optics - Article Index

Encyclopedia - Image: Encyclopedia - Image
In common usage, an image (from Latin imago) or picture is an artifact that reproduces the likeness of some subject—usually a physical ...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Augustin Louis Cauchy: Encyclopedia - Augustin Louis Cauchy
Augustin Louis Cauchy (August 21, 1789 – May 23, 1857) was a French mathematician. He started the project of formulating and proving th...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Aberration: Encyclopedia - Aberration
Aberration (Latin ab, from or away + errare, to wander), a deviation or wandering, especially used in the figurative sense as: In ethics...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Image Processing: Encyclopedia Ii - Image Processing - Solution Methods
A few decades ago, image processing was done largely in the analog domain, chiefly by optical devices. These optical methods are still es...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Augustin-jean Fresnel: Encyclopedia - Augustin-jean Fresnel
Augustin-Jean Fresnel (pronounced [freɪ 'nel] in AmE, [fʁɛ nɛl] in French) (May 10, 1788 – July 14, 1827), was a French physicist w...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Bicycle Lighting: Encyclopedia - Bicycle Lighting
Bicycle lighting has two main purposes: seeing and being seen. There are several types of bicycle lights available, each with its own adv...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Astigmatism: Encyclopedia - Astigmatism
In optics, astigmatism is the monochromatic aberration in which an optical system has different focal planes for rays in different planes...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Aperture: Encyclopedia - Aperture
In optics, an aperture is something which restricts the diameter of the light path through one plane in an optical system. This may be th...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Arthur Leonard Schawlow: Encyclopedia - Arthur Leonard Schawlow
Arthur Leonard Schawlow (May 5, 1921-April 28, 1999) was an American physicist. His mother, Helen Mason, was from Canada and his father, ...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Carbon Nanotube: Encyclopedia - Carbon Nanotube
Carbon nanotubes are cylindrical carbon molecules with novel properties that make them potentially useful in a wide variety of applicatio...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Atomic Molecular And Optical Physics: Encyclopedia - Atomic Molecular And Optical Physics
Atomic, molecular, and optical physics is the study of matter-matter and light-matter interactions on the scale of single atoms or struct...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Catastrophe Theory: Encyclopedia - Catastrophe Theory
In mathematics, catastrophe theory is a branch of bifurcation theory in the study of dynamical systems; it is also a particular special c...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Woolsthorpe Manor: Encyclopedia - Woolsthorpe Manor
Woolsthorpe Manor in Woolsthorpe-by-Colsterworth, near Grantham, Lincolnshire, England, was the birthplace of Sir Isaac Newton on Decembe...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Optical Spectrum: Encyclopedia - Optical Spectrum
The visible spectrum is the portion of the optical spectrum (light or electromagnetic spectrum) that is visible to the human eye. There a...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Carl Zeiss: Encyclopedia - Carl Zeiss
Carl Zeiss (September 11, 1816 – December 3, 1888) was an optician commonly known for the company he founded, Zeiss. Zeiss himself also...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Carl Friedrich Gauss: Encyclopedia - Carl Friedrich Gauss
Carl Friedrich Gauss (Gauß) (April 30, 1777 – February 23, 1855) was a German mathematician and scientist of profound genius who contr...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Anton Maria Schyrleus Of Rheita: Encyclopedia - Anton Maria Schyrleus Of Rheita
Anton (or Antonius) Maria Schyrleus (also Schyrl, Schyrle) of Rheita (1597-1660) (in Czech, Antonín Maria Sírek z Reity) was a Czech as...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Allvar Gullstrand: Encyclopedia - Allvar Gullstrand
Allvar Gullstrand (born June 5, 1862 in Landskrona – died July 28, 1930 in Stockholm) was a Swedish ophthalmologist. He was professor (...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Photon: Encyclopedia - Photon
In physics, the photon (from Greek φως "phos", meaning light) is the quantum of the electromagnetic field, for instance light. The ter...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Sun: Encyclopedia - Sun
(332,950 Earths) (27.9 g) The Sun (or Sol) is the star at the center of our Solar system. Earth orbits the Sun, as do many other bodies, ...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Telescope: Encyclopedia - Telescope
