Definitions

Specially designed optics for the observation and photographing of hydrogen in a bubble chamber.

The photographic recording of gas bubbles produced when particles traverse liquid hydrogen in a bubble chamber.

1. In fiber optics, a protective material applied as an optical fiber cover that has no optical function. 2. In image processing, a peripheral that stores data between two active processing stages.

A sound wave that travels through a piezoelectric material.

A device that functions throughout the continuous radiation of a linearly polarized plane wave, and whose nonreciprocity arises from the Faraday rotation of linearly polarized radiation.

The scattering of light within a medium.

A conical or cylindrical package of light rays emanating from a common point on the object.

A photometer screen that contains a diaphragm of paper or parchment with a translucent central spot of oil or paraffin.

The law stating that the amount of chemical change produced is proportional to the amount of light absorbed. Actually, the change is also dependent on the intensity of light -- a fact named the...

A surface imperfection caused by a polisher running dry too long. It occurs with felt or plastic polishers, and may appear as a reddish brown.

The operation of a laser diode or other component prior to its use in its intended application, as a means of testing and stabilizing it.

A detector's ability to sense an object on the opposite side of a thin but opaque barrier such as cardboard.

A convex lens that brings an incident bundle of rays to a focus to produce intense heat at the focus.

The process of lapping a thin edge of metal over the bevelled edge of a lens to maintain it within its cell.

A high-frequency pulse-rate laser with an output limited by the heat capacity of the laser medium. Instead of having continuous cooling, the laser operates until the medium reaches a maximum...

The measure used in vacuum technology to quantify the total pressure capacity of the ferrofluidic seal before it fails.

A local area network topology in which all nodes are tapped off a single cable, and all hear every transmission on the cable.

An electric filter that is characterized by a passband of the flattest possible shape.

A piece of glass with a high refractive index that is fused to the major blank.

The production of a block by attaching the optical elements to a plate by means of individual buttons of pitch or other thermoplastic material.

The number of bits used to represent a character.

A standard lens interface initially made for 16mm movie cameras and now used primarily on closed-circuit television cameras. It is a 1-in.-diameter, 32-thread-per-inch interface with a...

A portion of computer memory that is used for temporary storage of frequently accessed data. Substantially increases computer speed.

A mercury vapor discharge lamp that has cadmium added to emit radiation in the red region as a complement to the mercury vapor's blue and green radiation.

The three lines in the spectrum of cadmium that have the purest radiations and that were first used by Michelson to calculate the standard meter.

The narrowest line of the cadmium spectrum; the red line has the purest radiation.

An inorganic compound, yellow to orange in color, that fluoresces strongly enough when bombarded by a high-current-density electron beam to be used as a high-intensity light source.

A photoconductive cell having cadmium sulfide as its photoconducting material for the production of a very high dark-light resistance ratio.

A doubly refracting mineral used to produce polarizing prisms. It is uniaxial negative and in the trigonal division of the hexagonal system of crystals. Its indices are e = 1.486, w = 1.658; its...

A microscope that allows examination of a small crystal and conveniently provides linearly polarized object and reference beams so that, by suitable orientation of an anisotropic crystal, the optical...

An optical material used in place of crown glass to produce lenses with extraordinary correction of chromatic aberrations. Its high coefficient of thermal expansion and its tendency to absorb...

A calcium indicator is a molecule that is sensitive to changes in calcium ion (Ca2+) concentrations in biological systems. These indicators are commonly used in various fields, including cell...

A hygroscopic powder used in the photographic process.

White, tetragonal crystals used in the production of luminous coatings.

A lamp whose output can be traced to a standard light source.

An optical wedge in which transmittance or density is a function of the location of the wedge, relative to a specific optical system.

Any known value derived from standard analysis that serves as a reference to the accuracy of an instrument or process in determining one or more variables.

The coefficient termed by Callier as the ratio between the density of photographic negatives measured by parallel light and that measured by diffuse light, due to scattering effects. This effect is...

The selective scattering of light as it passes through a diffusing medium.

The production of visible light by infrared radiation whereby the light is produced by heat and not by any direct change in wavelength; the transformation is indirect.

Name originally given to the sun's infrared radiation by Sir William Herschel in his Philosophical Transactions of 1800.

An instrument used to measure the change of heat content of a system by measuring microwave power in terms of generated heat.

Calorimetry is a branch of science that involves the measurement of heat flow in physical or chemical processes. It encompasses various techniques and instruments used to quantify heat transfer,...

An electromagnetic device used to separate isotopes of elements based on their respective masses.