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Optics

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    • How Do Optics Work?

      Optic lenses are substances that allow light to pass through them while manipulating its density or its trajectory. They are typically made from glass or plastic, but can be constructed from any material that is clear enough to allow at least some light to pass through it. The purpose of optics is to either project an image onto a... more »

    • Advantages of Fiber Optic Cables

      Fiber optic cables are being used more frequently to transmit cable TV, provide Internet access and make phone service available to homes and businesses. Fiber optic may seem like new technology, but has in fact been around for centuries, and the cables offer many advantages over copper. more »

    • What Is a Flip Video?

      Flip Video is a brand of compact digital camcorders designed for people who want a pocket-sized affordable camcorder. The camcorders typically don't have all the bells and whistles of other camcorders on the market, but are also available at astoundingly low price, making the spec compromise often worth it for some consumers. more »

    • What Are Optical Fibers?

      For much of the 20th century, communication technologies relied on conventional copper and metal wirings. With the emergence of optical fibers has come a new medium on which to transmit massive amounts of information. Fiber-optics technology has revolutionized the communications world with faster transmissions that carry significantly... more »

    • How to Use a Microscope

      Microscopes are a classic scientific tool and a useful educational instrument. Indeed, microscopes can even be brought into the home and used as educational toys. Proper use of a microscope depends on the model employed, and requires following only a handful of simple steps. more »

    Optics Quick Guides

    Optics Articles

    • 35mm Camera Tutorial

      The vast majority of cameras that use film take 35mm film. 35mm film was developed as a smaller format than other film sizes, and became the most... more »

    • Fiber Optics History

      Fiber optics is the combination of applied science and engineering for the design and application of optical fibers. Optical fibers are glass and... more »

    • What Kind of Lenses Do Leupold Scopes Use?

      Fred Leupold set up a one-man surveying equipment repair shop in 1907. Fred had a motto that he applied to all his work: "The Customer is entitled... more »

    • What Are the Causes of Optical Migraines?

      Optical migraines, sometimes referred to as migraine auras or ophthalmic migraines, are when you experience the visual aspect of a migraine,... more »

    • How Do Digital Optical Cables Work?

      Digital optical cables transmit sound signals by using fiber-optic technology, or strands of glass that transmit digital information to receivers.... more »

    • How to Clean a Rifle Scope

      Rifle scopes are expensive and sensitive pieces of equipment. Although they are meant to be robust and can take quite a bit of bad handling, they... more »

    • About Fiber Optics

      Fiber optics is the field that relates to the study and application of optical fiber technology. Such fiber optics applications are used in a... more »

    • How Will Photonics Affect Us?

      Photonics is the ability to send and receive information by running laser light projections through tiny glass tubes, or fibers. The laser beam is... more »

    • How to Care for a Digital Camera

      Digital cameras are now very popular with people of all ages. Most adults grew up with 35mm cameras and took special care of them as they were... more »

    • How Do Fiber Optics Work?

      Fiber optics is the name for the process by which data is transferred via light pulses, which are sent through thin strands of glass or plastic.... more »

    • About Optical Cables

      An optical cable is made up of optical fibers and is typically used to connect various digital equipment like digital home theaters, CD/DVD... more »

    • Types of Fiber Optics Cable

      Fiber optic cables are cables composed of fibers and other materials held together in jackets designed to support them. There are different types... more »

    • How Do Fiber Optic Cables Work?

      A transmitter is a device found at the beginning of a fiber optic cable network. The transmitter takes information and turns it into a pulsing... more »

    • Overhead Projector Information

      An overhead projector is a device used to show images on a screen or wall. It is composed of a cooling fan and a bright light used to create the... more »

    • How Binoculars Work

      Binocular operation begins not with the binoculars, but with human eyes. Human eyes have binocular vision, which works by combining the images... more »

    • How Do Fiber Optic Lights Work?

      Fiber optics are long tubes with a transparent core used to transmit light. They are most commonly used with infrared light to efficiently... more »

    • How to Buy a Rifle Scope for Deer Hunting

      Get ready for deer hunting season by buying the right rifle scope. You can hunt without one, but you'll want to know for certain what it is you... more »

    • How to Buy a Scope for a BB Gun

      A BB gun is a type of air rifle. Air rifles are rifles that shoot pellets or BBs with a high pressured shot of air rather than a bullet with... more »

    • How Does Fiber Optic Lighting Work?

      Fiber optics are generally used for data transmission. These clear, flexible cables are able to send infrared signals for hundreds of miles with... more »

    • How to Install Optical Audio Cables

      Most audio cables use a wire to transmit electrical signals. But optical audio cables use fiber optic communications to transmit light. This makes... more »

    Wikipedia

    Optics

    Optics is the branch of physics which studies the behavior and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it.McGrawHill> Optics usually describes the behavior of visible, ultraviolet, and infrared light. Because light is an electromagnetic wave, other forms of electromagnetic radiation such as X-rays, microwaves, and radio waves exhibit similar properties.McGrawHill />

    Most optical phenomena can be accounted for using the classical electromagnetic description of light. Complete electromagnetic descriptions of light are, however, often difficult to apply in practice. Practical optics is usually done using simplified models. The most common of these, geometric optics, treats light as a collection of rays that travel in straight lines and bend when they pass through or reflect from surfaces. Physical optics is a more comprehensive model of light, which includes wave effects such as diffraction and interference that cannot be accounted for in geometric optics. Historically, the ray-based model of light was developed first, followed by the wave model of light. Progress in electromagnetic theory in the 19th century led to the discovery that light waves were in fact electromagnetic radiation.

    Some phenomena depend on the fact that light has both wave-like and particle-like properties. Explanation of these effects requires quantum mechanics. When considering lights particle-like properties, the light is modeled as a collection of particles called "photons". Quantum optics deals with the application of quantum mechanics to optical systems.

    Optical science is relevant to and studied in many related disciplines including astronomy, various engineering fields, photography, and medicine (particularly ophthalmology and optometry). Practical applications of optics are found in a variety of technologies and everyday objects, including mirrors, lenses, telescopes, microscopes, lasers, and f read more at » http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optics

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