Free Summit Next Week: Learn from over 150 years of Optical Design Experience!
Search
Menu
CASTECH INC - New Building the Bridge of Light
Photonics Marketplace
Suppliers Products
Handbook Institutions Dictionary

Show Filters
213 terms

Photonics Dictionary: M

Clear All Filters xGe xM x
mechanical center -> geometric center
The physical center of the lens; it is on the axis of the lens, halfway between the front and rear vertex. It is sometimes referred to as the mechanical center of the lens.
magenta
The reddish/purple color that results when equal amounts of blue and red are combined so that no one wavelength dominates.
magnetically focused image tube
A vacuum tube in which a magnetic field is superimposed onto the tube's electrical field. When the two fields are aligned, electrons from the photocathode are accelerated through the tube in a spiral...
magneto-optic storage
A specific type of storage in which the material to be written on is heated above its transition temperature and switched in a biased field. Reading of the material is determined by the magneto-optic...
Martens wedge
A wedge-shaped piece of quartz typically found in a polarimeter to monitor and rotate the plane of polarization of plane polarized light. A Martens wedge can also be used in combination with other...
Marx generator
High-voltage, fast-discharge circuit named after its inventor, Erwin Marx. Its capacitors are charged in parallel and discharged in series. The voltage multiplication achieved with a Marx circuit is...
McLeod gauge
A gauge designed to measure high degrees of vacuum. It consists of a glass bulb attached to the vacuum vessel, the measurement being made by filling the bulb with mercury and observing the volume of...
measuring wedge
A wedge in a rangefinder or heightfinder used to displace the image produced by one telescope so that it coincides with that produced by the other telescope, thus affording a measurement of the...
mechanical birefringence -> stress birefringence
Birefringence of materials that is induced or altered by stress fields.
microheterogeneous systems
Extremely small organic and inorganic systems of molecules within a substance. In general, systems are colloidal size in spite of the large number of molecules. Photochemistry and optical...
microscope stage
The component of a microscope on which the sample or slide to be examined is placed. Depending on the design of the microscope, the stage may play a passive role of just supporting the sample or...
mirage
The distortion of an object's true image as the result of abnormal atmospheric disturbances along the path traveled by the light. The atmospheric disturbances common with mirages are a result of a...
monomer exchange diffusion
Process that occurs when a polymerized soft plastic rod with higher refractive index is placed in a bath of a lower refractive-index monomer to obtain plastic fibers with a nearly parabolic index...
multiplex advantage -> Felgett advantage
The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) obtained with a Fourier transform spectrometer when detector noise prevails, which exceeds the SNR of a scanning spectrometer in the same time by a factor proportional...
mosaic detector array
A group of photosensors arranged in a grid-like pattern covering the entire field of view, enabling them to record it all at once (as a camera records an image on film) rather than by scanning parts...
Mach bands
The illusory appearance of a light or dark band at a line of brightness contrast that enhances the edge between the two contrasting regions. This effect can create the appearance of graduated...
Mach-Zehnder interferometer
A Mach-Zehnder interferometer is an optical device used to measure the phase difference between two collimated beams of light. It is named after the physicists Ludwig Mach and Ludwig Zehnder, who...
machine learning
Machine learning (ML) is a subset of artificial intelligence (AI) that focuses on the development of algorithms and statistical models that enable computers to improve their performance on a specific...
machine vision lens
A machine vision lens is a specialized optical lens designed for use in machine vision systems, which are used for automated inspection, measurement, and quality control in industrial applications....
machine vision lighting
Machine vision lighting refers to the use of specific lighting techniques and equipment in the field of machine vision, which is a technology that enables machines to capture and interpret visual...
machine vision system
A machine vision system is an integrated combination of hardware and software components designed to capture, process, and analyze images to perform automated inspection, measurement, and quality...
machine vision
Machine vision, also known as computer vision or computer sight, refers to the technology that enables machines, typically computers, to interpret and understand visual information from the world,...
macrobending
In optical fiber, bends that are larger than microbends (see microbending), being visible. Generally they are caused by bending the cable beyond the specified bend radius. Light escaping at the bends...
macrophotograph
The photographic recordformed in macrophotography in which the size of the small nearby object at theimage plane is the same size or greater than the actual life size of theobject.
macula lutea
The small central portion of the human retina that is responsible for providing the clearest, and most distinct aspects of human vision. Light from an object directly forms an image on the macula...
magnetic bubble film
An amorphous film in which cylindrical bubbles of reverse magnetization can be formed to follow circuit paths usually made by depositing magnetic metal strips on the film surface. It is used in...
magnetic lens
