Menu
Home
Explore
People
Places
Arts
History
Plants & Animals
Science
Life & Culture
Technology
Reference.org
Sign In
Science
Physics
Atomic, molecular and optical physics
Optics
Optics
Angle of incidence (optics)
Angle between a ray incident on a surface and the line perpendicular to the surface at the point of incidence
Aperture
Hole or opening through which light travels
Beer–Lambert law
Law describing absorption of light
Birefringence
Optical phenomenon
Circular polarization
Polarization state
Dispersion (optics)
Dependence of phase velocity on frequency
Focal length
Measure of how strongly an optical system converges or diverges light
Focus (optics)
A point in an optical system where light rays originating from a point on the object converge
Fourier optics
Study of classical optics using Fourier transforms
Fresnel equations
Equations of light transmission and reflection
Geometrical optics
Model of optics describing light as geometric rays
Illuminance
Luminous flux incident on a surface per area
Intensity (physics)
Power transferred per unit area
Linear polarization
Confinement of the electric field vector or magnetic field vector to a given plane along the direction of propagation
Luminous flux
Physical quantity
Luminous intensity
Visible light per unit solid angle
Nonlinear optics
Branch of physics
Opacity
Property of an object or substance that is impervious to light
Optical coating
Material which alters light reflection or transmission on optics
Optical depth
Natural logarithm of the ratio of incident to transmitted radiant power through a material; the absorbance × ln(10)
Optical power
Physical quantity
OPTICS algorithm
Algorithm for finding density based clusters in spatial data
Photometry (optics)
Science of the measurement of light in terms of perceived brightness
Photonics
Branch of physics related to the technical applications of light
Physical optics
Branch of optics
Polarization (waves)
Property of waves that can oscillate with more than one orientation
Ray (optics)
Idealized model of light
Rayleigh scattering
The scattering of electromagnetic radiation by particles smaller than the radiation's wavelength
Reflection (physics)
"Bouncing back" of waves at an interface
Reflection coefficient
Measure of wave reflectivity
Refraction
Physics; change in direction of a wave
Refractive index
Ratio of the speed of light in vacuum to that in the medium
Shadow
Area where direct light from a light source cannot reach due to obstruction by an object
Snell's law
Formula for refraction angles
Stokes parameters
Set of values that describe the polarization state of electromagnetic radiation
Total internal reflection
Optical phenomenon in which light is completely reflected at the boundary between a medium with a high index of refraction and a medium with a lower one
Transmission coefficient
Coefficient describing the amplitude, intensity, or total power of a transmitted wave relative to an incident wave
Transparency and translucency
Property of an object or substance to transmit light with minimal scattering
Virtual image
Image formed by optics or spherical mirrors,that diminished or magnified.