spherical aberration

(noun)

a type of lens aberration that causes blurriness, particularly away from the center of the lens

Related Terms

  • achromatic
  • chromatic aberration

Examples of spherical aberration in the following topics:

  • Aberrations

    • A chromatic aberration, also called achromatism or chromatic distortion, is a distortion of colors .
    • This aberration happens when the lens fails to focus all the colors on the same convergence point .
    • A comatic aberration, or coma, occurs when the object is off-center.
    • These aberrations can cause objects to appear pear-shaped.
    • Spherical aberrations are a form of aberration where rays converging from the outer edges of a lens converge to a focus closer to the lens, and rays closer to the axis focus further.
  • The Telescope

    • The potential advantages of using mirrors instead of lenses were a reduction in spherical aberrations and the elimination of chromatic aberrations.
    • With the invention of achromatic lenses in 1733, color aberrations were partially corrected, and shorter, more functional refracting telescopes could be constructed.
  • Combinations of Lenses

    • The use of multiple elements allows for the correction of more optical aberrations, such as the chromatic aberration caused by the wavelength-dependent index of refraction in glass, than is possible using a single lens.
    • In many cases these aberrations can be compensated for to a great extent by using a combination of simple lenses with complementary aberrations.
    • An achromatic lens or achromat is a lens that is designed to limit the effects of chromatic and spherical aberration.
    • The lens elements are mounted next to each other, often cemented together, and shaped so that the chromatic aberration of one is counterbalanced by that of the other.
    • (a) Chromatic aberration is caused by the dependence of a lens's index of refraction on color (wavelength).
  • Spherical and Plane Waves

    • Spherical waves come from point source in a spherical pattern; plane waves are infinite parallel planes normal to the phase velocity vector.
    • In 1678, he proposed that every point that a luminous disturbance touches becomes itself a source of a spherical wave; the sum of these secondary waves determines the form of the wave at any subsequent time.
    • Since the waves all come from one point source, the waves happen in a spherical pattern.
    • All the waves come from a single point source and are spherical .
    • When waves are produced from a point source, they are spherical waves.
  • Triple Integrals in Spherical Coordinates

    • When the function to be integrated has a spherical symmetry, change the variables into spherical coordinates and then perform integration.
    • When the function to be integrated has a spherical symmetry, it is sensible to change the variables into spherical coordinates and then perform integration.
    • It's possible to use therefore the passage in spherical coordinates; the function is transformed by this relation:
    • Points on $z$-axis do not have a precise characterization in spherical coordinates, so $\theta$ can vary from $0$ to $2 \pi$.
    • Spherical coordinates are useful when domains in $R^3$ have spherical symmetry.
  • Cylindrical and Spherical Coordinates

    • Cylindrical and spherical coordinates are useful when describing objects or phenomena with specific symmetries.
    • While Cartesian coordinates have many applications, cylindrical and spherical coordinates are useful when describing objects or phenomena with specific symmetries.
    • Spherical coordinates are useful in connection with objects and phenomena that have spherical symmetry, such as an electric charge located at the origin.
    • The spherical coordinates (radius $r$, inclination $\theta$, azimuth $\varphi$) of a point can be obtained from its Cartesian coordinates ($x$, $y$, $z$) by the formulae:
    • Spherical coordinates ($r$, $\theta$, $\varphi$) as often used in mathematics: radial distance $r$, azimuthal angle $\theta$, and polar angle $\varphi$.
  • Gravitational Attraction of Spherical Bodies: A Uniform Sphere

    • The Shell Theorem states that a spherically symmetric object affects other objects as if all of its mass were concentrated at its center.
    • For highly symmetric shapes such as spheres or spherical shells, finding this point is simple.
    • A spherically symmetric object affects other objects gravitationally as if all of its mass were concentrated at its center,
    • If the object is a spherically symmetric shell (i.e., a hollow ball) then the net gravitational force on a body inside of it is zero.
    • That is, a mass $m$ within a spherically symmetric shell of mass $M$, will feel no net force (Statement 2 of Shell Theorem).
  • Three-Dimensional Coordinate Systems

    • Often, you will need to be able to convert from spherical to Cartesian, or the other way around.
    • The spherical system is used commonly in mathematics and physics and has variables of $r$, $\theta$, and $\varphi$.
    • The cylindrical coordinate system is like a mix between the spherical and Cartesian system, incorporating linear and radial parameters.
  • Introduction to Spherical and Cylindrical Harmonics

    • In this section we will apply separation of variables to Laplace's equation in spherical and cylindrical coordinates.
    • Spherical coordinates are important when treating problems with spherical or nearly-spherical symmetry.
    • To a first approximation the earth is spherical and so is the hydrogen atom, with lots of other examples in-between.
    • On the other hand, if we tried to use Cartesian coordinates to solve a boundary value problem on a spherical domain, we couldn't represent this as a fixed value of any of the coordinates.
    • Obviously this would be much simpler if we used spherical coordinates, since then we could specify boundary conditions on, for example, the surface $x = r \cos \phi \sin \theta$ constant.
  • Spherical Distribution of Charge

    • The charge distribution around a molecule is spherical in nature, and creates a sort of electrostatic "cloud" around the molecule.
    • This distribution around a charged molecule is spherical in nature, and creates a sort of electrostatic "cloud" around the molecule.
    • The attraction or repulsion forces within the spherical distribution of charge is stronger closer to the molecule, and becomes weaker as the distance from the molecule increases.
    • Describe shape of a Coulomb force from a spherical distribution of charge
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