Definitions: C

The deformation of a material at high levels of stress, often associated with elevated temperatures.

The limited light-gathering area of an optical system. The area is normally restricted to an edge or outer surface of an individual component. Also known as free aperture or objective aperture. The...

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.

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...

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,...

Carbonization is a process in which organic materials are heated in the absence of air, leading to the decomposition of the material and the production of carbon-rich residue. During carbonization,...

Carrier injection refers to the process of introducing charge carriers (either electrons or holes) into a semiconductor material. Semiconductors are materials with electrical conductivity between...

A two-mirror lens design used in astronomical telescopes, the primary being a parabola, the secondary a smaller hyperbola. The image formed is free of spherical aberration and color and is located...

A cathode is an electrode through which electric current flows out of a polarized electrical device. In different contexts, the specific role and behavior of the cathode can vary, but it generally...

The luminous trace formed on the cathode-ray tube screen by the motion of the electron beam.

A vacuum tube with an electron gun at one end and a fluorescent screen at the other. Electrons emitted from a heated filament are accelerated by a series of annular anodes at progressively higher...

Computer hardware or firmware that accesses character patterns stored in read-only memory and displays them at specific coordinates on a screen.

Chirality is a property of certain molecules and objects in which they are non-superimposable on their mirror images. In other words, a chiral object or molecule cannot be exactly superimposed onto...

The plane diagram produced by plotting one of the three chromaticity coordinates (X,Y,Z) against another. The most common diagram is the CIE (X,Y) diagram, which is plotted in rectangular coordinates.

The application of a cine camera in recording the images on a fluorescent screen. When x-rays are used to produce the screen images, this process is referred to as cine-radiography.

The photographic filming of the action of x-ray images recorded on a fluorescent screen by means of large lens apertures and highly sensitive filters.

Circular dichroism (CD) is a spectroscopic technique used to study the structural characteristics of chiral (asymmetric) molecules, particularly biomolecules like proteins, nucleic acids, and certain...

A passive device, having three or more ports, in which input light from one port is coupled only to the next sequential port in a given direction and is prevented from traveling in any other...

A method of lasing in which free electrons in a laser-produced plasma collide with neonlike ions to excite electrons to states that decay at different speeds, producing a population inversion.

A test used to measure the degree of fading of different colored materials, especially those involving organic dyes, which tend to fade when exposed to bright sunlight, to a damp atmosphere or to...

The transmission of a color photograph by separating the colors into varying intensities of red, blue and green, and then sending separate transmissions of the three color signals to a receiving...

The recording of three or more separate holograms having a different color on a medium, so that illumination with a tricolor beam yields three separate wavefronts, each representing one of the...

Equipment for testing an observer's color vision. Some tests require the identification or ordering of colored samples. The commercially available examples include: the Ishihara plates, on which...

Film that produces color negatives or transparencies by the use of three emulsions, one coated over the other, that are each sensitive to one of the colors red, blue or green.

An instrument that uses a beam of light to scan a color transparency, and three differently filtered photosensors to record the transmitted beam, as a means of producing three exposed separation...

The entire range of colors a specific color model can produce, represented as a three-dimensional solid.

A television system that is capable of producing an image whose colors approximate the colors of the original, by the use of additive color mixing of the three primary colors.

Color vision refers to the ability of organisms to perceive and distinguish different wavelengths of light as different colors. It is a sensory ability that allows humans and many other animals to...

Situation in which the observer requires fewer than three independent stimuli to make color matches. Dichromats require only two stimuli and are classified as protanopes and deuteranopes (both...

A type of compound microscope that uses three visible wavelengths to translate details produced by invisible radiation.

A colorimeter is a device used to measure and quantify the color characteristics of an object or a light source. It provides objective and standardized color information, typically expressed in terms...

The heat-treating method in which the index of refraction of glass is fixed near or at its maximum value by holding the glass for different periods at suitable degrees of heat below the range of...

1. An eyepiece or magnifier with a scale at its image plane. That scale is placed in contact with an object, permitting direct measurement of its size. 2. Also called traveling stage and traveling...

A semiconductor made up of two or more elements, in contrast to those composed of a single element such as germanium or silicon. In a III-V semiconductor, for example, one or more elements having...

Computer numerically controlled (CNC) grinding is a manufacturing process that utilizes computerized controls and precision machining tools to remove material from a workpiece. In CNC grinding, a...

Computer vision enables computers to interpret and make decisions based on visual data, such as images and videos. It involves the development of algorithms, techniques, and systems that enable...

A camera system capable of producing microfilm copies of computerized data presented on a screen.

Also known as real holographic image. The indistinct, highly distorted image produced on the side of the hologram closest to the observer, in addition to the primary image. When the location of the...

A fluorographic method whereby the sensitive photographic medium is pressed against a fluorescent screen to form a visible image.

An inspection device in which the profile of a mechanical part is projected onto a ground-glass screen at a precisely known magnification so that the shape of the part can be compared with a scale...

The generation, usually by a cathode-ray oscilloscope, of a two-dimensional image having a three-dimensional appearance.