An arranged series of coils, magnets or electromagnets disposed in such a way that the resulting magnetic fields generate a Lorentz force that is used to then focus or deflect beams of rapidly moving...
magnetic permeability -> permeability
Typically represented by the Greek letter μ, magnetic permeability is the measure of a material's ability to generate and sustain a magnetic field within itself when an external magnetic field is...
magnetic resonance imaging
An imaging technique used in radiology that is based on the principles of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to produce high-quality images of the inside of the human body by imaging the nuclei of...
magnetic rotation spectroscopy
Technique in which the polarization rotation of light, and its relationship to the magnetic field strength can be analyzed and related to various experimental parameters when passed through a...
magnetic spectrograph
An electron system using the effect of a constant magnetic field on electron paths to differentiate electrons that have varying velocities for the accurate measurement of the energies and intensities...
magnetic tape recorder
An instrument used to record sound, pictures or both on a magnetic tape for storage and playback.
magneto-optics
Magneto-optics refers to the study and manipulation of the interaction between magnetic fields and light (electromagnetic radiation). This field of physics explores how the properties of light, such...
magnetometer
A magnetometer is a scientific instrument used to measure the strength and/or direction of a magnetic field. It can detect and quantify the intensity of magnetic fields in its vicinity. Magnetometers...
magnetorheological finishing
Magnetorheological finishing (MRF) is a precision optics polishing technique used for shaping and finishing optical surfaces to achieve extremely high levels of smoothness and accuracy. It is...
magnetron sputtering
A variation from standard physical vapor deposition (PVD) coating techniques, magnetron sputtering is a plasma coating process that utilizes magnetic fields to contain the plasma in front of the...
magnification
The ratio of the size of the image of an object to that of the object. The ratio of the linear size of the image to that of the object is lateral magnification. Angular magnification is the ratio of...
magnifier
A lens or lens system that produces an enlarged virtual image of an object placed near its front focal point.
magnifying power
The ability of an optical system to make an object appear larger. An optical element or optical system causing an object to appear twice as high and twice as wide is said to have a magnification of...
magnitude
In astronomy, the relative brightness of a celestial body. Originally a scale from 1 to 6, where 1 represented the brightest and 6 the faintest visible night sky objects. This scale has been expanded...
magnon
A magnon is a quasiparticle representing a quantized spin wave in a magnetic material. In other words, it is a collective excitation of the spins of electrons in a magnetic solid, analogous to the...
Maksutov corrector
A thick meniscus lens arranged concentric with the center of curvature of a spherical mirror to produce an image free of spherical aberration.
Malus's law
A law that uses the square of the cosine between the plane of polarization of a beam of plane-polarized light and the plane of polarization of a polarizing element to calculate the intensity of the...
mandrel
A shaft, spindle or any object generally passed through a workpiece to hold, support or shape a particular piece during its machining process or its practical use. In fiber optics, optical fibers are...
Mangin mirror
A double-surfaced catadioptric spherical mirror whose spherical first surface consists of a negative meniscus (concave) lens and second rear surface is a spherical mirror. This combination utilizes...
Manufacturing Automation Protocol
A computerized token-passing local area network (LAN) configuration adopted by General Motors for real time control over the mediation of interconnected devices from multiple manufacturers over the...
mapping function
In image processing, the mathematical relationships that link pixel brightnesses of input images to those of output images in point processes. Mapping functions are commonly used to apply...
marginal rays
Also referred to as the axial ray (or a-ray), a marginal ray originates from the axial point of the object and passes through the edge or margin of the entrance pupil (or aperture stop) of the lens...
mAs
milliamperes-second - unit measure of electric charge acquired when multiplying the electric current in milliamperes (one thousandth or 10-3 of the standard unit for electric current the ampere) by the time in seconds. It is commonly used to describe the length of time that electrons are produced or passed through a given circuitry.
maser
An acronym for microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation. Predecessor to the laser, the maser or 'microwave laser' was the first device to produce coherent electromagnetic waves,...

Photonics DictionaryM


Explore Our Content
News
Features
Latest Products
Webinars
White Papers
All Things Photonics Podcast
Videos
Our Summits & Conferences
Industry Events
Bookstore
Join Our Community
Subscribe
Advertise
Become a member
Sign in
Contribute a Feature
Suggest a Webinar
Submit a Press Release
Mobile Apps

About Us
Our Company
Our Publications
Contact Us
Career Opportunities
Teddi C. Laurin Scholarship

Terms & Conditions
Privacy Policy
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)



©2024 Photonics Media
100 West St.
Pittsfield, MA, 01201 USA
[email protected]
We use cookies to improve user experience and analyze our website traffic as stated in our Privacy Policy. By using this website, you agree to the use of cookies unless you have disabled them.