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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 ...
Examples of real images include the image produced on a detector in the rear of a camera, and the image produced on an eyeball retina (the camera and eye focus light through an internal convex lens). In ray diagrams (such as the images on the right), real rays of light are always represented by full, solid lines; perceived or extrapolated rays ...
A light ray is a line or curve that is perpendicular to the light's wavefronts (and is therefore collinear with the wave vector). A slightly more rigorous definition of a light ray follows from Fermat's principle, which states that the path taken between two points by a ray of light is the path that can be traversed in the least time. [1]
A real image is the collection of focus points made by converging rays, while a virtual image is the collection of focus points made by backward extensions of diverging rays. In other words, a virtual image is found by tracing real rays that emerge from an optical device ( lens , mirror , or some combination) backward to perceived or apparent ...
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 ...
The image at the sagittal focus is a short line, oriented in the direction of the tangential plane; images of spokes radiating from the center are sharp at this focus. In between these two foci, a round but "blurry" image is formed. This is called the medial focus or circle of least confusion. This plane often represents the best compromise ...
Ray tracing of a beam of light passing through a medium with changing refractive index.The ray is advanced by a small amount, and then the direction is re-calculated. Ray tracing works by assuming that the particle or wave can be modeled as a large number of very narrow beams (), and that there exists some distance, possibly very small, over which such a ray is locally straight.
The term "line" typically presumes that the light by which the observed object is seen travels as a straight ray, which is sometimes not the case as light can take a curved/angulated path when reflected from a mirror, [5] refracted by a lens or density changes in the traversed media, or deflected by a gravitational field. Fields of study ...