Photonics Dictionary: M

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...

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...

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 (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...

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 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...

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, 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,...

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.

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...

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...

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...

A lens or lens system that produces an enlarged virtual image of an object placed near its front focal point.

A thick meniscus lens arranged concentric with the center of curvature of a spherical mirror to produce an image free of spherical aberration.

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...

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...

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...

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,...

In image processing, the assigning of certain portions (or pixels) of an image a constant value of either 0 (black) or 1 (white) as to restrict image processing operations to a specific set of pixels...

Optical components exceeding 24 in. in diameter. The components are usually glass, acrylic or polystyrene and are used for virtual image systems in simulators and collimators.

Image sensors in a two-dimensional configuration of rows or columns.

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...

In image processing, a method of local smoothing by replacing each pixel with the median gray level of neighboring pixels.

A lens that has one convex surface and the other concave.

The process or act of measuring the geometric properties of an object or image.

A form of an element that cannot demonstrate optical activity as a result of dextrogyrate and levogyrate effects that are balanced contrary to each other in a structure. In essence, meso form...

In the field of optics and imaging, a mesoscope refers to an optical instrument that is designed to observe and capture images at intermediate scales, falling between microscopic and macroscopic...

Metabolic imaging refers to the visualization and quantification of metabolic processes within living organisms, tissues, or cells using various imaging techniques. It provides insights into the...

A sensing or image-forming detector that serves to convert infrared rays into visible signals for communication purposes. Also, a form of telescope that generates visible images on a fluorescent...

An optical experiment carried out conclusively in 1887 that demonstrated that the ether, a hypothetical medium postulated by physicists to explain how light could travel in a wave motion through...

Micro-optical coherence tomography (micro-OCT) is an imaging technique that is an adaptation of optical coherence tomography (OCT) to achieve high-resolution, cross-sectional imaging of biological...

A microchannel plate (MCP) is a specialized electron multiplier device used in various applications such as particle detection, imaging, spectroscopy, and night vision technology. It consists of a...

A device to modulate spatially a collimated coherent beam of light with input data in optical data processing. It uses a photocathode mounted on a microchannel plate, which amplifies an electron...

A microdisplay is a miniature electronic display technology that is designed to project visual information onto a small screen. Unlike traditional displays, microdisplays are typically very compact...

A small card (10 x 15 cm) that has been treated with a photographic emulsion to record and store the microimages of documents and graphic information projected on it by a microfilm camera. A...

A camera used to reduce originals onto film for easy storage. There are two basic types: one in which the film is fixed during exposure, and one in which the film is exposed while moving past an...

Two essential pieces of equipment used in connection with the microfilming process: a camera capable of producing, on film, large-scale reductions of almost any matter, printed, painted or...

A device used to view microfilmed documents where the image on film is projected, in magnified form, onto a rear projection screen for viewing.

A hologram having an image scale that is orders of magnitude smaller than microfiche images.

The formation of microimages for microreduction. The technique is used, for example, in the production of precision reticles or resolution charts. The sensitized materials used in the process must...

The measurement of the intensity of spectral lines by the examination of a very small area under a microscope and the measurement of the density at any point of the image.

A miniature projecting device designed to enhance and reproduce the image generated by a smaller image-forming instrument. Microprojectors can be used to determine the image-forming qualities of...

An instrument consisting essentially of a tube 160 mm long, with an objective lens at the distant end and an eyepiece at the near end. The objective forms a real aerial image of the object in the...

An eyepiece located at the near end of the microscope tube. It often is a simple Huygens eyepiece, but compensating and flat-field projection eyepieces are quite efficient. Negative eyepieces are...

Microscopy is a scientific technique that involves the use of microscopes to observe and study objects that are too small to be seen with the naked eye. Microscopes are instruments that magnify and...

A binocular microscope designed for the viewing of stereo pairs. As these stereoscopic image pairs are seen through a microstereoscope, they are merged into a single image allowing the brain to...