Photonics Dictionary

A hologram formed when the light of the illuminating beam is absorbed in correspondence with the recording exposure. In application, absorption holograms are intended for use in satellite...

Mount attached to a camera or camcorder which allows the user to attach a microphone or flash unit.

The recorded interference pattern formed by the interference of two sound beams.

The optical reconstruction of image information contained in a sound field. First the diffraction pattern, formed by an object irradiated by ultrasonic rays, interferes with a mutually coherent...

An aerial reconnaissance system that can transmit, in near real time, image data recorded by IR and visual-spectrum sensors, providing day, night and foul-weather intelligence.

A glow discharge lamp consisting of a cold cathode and a mixture of inert gases. The intensity of illumination varies with the applied signal voltage. This lamp was commonly used as a source of...

The use of optical or electronic recording systems to extract information from the terrain, while aloft, for reconnaissance applications.

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.

A physical variable that is proportionally similar to another variable over a specified range. An analog recording contains data that is similar to the source.

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...

A camera designed to record astronomical objects (e.g., stars, planets, nebulae, galaxies) and their spectra.

A facility designed for the observation and recording of astronomical phenomena.

The use of photographs to record astronomical objects and phenomena for purposes of physical observation and measurement of motion, radiation and spectra.

Compilation of the Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories that contains values of the line parameters of the 1-0 bands of 12C16O. Because of the high accuracy of this record, calculated spectra...

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.

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

A camera that uses multiple exposures to record the trajectory of an ordnance from a ground-level position.

Any instrument or system carried by a balloon to the upper atmosphere to measure and record atmospheric information, such as radiation observations, while reducing atmospheric interference.

The use of a short-duration electron beam to record high-speed events that occur in microscopic objects made of materials that emit visible fluorescence during electron bombardment. The method is...

Degradation factor in coherent light systems where the amplitude of the recorded signal is decreased as the number of object points is increased, resulting in poor noise performance.

Biometrics refers to the automated recognition of individuals based on their physiological or behavioral characteristics. These unique attributes are used to verify or identify individuals, often in...

A blackbody source, often simply referred to as a blackbody, is a theoretical or practical physical object that absorbs all electromagnetic radiation incident upon it and emits radiation in a...

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

A camera system for recording lightning.

A breakout cable, also known as a fan-out cable or breakout assembly, is a type of cable that combines multiple individual cables into a single, larger cable. The breakout cable is designed to...

The photographic recording of gas bubbles produced when particles traverse liquid hydrogen in a bubble chamber.

A forerunner of the modern camera, this instrument had a focusable lens that produced a sharp image on the enclosure opposite the aperture but had no photosensitive material to record it.

A container designed to hold recording material (film, video- and audiotape) so that when it is loaded into a recording instrument, the recording material is threaded simultaneously.

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 high-quality, narrow-angle lens of high aperture designed for low magnification in the recording of cathode-ray tube images.

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 technical specification for a consumer product drawn up by Sony and Philips. CD/I combines audio, video and text recorded as interleaved channels on a disc similar to an audio compact disc. The...

In an interferogram, an intense portion of the recording that corresponds in size to the amount of infrared radiation incident on the detector.

A charge-coupled device (CCD) is a type of electronic image sensor used in various imaging devices, including digital cameras, camcorders, and scientific instruments. It consists of an integrated...

A charge-injection device (CID) refers to a class of devices that manipulate and detect electrical charge within a semiconductor material. Charge-coupled devices are a specific implementation of this...

The continuous record containing the series of pictures formed by chronophotographic methods.

The photographic recording of an action by taking a series of still pictures at regular intervals throughout the action.

The application of a cine camera in recording the images on a fluorescent screen. When x-rays are used to produce the screen images, this process is referred to as cine-radiography.

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.

Circular dichroism (CD) is a spectroscopic technique used to study the structural characteristics of chiral (asymmetric) molecules, particularly biomolecules like proteins, nucleic acids, and certain...

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...

An imaging process in which the single opening of a simple pinhole camera is replaced with many openings called, collectively, the aperture. The recorded picture, which consists of many overlapping...

A unit that converts images to the standard NTSC format for use with video recorders, projectors and discs.

The recording of three or more separate holograms having a different color on a medium, so that illumination with a tricolor beam yields three separate wavefronts, each representing one of the...