Photonics Dictionary: C

That viewpoint at which the angular subtenses of points in the picture are identical to angular subtenses of the original points in the scene, at the camera lens.

A type of spectroscopy used extensively in the analysis of biological samples. Because most biologically synthesized molecules, such as proteins, are optically active, circular dichroism spectroscopy...

A device used for the comparison of spectra used, in turn, for the comparison of elements, such as the absorption lines in the spectra of stars and the spectra of elements in the stars being observed.

In analysis, a reference spectrum, having predetermined wavelengths, that is used to determine the wavelengths of another spectrum through comparison of the two.

The radiation spectrum of matter found in condensed states, liquid or solid, that is continuous and not a line spectrum. The details of this spectrum are almost independent of the matter emitting the...

The spectrographic analysis of matter that is in a cooled state. Generally, a mechanical refrigerator is used to lower the temperature of the sample, allowing isolation and study of the sample and...

A system that applies a crystal as a diffracting agent to photograph the spectrum.

A device designed to measure crystal properties by analysis of crystal diffraction.

A small mass spectrometer, with a limited mass range, equipped with an analyzer to generate a cycloidal-path beam of the sample.

The three lines in the spectrum of cadmium that have the purest radiations and that were first used by Michelson to calculate the standard meter.

The narrowest line of the cadmium spectrum; the red line has the purest radiation.

A doubly refracting mineral used to produce polarizing prisms. It is uniaxial negative and in the trigonal division of the hexagonal system of crystals. Its indices are e = 1.486, w = 1.658; its...

A calcium indicator is a molecule that is sensitive to changes in calcium ion (Ca2+) concentrations in biological systems. These indicators are commonly used in various fields, including cell...

An optical wedge in which transmittance or density is a function of the location of the wedge, relative to a specific optical system.

Calorimetry is a branch of science that involves the measurement of heat flow in physical or chemical processes. It encompasses various techniques and instruments used to quantify heat transfer,...

An electromagnetic device used to separate isotopes of elements based on their respective masses.

Camera Link HS (high speed) is a standard developed for high-speed digital data transmission in machine vision and industrial imaging applications. It is an evolution of the original Camera Link...

A light-tight box that receives light from an object or scene and focuses it to form an image on a light-sensitive material or a detector. The camera generally contains a lens of variable aperture...

In analysis, the carbon layer that is evaporation-deposited on a specimen to protect and ready it for study by electron microscopy.

Carbonization is a process in which organic materials are heated in the absence of air, leading to the decomposition of the material and the production of carbon-rich residue. During carbonization,...

Focal, nodal or principal points of a lens. If the respective distances of the object and image are measured from the cardinal points, all thin-lens equations are applicable to thick lenses.

An oil immersion condenser used to permit only light that has been diffracted or dispersed by a microscope specimen to enter the microscope. It is used in dark-field microscopy.

Carrier injection refers to the process of introducing charge carriers (either electrons or holes) into a semiconductor material. Semiconductors are materials with electrical conductivity between...

Cathode radiant sensitivity refers to the ability of a photocathode to convert incident radiant energy, typically in the form of light, into an electrical signal. Photocathodes are components used in...

Envelopes for cathode-ray tubes are made by blowing glass in the same manner as light bulbs. They have a fairly flat end face to carry the phosphor material applied internally.

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...

The surface curvature designed to reduce the marginal error found in the periphery of a spectacle lens.

A microscope that can be used to observe and magnify microscope specimens while they are being centrifuged. The objective rotates near the periphery of the centrifuge head, and the ocular is...

A photocathode that exhibits maximum sensitivity in the blue and ultraviolet regions of the spectrum. The sensitivity is obtained by the exposure of a thin layer of antimony to cesium vapor at an...

A cathode-ray tube that generates symbols for use in other displays. The tube operates by scanning specific characters on the target and generating them as video signals to other cathode-ray systems.

Computer hardware or firmware that accesses character patterns stored in read-only memory and displays them at specific coordinates on a screen.

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...

Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) equipment refers to a class of specialized apparatus used in the process of chemical vapor deposition, a technique for depositing thin films of various materials onto...

Chip-on-board (COB) lights refer to a type of LED lighting technology where multiple LED chips are directly mounted onto a substrate, typically a printed circuit board (PCB), without the need for...

Chirality is a property of certain molecules and objects in which they are non-superimposable on their mirror images. In other words, a chiral object or molecule cannot be exactly superimposed onto...

A transparent powdered solid immersed in a liquid or plastic of similar refractive index but widely different dispersion; used to isolate narrow spectral regions.

Chromatic aberration is an optical phenomenon that occurs when different wavelengths (colors) of light are refracted by a lens or optical system, leading to a failure to focus all colors to the same...

The difference between any color and a reference color having equal luminance and a specified chromaticity.

CID, or charge injection device, camera refers to a type of imaging device that utilizes a specific kind of solid-state image sensor technology. CID cameras are capable of capturing images in a...

Spectral power distribution representing a standard source of illumination, which may be real or hypothetical.

Standard light source representative of the quality of specified natural or artificial illumination.

Methodology for specifying color based on the CIE sources, observers, and coordinate system.