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Posted on: Monday, October 24th, 2022 In: Learning Optics with Austin
In this final post on types of lenses, we will be investigating fisheye, telecentric, and short-wave infrared (SWIR) lenses. The field of view for lenses is normally less than 60 degrees. The field of view for fisheye lenses, however, can go up to 175 degrees, which is very close to 180 degrees. Fisheye lenses are […]
Read morePosted on: Tuesday, October 11th, 2022 In: Learning Optics with Austin
Projection lenses are another common application of optics. They differ from microscope lenses in that microscope lenses magnify what the human eye cannot see. Rather than zooming into an image, projection lenses enlarge the sample and PROJECT it. Just as with microscope objectives, there are certain design factors that must be taken into consideration when […]
Read morePosted on: Wednesday, September 28th, 2022 In: Blog, Learning Optics with Austin
Microscope objective lenses are a classic example of optics in our lives. The function of the microscope is to enlarge objects our eyes cannot see. Unlike telescopes which enlarge far away objects, the sample observed by the microscope is close to the lens. Microscopes also correct aberration, which otherwise would lead to blurry images. Achromatic […]
Read morePosted on: Monday, August 29th, 2022 In: Learning Optics with Austin
In theory, the entire lens would be up to the qualifications set by the customer. After all, if a customer ordered a 150mm lens, the whole 150mm lens should be up to specification… right? Wrong. This is because in the real world, nothing can be manufactured precisely as specified. While on paper the entire lens […]
Read morePosted on: Friday, August 12th, 2022 In: Learning Optics with Austin
We briefly discussed spherical and aspherical lenses in “Intro to Optical Components”. Spherical lenses can further be broken down into different categories. Plano convex lenses are flat on one side while spherical on the other. Biconvex lenses are spherical on both sides. Similarly, for concave lenses, plano concave lenses are flat on one side and […]
Read morePosted on: Monday, August 1st, 2022 In: Learning Optics with Austin
Lenses come in all different forms, not just through the process of manufacturing. In fact, our own eyes are an optical system. Four main “components” to our eye are: 1) muscle, 2) lens (crystalline), 3) Pupil, 4) Retina. Closing your eyes when there are bright lights is an act of the muscles while the pupil […]
Read morePosted on: Tuesday, July 12th, 2022 In: Learning Optics with Austin
Light sources such as the sun give off light, but why? The equation E = hf relates the wavelength of light to energy where E is energy, h is Planck’s constant, and f is the frequency. Since we know from “How to Describe Light” that f = c / λ, we can also rewrite the […]
Read morePosted on: Tuesday, June 21st, 2022 In: Learning Optics with Austin
With the knowledge of interference and polarization, it is time to talk about the practical applications of both! Diffraction gratings are used to change the path of light and there are two types: transmission grating and reflection grating. A transmission grating utilizes diffraction to break light apart into different colors. A reflection grating has a […]
Read morePosted on: Monday, June 6th, 2022 In: Learning Optics with Austin
Now that we have explored light waves, we can dive more in depth into polarization. In how to describe light, we mentioned that sunlight is a form of unpolarized light or natural light. But what exactly causes light to become polarized? As light is an electromagnetic wave, it has both an electric field and magnetic […]
Read morePosted on: Friday, May 13th, 2022 In: Learning Optics with Austin
We left off in the interference post using water waves to represent the interference that occurs between light waves. A well known experiment having to do with interference of light is the double-slit experiment. In this experiment, light passes through two slits before reaching a screen. Rather than just one band of light, bands of […]
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