Photonics Dictionary

The field of photography concerned with the recording of subjects beneath the water with a watertight, water-resistant camera system.

An aerial photograph produced when the optical axis of the camera is perpendicular to the surface below.

3D scanners are devices used to capture the three-dimensional shape and characteristics of physical objects or environments. They utilize various technologies to gather data about the geometry,...

Also cellulose acetate film. The emulsion layer applied to the substrate of a photographic surface. The emulsion layer is composed of small particles suspended in gelatin solution.

In photography, the density gradient across an edge separating light from darkness, a physically measurable quantity that correlates well with subjectively observed sharpness of definition. By...

A process of color photography in which colors are added one to another in the form of light, rather than as colorants, to obtain color synthesis.

With respect to photography, the change in the density-exposure relations, for small details of the photographic image, that is noted when compared with the density-exposure relations for large...

Film designed especially for the needs and conditions encountered in aerial photography. It is produced in a variety of widths, lengths and emulsions.

The use of photographs taken from the air to construct graphic maps and charts of ground surfaces.

The application of aerial photographs as a means of measurement in map making and surveying.

The creation of a planned sequence of data input that is obtained while airborne for use in aerial photogrammetry and other types of map making and surveying. The data can be photographic, electronic...

The creation of topographical maps and charts from a stereographic record produced through the overlapping of consecutive aerial photographs by more than 50 percent.

In aerial photography, the geometric method of indicating the three-dimensional location of ground points from a pair of aerial photographs.

The use of photographs taken from specially placed cameras, to develop, through computation, a spatial solution of the photographed phenomenon.

A cylindrical convex viewing mirror used for viewing distorted pictures formed by photographing the reflections of the objects in a similar type of mirror.

Aplanatic points refer to specific points in an optical system where certain aberrations, such as spherical aberration or coma, are minimized or eliminated. In an optical system, aberrations are...

An apochromat, often referred to as an apochromatic lens or apochromatic objective, is a type of optical system designed to minimize chromatic aberration. Chromatic aberration occurs when different...

Area scan, in the context of imaging and cameras, refers to a method of capturing an entire two-dimensional image in a single snapshot or exposure. Unlike line scan, which captures images one line at...

An aspheric lens is a type of lens whose surface profiles deviate from the traditional spherical shape. Unlike spherical lenses, which have a constant curvature across their surfaces, aspheric lenses...

An instrument that photographs the spectra of an extraterrestrial object.

A direct reading spectrograph having a photomultiplier assembly in place of a photographic plate. The output from the photomultiplier assembly is received by a microammeter or a pen recorder.

Any photographic medium that, when chemically developed, produces an exact photographic reproduction of the original.

The photographic recording of the distribution and location of radioactive substances found in a specimen. The record formed is the autoradiograph.

A wide-field camera based on the classic Schmidt optical system used to photograph Earth-orbiting satellites.

In aerial photography, the ratio derived from a stereoscopic pair of photographs that represents the air-base length divided by the flight altitude.

A chemical used in the developing of positive photographs that incites oxidation and thereby dissolves the negative silver to vary tone, color and intensity.

A blur circle refers to the out-of-focus region in an image captured by an optical system. When an object in a scene is not in perfect focus, its image is spread out into a circular shape on the...

A bolometer that serves to record. The photographic record formed by the bolometer may be called bolograph or bologram.

In photography, the technique of taking multiple pictures of the same subject at different exposures to compensate for exposure miscalculations. Automatic bracketing is a feature on some cameras.

A large tank filled with liquid hydrogen, with a flat window at one end and complex optical devices for observing and photographing the rows of fine bubbles formed when a high-energy particle...

Specially designed optics for the observation and photographing of hydrogen in a bubble chamber.

A hygroscopic powder used in the photographic process.

The coefficient termed by Callier as the ratio between the density of photographic negatives measured by parallel light and that measured by diffuse light, due to scattering effects. This effect is...

The use of the photographic process to produce precision copies of an original image that are many times smaller in size. One of its many applications is in microcircuitry.

A fiber optic end plate constructed by drawing a bundle of parallel fibers embedded in glass and cutting it into thin slices. These slices are assembled in a plane and heated to produce a...

A CCD camera, or charge-coupled device camera, is a type of digital camera that utilizes a CCD image sensor to capture and record images. CCD cameras are widely used in various applications,...

A CCD image sensor, or charge-coupled device image sensor, is a type of electronic device used to convert optical images into electronic signals. It is a key component in digital cameras, camcorders,...

A graph used in photography to portray the increase of a film's density as its time of exposure increases.

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...

The photographic filming of the action of x-ray images recorded on a fluorescent screen by means of large lens apertures and highly sensitive filters.

The desensitization of the first photographic exposure after it has been subjected to high-intensity radiation.

A CMOS camera refers to an imaging device that employs a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor to capture digital images. CMOS cameras have become ubiquitous due to their low...

The transmission of a color photograph by separating the colors into varying intensities of red, blue and green, and then sending separate transmissions of the three color signals to a receiving...

A colorimeter is a device used to measure and quantify the color characteristics of an object or a light source. It provides objective and standardized color information, typically expressed in terms...