Photonics Dictionary: S

The incident ray, the normal to the refracting surface at the point of incidence of the ray at the surface, and the refracted ray all lie in a single plane. The ratio of the sine of the angle between...

The refraction that would take place in an idealized atmosphere where the refractive index is reduced uniformly with height at the rate of 39 x 10-6 per kilometer.

The formation of a picture or image in which the density gradients in a volume of flow are rendered visible. The image is formed by refraction and scattering from areas of varying refractive index.

The photomicrographic recording of Schlieren effects, irregular refractions of light from optic surfaces or areas of thin, transparent specimens, generally using a reticle with parallel transparent...

An equation that uses the wavelength of light passing through a medium, along with a set of coefficients, to calculate the medium's index of refraction. The coefficients, called Sellmeier...

A beam instability, induced by index of refraction inhomogeneities and component damage of dirt and dust particles, that exhibits exponential growth and causes both system degradation and energy loss...

An image of an object that appears above the object's true position as the result of abnormal refraction of the image rays by the atmosphere.