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20 terms
Photonics Dictionary: C
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collimating telescope
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collimator
An optical instrument consisting of a well- corrected objective lens or mirror with a light source and or object/image (i.e. illuminated slit or retical) at its focal plane. Collimators are used to...
cosmic ray telescope
A system consisting of two or more Geiger-Müller counters, connected in coincidence with their centers on an axis. The only particles recorded are those traversing all counters, near the axis,...
Cassegrain lens system
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...
cathetometer
A type of comparator with a telescope equipped with a cross wire mounted on a vertical sliding column. It is used to measure vertical distances on fairly near objects.
catoptrics
Catoptrics is the field of optics concerned with the reflection of light from reflective surfaces such as mirrors. It encompasses the study and analysis of how light rays interact with these...
central obstruction
In a reflecting telescope, the obstruction of the primary mirror by a secondary mirror which blocks a small amount of the light reflected by the primary mirror and introduces additional diffraction.
centration
Centration is the precise alignment of the optical center of a lens or optical element with its mechanical center or the axis of the mounting assembly. It is crucial for ensuring that the optical...
chromatic aberration
Chromatic aberration is an optical phenomenon that occurs when different wavelengths (colors) of light are refracted by a lens or optical system, leading to a failure to focus all colors to the same...
chromatic difference of magnification
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chromatic aberration
Chromatic aberration is an optical phenomenon that occurs when different wavelengths (colors) of light are refracted by a lens or optical system, leading to a failure to focus all colors to the same...
chromatic dispersion
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dispersion
Dispersion refers to the phenomenon where different wavelengths (colors) of light travel at different speeds when passing through a medium. This variation in the speed of light for different colors...
cinesextant
An optical instrument used to track and image a test vehicle (target) throughout its flight. The cinesextant frequently includes multiple devices such as high-speed video and film cameras as well as...
cinetheodolite
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phototheodolite
A camera equipped with angular scales in altitude and azimuth. The scale readings are imprinted on the film when an exposure is made. The exact point indicated by the scale readings is shown by...
clinometer
An instrument for measuring the vertical angle of an object. It usually contains an accurately made protractor, a sensitive level bubble, and a sighting device, such as a small telescope.
coelostat
A plane mirror mounted on a polar axis that lies parallel to the plane of the mirror. When the mirror is rotated once in 48 hours, celestial objects can be made to appear stationary and are...
compensating wedge
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measuring wedge
A wedge in a rangefinder or heightfinder used to displace the image produced by one telescope so that it coincides with that produced by the other telescope, thus affording a measurement of the...
concave
Concave is an adjective used to describe a surface or shape that curves inward or has a hollow or recessed appearance. In the context of geometry or optics, a concave shape is one that curves or...
concave and convex spherical mirror
Concave and convex spherical mirrors are types of curved mirrors that have surfaces shaped like segments of spheres. These mirrors are commonly used in optics for various applications, including...
convexo-concave lens
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meniscus lens
A meniscus lens is an optical lens that has one side that is concave (curved inward) and the other side that is convex (curved outward). It can be categorized into two types based on its optical...
coronagraph
A telescope in which a mask occults the solar disk, generating an artificial eclipse and allowing observation and recording of the sun's corona.
coudé
A set of mirrors along a telescope's polar axis designed to redirect light to a fixed position without being affected by the motion or position of the telescope. From the French word for "elbow."
Photonics Dictionary
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