive-powered lens or group of lenses that comes after the objective lens and before the image plane or the eyepiece, serving to change the size of the image
field of view
The angular extent of what can be seen, either with the eye or with an optical instrument or camera.
field stop
The aperture that limits the field of view of a lens.
flatfield
A flat portion of a lens or curved mirror, especially one introduced accidentally or by damage.
focal depth
The field of view of a camera that is in sharp focus.
focal plane
Any plane perpendicular to the axis of a lens or mirror.
focal point
A focus; a point at which rays of light or other radiation converge.
focalization
The act or practice of putting into focus.
focus
A point at which reflected or refracted rays of light converge.
Fresnel number
A dimensionless quantity (denoted F), such that for an electromagnetic wave passing through an aperture and hitting a screen, F=(a²)/(Lλ) where a is the characteristic size (e.g. radius) of the aperture, L is the distance of the screen from the aperture, and λ is the incident wavelength.
Gaussian beam
A beam of electromagnetic radiation with high monochromaticity whose amplitude envelope in the transverse plane is given by a Gaussian function.
Glan, Foucault prism
A polarizing prism composed of two pieces of calcite separated by a thin gap of air.
Glan, Thompson prism
A polarizing prism similar to the Glan, Foucault prism, except the air gap is replaced with a layer of cement.
glistening
A fluid-filled microvacuole within a lens.
glory
An optical phenomenon, consisting of concentric rings and somewhat similar to a rainbow, caused by sunlight or moonlight interacting with the water droplets that compose mist or clouds, centered on the antisolar or antilunar point.
Grassmann's law
An empirical law about human colour perception, stating that chromatic sensation can be described in terms of an effective stimulus consisting of linear combinations of different light colours.
half-silvered mirror
A mirror that consists of an incomplete reflective coating, so that half of the incident light is reflected and the other half is transmitted.
HCL
Initialism of hue-chroma-luminance.
high-powered
adjectiveOptics and imaging
Of an instrument, capable of great magnification.
holophotal
Causing no loss of light; reflecting the rays of light without perceptible loss.
Hubble
A space telescope or spy satellite with a design like the Hubble Space Telescope.
hypercyclopean
adjectiveOptics and imaging
Describing the perception of depth by means of a single eye
hyperlens
A nanostructured metamaterial that produces magnified images of objects smaller than the wavelength of the light used
image
The collection of focus points of light rays coming from a given object.
instrumental width
The width of a fringe formed in monochromatic light.
intensity
Any of radiant intensity, luminous intensity or irradiance.
isochromatic
adjectiveOptics and imaging
Having the same colour or wavelength.
Lambert's cosine law
A law stating that the radiant intensity or luminous intensity observed from an ideal diffusely reflecting surface or ideal diffuse radiator is directly proportional to the cosine of the angle between the direction of the incident light and the surface normal.
laser eye surgery
A procedure to correct the vision by reshaping the cornea using a laser.
lateral aberration
Deviation from the correct point of focus measured perpendicular to the axis.
lens
An object, usually made of glass, that focuses or defocuses the light that passes through it.
Littrow prism
A retroreflecting dispersing prism arranged so that an incident light beam entering at Brewster's angle undergoes minimal deviation and hence maximum dispersion.
longitudinal aberration
Deviation from the correct point of focus measured parallel to the axis.
luminance
The luminous flux emitted in a given direction divided by the product of the projected area of the source element perpendicular to the direction and the solid angle containing that direction (i.e. luminous intensity divided by unit area), measured in stilbs or apostilbs.
macroconfocal
adjectiveOptics and imaging
Describing a confocal macro lens
meniscus
A lens which is convex on one side and concave on the other, being crescent-shaped in cross-section.
meridional ray
A ray that passes through the axis of the optical fiber.
microdoublet
A doublet lens (typically composed of a solid lens and a liquid-filled lens) made by microfabrication