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Optical systems can be folded using plane mirrors; the system is still considered to be rotationally symmetric if it possesses rotational symmetry when unfolded. Any point on the optical axis (in any space) is an axial point. Rotational symmetry greatly simplifies the analysis of optical systems, which otherwise must be analyzed in three ...
An optical instrument is a device that processes light waves (or photons), either to enhance an image for viewing or to analyze and determine their characteristic properties. Common examples include periscopes , microscopes , telescopes , and cameras .
Optical activity is measured using a polarized source and polarimeter. This is a tool particularly used in the sugar industry to measure the sugar concentration of syrup, and generally in chemistry to measure the concentration or enantiomeric ratio of chiral molecules in solution.
The unique optical properties of the atmosphere cause a wide range of spectacular optical phenomena. The blue colour of the sky is a direct result of Rayleigh scattering which redirects higher frequency (blue) sunlight back into the field of view of the observer.
The optical properties of a material define how it interacts with light. The optical properties of matter are studied in optical physics (a subfield of optics ) and applied in materials science . The optical properties of matter include:
Atomic, molecular, and optical physics (AMO) is the study of matter–matter and light–matter interactions, at the scale of one or a few atoms [1] and energy scales around several electron volts. [ 2 ] : 1356 [ 3 ] The three areas are closely interrelated.
An object that cannot be superimposed on its mirror image is said to be chiral, and optical rotatory dispersion and circular dichroism are known as chiroptical properties. Most biological molecules have one or more chiral centers and undergo enzyme-catalyzed transformations that either maintain or invert the chirality at one or more of these ...
Spectrometers may operate over a wide range of non-optical wavelengths, from gamma rays and X-rays into the far infrared. If the instrument is designed to measure the spectrum on an absolute scale rather than a relative one, then it is typically called a spectrophotometer. The majority of spectrophotometers are used in spectral regions near the ...