Photonics Dictionary: B

Electromagnetic radiation that is emitted by an electron as it is accelerated or decelerated while moving through the electric field of an ion.

A parallel plate of glass in such a position that the refracted and reflected rays of incident parallel light are mutually perpendicular. In this situation the reflected light is plane polarized, and...

The fringes used in the Jamin interferometer and produced by light that has been internally and externally reflected by two plane-parallel plates, inclined toward each other at a small angle.

The illumination generally used in microscopy, whereby the specimen appears dark against a light background.

An emission spectrum consisting of bright bands against a dark background.

Brightfield refers to a type of microscopy and imaging technique in which the specimen is illuminated with a white light source, and the image is observed or captured against a bright background. In...

The manual shifting bias control of a cathode-ray tube that determines both the average brightness and the contrast of a picture.

An instrument for measuring the brightness (luminance) of a scene. It may be a spot meter, covering an area of a degree or less, or an averaging meter, covering a broad area of the scene. Brightness...

The degree to which a pixel in a digital image represents the analog brightness of the corresponding point in the original image. It is dependent largely on the number of bits devoted to representing...

Brillouin scattering is a phenomenon in physics where an incident electromagnetic wave (usually light) interacts with acoustic phonons (quantized lattice vibrations) in a material, resulting in the...

Broadband dielectric mirrors, also known as broadband mirrors, are optical coatings designed to efficiently reflect or transmit light over a broad range of wavelengths. These mirrors are constructed...

An optical instrument designed to permit the visual examination of the interior of the bronchi.

The behavior of microscopic solid particles suspended in a fluid, first observed by botanist Robert Brown in 1827 as a continuous random motion.

A telemicroscope in which a negative eyepiece is used to produce erect images.

The law stating that the amount of chemical change produced is proportional to the amount of light absorbed. Actually, the change is also dependent on the intensity of light -- a fact named the...

A high-frequency pulse-rate laser with an output limited by the heat capacity of the laser medium. Instead of having continuous cooling, the laser operates until the medium reaches a maximum...

A local area network topology in which all nodes are tapped off a single cable, and all hear every transmission on the cable.