A telescope (from the Greek tele = 'far' and skopein = 'to look or see'; teleskopos = 'far-seeing') is an optical tool which gathers and ...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Light: Encyclopedia - Light
Light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength that is visible to the eye (visible light) or, in a technical or scientific context,...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Distortion: Encyclopedia - Distortion
A distortion is the (usually) undesirable alteration of the original shape (or other characteristic) of an object, image, sound, waveform...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Isaac Newton: Encyclopedia - Isaac Newton
Sir Isaac Newton, PRS (4 January [O.S. 25 December 1642] 1643 – 31 March [O.S. 20 March] 1727) was an English physicist, mathematician,...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Enochian: Encyclopedia - Enochian
Enochian is an occult language popularised by John Dee and Edward Kelley in the 16th Century. Dee and Kelley claimed that it was reveale...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Pupil: Encyclopedia - Pupil
In the eye, the pupil is the opening in the middle of the iris. It appears black because most of the light entering it is absorbed by the...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Coincidence: Encyclopedia - Coincidence
Coincidence literally describes two or more events or entities occupying the same point in space or time, but colloquially means two or m...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Alhazen: Encyclopedia - Alhazen
Alhazen Abu Ali al-Hasan Ibn Al-Haitham (also: Ibn al Haythen), (965-1040), was a mathematician; he is sometimes called al-Basri, after h...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - F: Encyclopedia - F
The letter F is the sixth letter in the Latin alphabet. Its name in English is ef, spelled eff when used as a verb. On keyboards, often t...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Annus Mirabilis Papers: Encyclopedia - Annus Mirabilis Papers
The Annus Mirabilis Papers (from Annus mirabilis, Latin for 'year of wonders') are the papers of Albert Einstein submitted to the "Annale...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Alchemy: Encyclopedia - Alchemy
Alchemy is an early protoscientific and philosophical discipline combining the elements of chemistry, metallurgy, physics, medicine, astr...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Albert Abraham Michelson: Encyclopedia - Albert Abraham Michelson
Albert Abraham Michelson, (pronunciation anglicized as "Michael-son", December 19, 1852 - May 9, 1931), was a Prussian-born American phys...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Visibility: Encyclopedia - Visibility
In meteorology, visibility is a measure of the distance that can be seen clearly at any given time. It is important to all forms of traff...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Airy Function: Encyclopedia - Airy Function
In mathematics, the Airy function Ai(x) is a special function, i.e., a function that appears so frequently that it deserves its own name....   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Anti-reflective Coating: Encyclopedia - Anti-reflective Coating
Anti-reflective or antireflection (AR) coatings are a type of optical coating applied to lenses and other devices to reduce reflection fr...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - 1267: Encyclopedia - 1267
For broader historical context, see 1260s and 13th century. 1267 - Events. 1267 - Europe. King Afonso III of Portugal and King Alfon...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Threshold: Encyclopedia - Threshold
In general, a threshold is a fixed location or value where an abrupt change is observed. It may also have the following meanings: In ar...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Spectrum: Encyclopedia - Spectrum
In most modern usages of the word spectrum, there is a unifying theme of a variety of possible cases between extremes at either end. Olde...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Roger Bacon: Encyclopedia - Roger Bacon
Roger Bacon (c. 1214 – 1294), also known as Doctor Mirabilis (Latin: "astounding teacher"), was one of the most famous Franciscan friar...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - X: Encyclopedia - X
X is the twenty-fourth letter of the Latin alphabet. Its name in English is ex (/ɛks/). In phonetics, x is the IPA and X-SAMPA symbol fo...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Wake Turbulence: Encyclopedia - Wake Turbulence
Wake turbulence, also known as "jetwash", is turbulence that forms behind an aircraft as it passes through the air. This turbulence can b...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - University Of Rochester: Encyclopedia - University Of Rochester
Located in Rochester, New York, USA and founded in 1850, the University of Rochester is a private, coeducational and nonsectarian researc...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Crystal Optics: Encyclopedia - Crystal Optics
