All Questions
13
questions
1
vote
0
answers
34
views
Is there a proper name for "optical image transitivity"?
I've scoured Wikipedia for any evidence that the following statement:
[paraphrasing] ... all images formed by one device can serve as the object for a second device ...
Has its own proper name. Has ...
- 131
1
vote
4
answers
666
views
Can two waves be considered in phase if the phase angle is a multiple of 2$\pi$?
Question is essentially what the title states. Wavefront is defined as the locus of points that are in phase. So I wanted to know if the locus would be the points of only a single circle or multiple ...
- 753
1
vote
3
answers
358
views
Actual meaning of refraction of light
The definition of refraction which I found on wikipedia is
In physics, refraction is the change in direction of a wave passing from one medium to another or from a gradual change in the medium.
...
- 607
2
votes
2
answers
155
views
Fermat's Principle: no first-order change in time?
I was reading the chapter on Fermat's principle in the Feynman lecture series. The principle is stated along these lines:
"The correct statement is the following: a ray going in a certain
...
- 2,137
1
vote
2
answers
2k
views
What is the difference between longitudinal chromatic aberration and spherochromatism?
In lens design textbooks, a distinction is often made between longitudinal chromatic aberration and spherochromatism. (See for instance Kingslake's lens design book.) What is simple way to understand ...
- 203
1
vote
2
answers
975
views
Fermat's principle
The actual ray path between two points is the one for which the optical path length is stationary with respect to variations of the path.
Can you explain me what is extremum path?
- 11
1
vote
2
answers
122
views
What does the author mean by "aperturing effect"?
In this manuscript, the author Sidney A.Self mentions about "aperturing effect" at the very last paragraph.
Finally, it should be noted that, throughout this
paper, it has been assumed that the ...
- 1,159
18
votes
3
answers
17k
views
What is the "tangential" distortion of OpenCV actually tangential to?
I'm having a hard time understanding the distortion model of OpenCV. They use "radial" coefficients $k_n$ and "tangential" coefficients $p_n$ among others that I am not interested in.
$$
x' = x (1 +...
- 375
0
votes
2
answers
986
views
Definition of a ray?
The typical definition of a ray and the one that I was initially taught was that a ray was a line perpendicular to the wave front. However, when reading up on birefringence it seems as though there ...
2
votes
1
answer
102
views
How do we call in English scientific terms the Fermat's principle about back and forth light traversal?
We know that the path followed by the light from point A to point B is independent of the direction of propagation of light. This is what is called in French "le principe de retour inverse de la ...
- 121
2
votes
4
answers
5k
views
What is the distinction between a "ray" and a "wave" in optics?
What is the distinction between a ray and a wave in optics? From what I can gather, the only discernible difference is in nomenclature, where a ray simply refers to an EM wave with short wavelengths. ...
- 35
10
votes
2
answers
36k
views
Difference between convexo-concave and concavo-convex lenses?
What is the difference between concavo-convex and convexo-concave lenses? We dont say convexo-plane for plano-convex. Does that mean concavo-convex and convexo-concave are essentially the same?
- 619
0
votes
1
answer
735
views
Does "converge" mean intersecting and producing image when we are taking about convex lenses?
After reading the chapter on convex lens, I saw several places where "converge" is used.
In the very beginning of the chapter, my book says "converging lenses bring light together". So I thought ...
- 1,361