Sections
Glossary
Glossary
- converging lens
- a convex lens in which light rays that enter it parallel to its axis converge at a single point on the opposite side
- converging mirror
- a concave mirror in which light rays that strike it parallel to its axis converge at one or more points along the axis
- corner reflector
- an object consisting of two mutually perpendicular reflecting surfaces, so that the light that enters is reflected back exactly parallel to the direction from which it came
- critical angle
- incident angle that produces an angle of refraction of
- diverging lens
- a concave lens in which light rays that enter it parallel to its axis bend away (diverge) from its axis
- diverging mirror
- a convex mirror in which light rays that strike it parallel to its axis bend away (diverge) from its axis
- fiber optics
- transmission of light down fibers of plastic or glass, applying the principle of total internal reflection
- focal length
- distance from the center of a lens or curved mirror to its focal point
- focal point
- for a converging lens or mirror, the point at which converging light rays cross; for a diverging lens or mirror, the point from which diverging light rays appear to originate
- geometric optics
- part of optics dealing with the ray aspect of light
- index of refraction
- for a material, the ratio of the speed of light in vacuum to that in the material
- law of reflection
- angle of reflection equals the angle of incidence
- law of reflection
- angle of reflection equals the angle of incidence
- magnification
- ratio of image height to object height
- mirror
- smooth surface that reflects light at specific angles, forming an image of the person or object in front of it
- power
- inverse of focal length
- ray
- straight line that originates at some point
- real image
- image that can be projected
- refraction
- changing of a light ray’s direction when it passes through variations in matter
- virtual image
- image that cannot be projected
- zircon
- natural gemstone with a large index of refraction