Crystal optics is the branch of optics that describes the behaviour of light in anisotropic media, that is, media (such as crystals) in w...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - René Descartes: Encyclopedia - René Descartes
René Descartes (IPA: /deˈkaʁt/, March 31, 1596 – February 11, 1650), also known as Cartesius, was a noted French philosopher, mathem...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Phenomenon: Encyclopedia - Phenomenon
A phenomenon (plural: phenomena) is an observable event, especially something special (literally something that can be seen from the Gree...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Image Processing: Encyclopedia Ii - Image Processing - Typical Problems
and many more. Besides static two-dimensional images, the field also covers the processing of time-varying signals such as video and the ...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Image Processing: Encyclopedia Ii - Image Processing - Commonly Used Signal Processing Techniques
Most of the signal processing concepts that apply to one-dimensional signals also extend to the two-dimensional image signal. Some of the...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Virtual Image: Encyclopedia - Virtual Image
Virtual image is a term used in optics and physics. It is a representation of an actual object (source) formed by diverging rays of light...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Abbe Number: Encyclopedia - Abbe Number
In physics and optics, the Abbe number, also known as the V-number or constringence of a transparent material, is a measure of the materi...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Absorption Optics: Encyclopedia - Absorption Optics
Absorption, in optics, is the process by which the energy of a photon is taken up by another entity, for example, by an atom whose valenc...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Odem: Encyclopedia - Odem
Odem (אודם) is a cooperative moshav situated in the northern part of the Golan Heights. It is located on Mount Odem, at a height of 1...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Glasses: Encyclopedia - Glasses
Glasses, spectacles, or eyeglasses are frames bearing lenses worn in front of the human eyes, sometimes for purely aesthetic reasons but ...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - University Of Michigan: Encyclopedia - University Of Michigan
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (U-M, "U of M", or U-Mich) is a public coeducational university ...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Complement: Encyclopedia - Complement
The word complement (with an e in the second syllable, not to be confused with a different word, compliment with an i) has a number of us...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Coherence: Encyclopedia - Coherence
Coherence is from Latin cohaerere = stick together, to be connected with, logically consistent. See: Coherence (physics). Coherence is a...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - David Brewster: Encyclopedia - David Brewster
Sir David Brewster, (December 11, 1781 – February 10, 1868) was a Scottish scientist and writer. He was born at Jedburgh, where his fat...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Coherent State: Encyclopedia - Coherent State
In quantum mechanics a coherent state is a specific kind of quantum state of the quantum harmonic oscillator whose dynamics most closely ...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Computer Vision: Encyclopedia - Computer Vision
Computer vision is the study and application of methods which allow computers to "understand" image content or content of multidimensiona...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Wigner Quasi-probability Distribution: Encyclopedia - Wigner Quasi-probability Distribution
The Wigner quasi-probability distribution was introduced by Eugene Wigner in 1932 to study quantum corrections to classical statistical m...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Line Mathematics: Encyclopedia - Line Mathematics
A line, or straight line, can be described as an (infinitely) thin, (infinitely) long, perfectly straight curve (the term curve in mathem...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - William Rowan Hamilton: Encyclopedia - William Rowan Hamilton
Sir William Rowan Hamilton (August 4, 1805 – September 2, 1865) was an Irish mathematician, physicist, and astronomer who made importan...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Culture Of The United Kingdom: Encyclopedia - Culture Of The United Kingdom
The culture of the United Kingdom is rich and varied, and has been influential on culture on a worldwide scale. It is a European country,...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Culture Of Greece: Encyclopedia - Culture Of Greece
The culture of Greece has evolved over thousands of years, with its beginnings in Ancient Greece, through the influence of the Roman Empi...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Vignetting: Encyclopedia - Vignetting
