Geometrical Optics¶
Geometrical optics (or ray optics) is a model of optics that describes light propagation in terms of rays. The ray in geometrical optics is an abstraction useful for approximating the paths along which light propagates under certain circumstances. The rays are assumed to propagate in a straight path in a homogeneous medium, and curve when the refractive index changes.
The small-angle approximation is an approximation that is valid when the size of a spherical mirror is significantly smaller than the mirror’s radius; in this approximation, spherical aberration is negligible and the mirror has a well-defined focal point.
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Contents:
- Invariants (Geometrical Optics)
- Lenses
- Lens focus from object and image
- Linear magnification from distance to object and distance to image
- Linear magnification from object height and image height
- Optical power from focus distance
- Optical power from thin lens radii and refractive indices
- Optical power of spherical lens from refractive indices and distances
- Mirrors
- Prisms
- Refraction (Geometrical Optics)
- Telescopes