Photonics Dictionary

A mode of transmission whereby the sending and receiving stations operate continuously at a fixed relationship of phase and frequency, generating signals to control the timing of the data that are to...

A synchrotron is a type of particle accelerator that uses magnetic fields to steer charged particles, typically electrons or positrons, in a closed, circular or elliptical path. The name synchrotron...

Radiation emitted by electrons when they travel in circular orbits at speeds close to that of light. Synchrotron radiation occurs in the x-ray and ultraviolet regions of the spectrum. Once considered...

Imaging radar that increases the sweep of its along-track (or azimuth) capacity by measuring not only the time delay of the echoes returning from the microwave pulse transmitted by its antenna (or...

An imaging technique in which an object moving through an interference field formed in space scatters light and is spatially recorded on a photographic film as a hologram. If the interference field...

A combination of components arranged so as to perform at least one function.

A system-on-chip (SoC) is an integrated circuit (IC) that incorporates all necessary components of a computer or electronic system onto a single chip. This typically includes a microprocessor or...

The equivalent f number of a fictitious lens that has a circular opening and 100 percent transmittance, which would give the same central illumination as the lens being considered: where...

An instrument designed to measure the rate of rotation of components, such as shafts.

One lumen-second, the SI unit of the quantity of light.

The series of interference bands that appear in the spectrum when a specified glass plate is inserted into a spectroscope, from the side of the blue portion of the spectrum, so that the plate...

The law stating that the brightness of an object that is examined through a slotted disc, rotating over a critical frequency, is proportional to the angular aperture divided by the opaque sectors.

In optics, a shape often given to the leading edge of a projectile. In any side view it appears as a pointed arc, while any cross section perpendicular to its long axis appears as a circle.

Optical aberration such that image magnification varies with ray distance from the optical axis in a radial distortion.

A device for extracting a portion of the optical signal from a fiber.

A waveguide having a characteristic that is altered continuously with the distance traveled, relative to the axis of its path.

1. The anode or anticathode of an x-ray tube that emits x-rays when bombarded by electrons. 2. The screen in a television imaging tube that is scanned by an electron beam to determine the...

Measurement estimated from the position of the image's centroid.

Angular tracking measurement estimated from the properly normalized image second-moment tensor.

States that in interferometers in which the separation of the maxima is equal to the half-value width, a slight drop in intensity between fringes is distinguishable and the fringes can be considered...

In television, a lateral displacement of the lines from their normal position due to the instability of a synchronizing circuit. Visually, it appears as though parts of the images had been torn away.

The color process that is used to form positive color cine films by dye transfer or imbibition, based on the use of separate matrices that superimpose yellow, magenta and cyan dye images on the final...

There are three types of telecentric lenses: -Image-space telecentric lenses are those in which the aperture stop is located at the front focus, resulting in the chief rays being parallel to the...

1. The term used to describe any of the many instruments used to remotely record physical dimensions, such as strain, temperature or pressure, and transmit this data to a receiving station. 2. A...

The science of sensing and measuring information at some remote location and transmitting the data to a convenient location for reading or recording.

A compound lens so constructed that its overall length is equal to or less than its effective focal length.

The ratio between the focal length of a lens having a longer focal length than that of the standard lens used with a camera, and the focal length of the standard lens. It is used to provide an...

In a telephoto lens, the ratio of the overall length to the focal length of the lens. It is generally about 0.8 to 0.9 in magnitude.

1. A method of photographing distant objects with a lens of long focal length. 2. The reproduction of photographs over a distance by means of electricity.

An instrument used to measure the luminance (brightness) of a distant object. The object is viewed through a small telescope, and a mirror in the focal plane reflects an internal illuminated surface...

The principles and techniques involved in the use of telephotometers to measure atmospheric extinction.

The use of head-mounted displays and body-operated remote actuators to control distant machinery. Provides a virtual environment for humans to control devices, robots, etc., in a hostile real...

A method of taking radiographs at a distance from the object being photographed to decrease distortion.

An afocal optical device made up of lenses or mirrors, usually with a magnification greater than unity, that renders distant objects more distinct, by enlarging their images on the retina.

The image of the aperture stop, usually the objective lens, that is produced by the eye lens. When the exit pupil of the telescope coincides with the entrance pupil of the eye of the observer, the...

A telescope lens is a primary optical component of a telescope system that gathers and focuses light to form an image. It is typically a curved, transparent piece of glass or other optical material...

The base used to hold an astronomical telescope. It may be either altazimuth, with horizontal and vertical axes of rotation, or equatorial, with one axis parallel to the Earth's axis of rotation and...

To transform a picture or image field into a television signal for transmission.

The term that represents the size of one of the many small elements into which a television image is necessarily broken down for transmission.