In photography and optics, vignetting refers to a reduction in image brightness in the image periphery compared to the image center. Vign...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Wavelet: Encyclopedia - Wavelet
In mathematics, wavelets, wavelet analysis, and the wavelet transform refers to the representation of a signal in terms of a finite lengt...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Very Long Baseline Interferometry: Encyclopedia - Very Long Baseline Interferometry
Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) is a type of interferometry in which the data received at each antenna in the array is paired wi...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Condenser: Encyclopedia - Condenser
The term condenser has the following meanings: In electronics, it is a less-commonly used word for capacitor; more often found in non-el...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Degree Of Coherence: Encyclopedia Ii - Degree Of Coherence - Degree Of First-order Coherence
Where <> denotes an ensemble (statistical) average. For non-stationary states, such as pulses, the ensemble is made up of many pul...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Henri Poincaré: Encyclopedia Ii - Henri Poincaré - Life
Poincaré was born on April 29, 1854 in Cité Ducale neighborhood, Nancy, France into an influential family (Belliver, 1956). His father ...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Optical Fiber: Encyclopedia Ii - Optical Fiber - Optical Fiber Communication
The optical fiber can be used as a medium for telecommunication and networking because it is flexible and can be bundled as cables. Altho...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - George Gabriel Stokes: Encyclopedia Ii - George Gabriel Stokes - Contributions To Science
In content his work is distinguished by a certain definiteness and finality, and even of problems which, when he attacked them, were scar...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Culture Of Greece: Encyclopedia Ii - Culture Of Greece - Art And Architecture
The art and architecture of ancient Greece have greatly influenced Western art through the present day. Byzantine art and architecture al...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Hero Of Alexandria: Encyclopedia Ii - Hero Of Alexandria - Publications
The complete surviving works are Pneumatica (Greek, c. 60), Automata (Greek), Mechanics (Arabic), Metrics (Arabic), Dioptra (Arabic). I...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Islamic Golden Age: Encyclopedia Ii - Islamic Golden Age - Commerce And Urban Life
From the very beginning, the foundation of Islamic civilization was urban and business oriented, and its growth in population and agricul...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - F: Encyclopedia Ii - F - History
F developed from the digraph FH that stood for /f/. The Etruscans were the inventors of this digraph; F on its own stood for /w/ in Etrus...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Jagdish Chandra Bose: Encyclopedia Ii - Jagdish Chandra Bose - Radio Research
In November 1894 J.C. Bose ignited gunpowder and rang a bell at a distance using electromagnetic waves, confirming that communication sig...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Voltaire: Encyclopedia Ii - Voltaire - Biography
Voltaire - Early years. Voltaire was born in Paris, France in 1694, the son of a notary (one who certifies legal documents) named Franc...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Josiah Willard Gibbs: Encyclopedia Ii - Josiah Willard Gibbs - Biography
Gibbs' scientific career can be divided into four phases. Up until 1879, he worked on the theory of thermodynamics. From 1880 to 1884, he...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - James Clerk Maxwell: Encyclopedia Ii - James Clerk Maxwell - Biography
James Clerk Maxwell - Early years. Maxwell was born at 14 India Street, Edinburgh, Scotland. He was the only child of Edinburgh lawyer ...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Carl Friedrich Gauss: Encyclopedia Ii - Carl Friedrich Gauss - Biography
Carl Friedrich Gauss - Early years. Gauss was born in Brunswick, in the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg (now part of Lower Saxony, Germany...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Isaac Newton: Encyclopedia Ii - Isaac Newton - Biography
Isaac Newton - Early years. For more details on this topic, see Isaac Newton's early life and achievements. Newton was born in Woolst...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - History Of Science In The Middle Ages: Encyclopedia Ii - History Of Science In The Middle Ages - The Middle Ages: Western World
History of science in the Middle Ages - Early Middle Ages. See also: Medieval medicine, Medieval philosophy With the loss of the Wester...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Isaac Newton's Early Life And Achievements: Encyclopedia Ii - Isaac Newton's Early Life And Achievements - The Composition Of White Light
