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  2. Geometrical optics - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/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:

  3. Ray (optics) - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_(optics)

    The principal ray or chief ray (sometimes known as the b ray) in an optical system is the meridional ray that starts at an edge of an object and passes through the center of the aperture stop. [5] [8] [7] The distance between the chief ray (or an extension of it for a virtual image) and the optical axis at an image location defines the size of ...

  4. Waveguide (optics) - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waveguide_(optics)

    The basic principles behind optical waveguides can be described using the concepts of geometrical or ray optics, as illustrated in the diagram. Light passing into a medium with higher refractive index bends toward the normal by the process of refraction (Figure a.

  5. Cardinal point (optics) - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardinal_point_(optics)

    The cardinal points were all included in a single diagram as early as 1864 (Donders), with the object in air and the image in a different medium. Cardinal point diagram for an optical system with different media on each side. F for Focal point, P for Principal point, NP for Nodal Point, and efl for effective focal length. The chief ray is shown ...

  6. Angle of incidence (optics) - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angle_of_incidence_(optics)

    The angle of incidence, in geometric optics, is the angle between a ray incident on a surface and the line perpendicular (at 90 degree angle) to the surface at the point of incidence, called the normal. The ray can be formed by any waves, such as optical, acoustic, microwave, and X-ray. In the figure below, the line representing a ray makes an ...

  7. Paraxial approximation - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraxial_approximation

    In geometric optics, the paraxial approximation is a small-angle approximation used in Gaussian optics and ray tracing of light through an optical system (such as a lens). [1] [2] A paraxial ray is a ray that makes a small angle (θ) to the optical axis of the system, and lies close to the axis throughout the system. [1]

  8. Optics - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optics

    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.

  9. Visual angle - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_angle

    The diagram on the right shows an observer's eye looking at a frontal extent (the vertical arrow) that has a linear size , located in the distance from point . For present purposes, point O {\displaystyle O} can represent the eye's nodal points at about the center of the lens, and also represent the center of the eye's entrance pupil that is ...