In physics, physical optics, or wave optics, is the branch of optics that studies interference, diffraction, polarization, and other phenomena for which...

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...

This article summarizes equations used in optics, including geometric optics, physical optics, radiometry, diffraction, and interferometry. There are...

In optics, a ray is an idealized geometrical model of light or other electromagnetic radiation, obtained by choosing a curve that is perpendicular to the...

Geometrical optics, or ray optics, is a model of optics that describes light propagation in terms of rays. The ray in geometrical optics is an abstraction...

In optics, a thin lens is a lens with a thickness (distance along the optical axis between the two surfaces of the lens) that is negligible compared to...

A phase change sometimes occurs when a wave is reflected, specifically from a medium with faster wave speed to the boundary of a medium with slower wave...

Schlieren imaging is a method to visualize density variations in transparent media. The term "schlieren imaging" is commonly used as a synonym for schlieren...

the right radius of curvature is negative. Note however that in areas of optics other than design, other sign conventions are sometimes used. In particular...

coefficient refers to a chemical reaction overcoming a potential barrier; in optics and telecommunications it is the amplitude of a wave transmitted through...