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Optics
Optics
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Optics is a branch of
physics that describes the behavior and properties of
light and the interaction of
light with
matter. Optics explains and is illuminated by
optical phenomena.
The field of optics usually describes the
behavior of
visible,
infrared and
ultraviolet light; however since
light is an
electromagnetic wave, analogous phenomena occur in
X-rays,
microwaves,
radio waves, and other forms of
electromagnetic radiation. Optics can thus be regarded as a
sub-field of
electromagnetism. Some optical phenomena depend on the quantum nature of
light and as such some areas of optics are also related to
quantum mechanics.
Optics, however, as a field is often considered largely
separate from the physics community. It has its own identity, societies, and
conferences. The pure science aspects of the field are often called Optical
Science or Optical Physics. Applied optical sciences are often called optical
engineering. Applications of optical enginering related specifically to
illumination systems is called illumination engineering. Each of these
disciplines tends to be quite different in its applications, technical skills,
focus, and professional affiliations.
Because of the wide application of the science of "light" to
real-world applications, the area of optical science, and optical engineering
tends to be very cross-disiplinary. You will find optical science a part of many
related disciplines including electrical engineering, physics, psychology,
medicine, and others.
Classical or geometric optics,
sometimes called ray optics is the branch of optics that
describes
light
propagation in terms of rays. Rays are bent at the
interface between two dissimilar media, and may be curved in a
medium in which the
refractive index is a function of position. The
ray
in geometric optics is perpendicular to the
wavefront in
physical optics.
Geometric optics of:
-
lenses
-
mirrors
-
prisms
-
optical instruments
Modern Optics is a term used to describe areas of optical
science and engineering that became popular in the 20th century. These areas of
optical science typically relate to the electromagnetic or quantum properties of
light but do include other topics.
-
color science
-
illumination engineering
-
human visual system
-
optical communication systems
-
image processing
-
pattern recognition
-
thermal physics - radiative heat transfer
-
optical data storage (science of)
-
electronic displays (science of)
-
photography (science of)
-
information theory
-
material science - optical properties
-
optical computers
Optics is part of everyday life.
Rainbows and appearances of
Fata Morgana or the
Green ray are examples of
optical phenomena.
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