On December 21, 1671 he was proposed as a candidate for admission into the Royal Society by Dr Seth Ward, bishop of Salisbury, and on Jan...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Fresnel Integral: Encyclopedia Ii - Fresnel Integral - Cornu Spiral
The Cornu spiral, a.k.a. clothoid, is the curve generated by a parametric plot of S(x) against C(x). The Cornu spiral was created by Mari...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Visible Spectrum: Encyclopedia Ii - Visible Spectrum - Historical Use Of The Term
Two of the earliest explanations of the optical spectrum came from Newton, when he wrote his Optiks, and from Goethe, in his Theory of Co...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Astrophysical Maser: Encyclopedia Ii - Astrophysical Maser - Background
Astrophysical maser - Discrete Transition Energy. Like a laser, the emission from a maser is stimulated (or seeded) and monochromatic, ...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Carl Friedrich Gauss: Encyclopedia Ii - Carl Friedrich Gauss - Biography
Carl Friedrich Gauss - Early years. Gauss was born in Braunschweig, in the Duchy of Branschweig-Lüneburg (now part of Lower Saxony, Ge...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Dutch Golden Age: Encyclopedia Ii - Dutch Golden Age - Visual Arts
Dutch Golden Age - Painting. As mentioned before (see section Culture) Dutch artists had quite different customers from their colleague...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Henri Poincaré: Encyclopedia Ii - Henri Poincaré - Work
Poincaré made many contributions to different fields of applied mathematics such as: celestial mechanics, fluid mechanics, optics, elect...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Leonhard Euler/eb1911 Biography: Encyclopedia Ii - Leonhard Euler/eb1911 Biography - Moon
In 1755 Euler had been elected a foreign member of the Academy of Sciences at Paris, and some time afterwards the academical prize was ad...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Laplace Transform: Encyclopedia Ii - Laplace Transform - Applications
The Laplace transform is used frequently in engineering and physics; the output of a linear dynamic system can be calculated by convolvin...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Depth Of Field: Encyclopedia Ii - Depth Of Field - Definition Of Focus
Several factors determine whether the objective error in focus becomes noticeable. Subject matter, movement, the distance of the subject ...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Dispersion Optics: Encyclopedia Ii - Dispersion Optics - Group And Phase Velocity
Another consequence of dispersion manifests itself as a temporal effect. The formula above, v = c / n calculates the phase velocity of a ...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Johannes Kepler: Encyclopedia Ii - Johannes Kepler - Work
Kepler lived in an era when there was no clear distinction between astronomy and astrology, while there was a strong division between ast...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Josiah Willard Gibbs: Encyclopedia Ii - Josiah Willard Gibbs - Biography
Gibbs' scientific career can be divided into four phases: Until 1879: theoretical thermodynamics. 1880-1884: vector analysis. 1882 to 18...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - James Clerk Maxwell: Encyclopedia Ii - James Clerk Maxwell - Biography
James Clerk Maxwell - Early years. Maxwell was born at 14 India Street, Edinburgh, Scotland. He was the only child of Edinburgh lawyer ...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Optical Fiber: Encyclopedia Ii - Optical Fiber - Optical Fiber Communication
The optical fiber can be used as a medium for telecommunication and networking because it is flexible and can be bundled as cables. Altho...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Francesco Maurolico: Encyclopedia Ii - Francesco Maurolico - Accomplishments
Like his father, Maurolico also became head of the Messina mint and for a time was in charge of maintaining the fortifications of the cit...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Flashlight: Encyclopedia Ii - Flashlight - Other Power Sources
Since batteries can be a burdensome cost in developed countries, let alone in the third world, the development of self-powered torches is...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Group Delay: Encyclopedia Ii - Group Delay - Group Delay In The Audio Field
Group delay has some importance also in the audio field and especially in the sound reproduction field. Many components of an audio repro...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Optical Amplifier: Encyclopedia Ii - Optical Amplifier - Doped Fiber Amplifiers
Fiber amplifiers are optical amplifiers which use a doped optical fiber, which bears the communication signal, and is optically pumped wi...   » Read the article