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Light does not actually consist of imaginary rays and light sources are not single-point sources, thus vergence is typically limited to simple ray modeling of optical systems. In a real system, the vergence is a product of the diameter of a light source, its distance from the optics, and the curvature of the optical surfaces.
Another criterion called Gaussian pilot beam allowing to define far and near field conditions, consists to measure the actual wavefront surface curvature for an unaberrated system. In this case the wavefront is planar at the aperture position, when the beam is collimated, or at its focus when the beam is converging/diverging.
For a converging lens (for example a convex lens), the focal length is positive and is the distance at which a beam of collimated light will be focused to a single spot. For a diverging lens (for example a concave lens ), the focal length is negative and is the distance to the point from which a collimated beam appears to be diverging after ...
A ray tracing diagram for a converging lens. A device that produces converging or diverging light rays due to refraction is known as a lens. Lenses are characterized by their focal length: a converging lens has positive focal length, while a diverging lens has negative focal length. Smaller focal length indicates that the lens has a stronger ...
When a beam of light crosses the boundary between a vacuum and another medium, or between two different media, the wavelength of the light changes, but the frequency remains constant. If the beam of light is not orthogonal (or rather normal) to the boundary, the change in wavelength results in a change in the direction of the beam.
A laser beam is an archetypical example. A perfectly collimated light beam, with no divergence, would not disperse with distance. However, diffraction prevents the creation of any such beam. [1] Light can be approximately collimated by a number of processes, for instance by means of a collimator.
A condenser is an optical lens that renders a divergent light beam from a point light source into a parallel or converging beam to illuminate an object to be imaged. Condensers are an essential part of any imaging device, such as microscopes, enlargers, slide projectors, and telescopes.
A concave mirror, or converging mirror, has a reflecting surface that is recessed inward (away from the incident light). Concave mirrors reflect light inward to one focal point. They are used to focus light. Unlike convex mirrors, concave mirrors show different image types depending on the distance between the object and the mirror.