Photonics Dictionary: M

Modified chemical vapor deposition (MCVD) is a technique used in the fabrication of optical fibers. It is a specialized form of chemical vapor deposition (CVD) that is employed to produce...

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,...

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...

A method of studying the chemical and physical properties of atoms and molecules (typically living tissue and chemical samples) by exploiting the magnetic properties of their atomic nuclei when an...

A type of high-speed photographic shutter that uses Faraday rotation to produce exposure times as fast as 1 microsecond. It consists of two polarizers, set with their planes of polarization at right...

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...

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 (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...

With respect to television, that part of a color television circuit that combines the I, Q and Y signals, and changes them into single red, green and blue signals applied to the picture-tube grids.

The greatest luminosity possible for a specified chromaticity.

The greatest luminous reflectance possible for a specified chromaticity.

The greatest luminous transmittance possible for a specified chromaticity.

The highest value of saturation possible for a specified hue.

A fiber splice accomplished by fixtures or materials, rather than by thermal fusion. Index matching material may be applied between the two fiber ends.

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...

Metrology is the science and practice of measurement. It encompasses the theoretical and practical aspects of measurement, including the development of measurement standards, techniques, and...

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-LED (micro-light-emitting diode) refers to a technology that involves the use of very small light-emitting diodes to create displays and lighting systems. These LEDs are miniature versions of...

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

A fluoroscope equipped with a magnified, fine-grained fluorescent screen to determine the fluorescence emitted by a microscopic source.

An approximated measure of the smallest change in color temperature detectable by the human eye, defined as the reciprocal of the color temperature times 106. Also called mired or reciprocal...

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...

The lens located at the object end of a microscope tube. A wide range of objectives is available, including simple achromats, the color-corrected apochromats and the flat-field objectives. Objectives...

The pattern of microwave field intensity that can be obtained by detecting the minute expansion of a microwave absorber slab when heated by the microwave field, accompanied by moiré interference of a...

Mie scattering, named after the German physicist Gustav Mie, refers to the scattering of electromagnetic radiation (such as light) by spherical particles. Unlike Rayleigh scattering, which is...

The Mills Cross telescope is a two dimensional radio telescope in which the two antenna arrays are positioned perpendicular to each other to form the shape of a cross. Each antenna consists of...

A homogeneous solid solution with crystal lattice sites occupied, at random, by the molecules or ions of two or more separate compounds

In general, changes in one oscillation signal caused by another, such as amplitude or frequency modulation in radio which can be done mechanically or intrinsically with another signal. In optics the...

Rate at which optical radiation or a signal is varied through the use of a mechanical or electronic chopper. Also called chopping frequency.

A method of spectral analysis in which some property of the sample is varied and the corresponding change is measured. The change is induced by a repetitive perturbation such as an electric field,...

A modulator is a device or component that modifies a carrier signal in order to encode information for transmission over a communication channel. The process of modulating involves varying one or...

In a laser diode, the photocurrent produced by a photodiode that detects the emission from the rear facet of the semiconductor chip. It can be used to provide feedback control of the forward current...

Simulation of radiative transfer in which each photon is generated by a source and its path through the medium is statistically simulated with absorption and scattering probabilities as well as with...

Founded by professor Albert Munsell. In the field of colorimetry, the Munsell color system is a color space that identifies a given color based on three different color measurements. These...