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Photonics Dictionary: O

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object displacement
The movement of an object seen through a refracting prism toward the apex of a prism.
object space
In an optical system, the space between the object being viewed and the system entrance pupil.
ocular accommodation
The physical adaption of the eye lens, by means of ciliary muscle contraction, in order to maintain a clear, in focus image of light and other objects and surroundings at a given distance onto the...
ocular accommodation reflex
The eye's involuntary reaction in the process of accommodation. This reflex is most dramatic in response to looking at a distant object after having previously been focused on a near object or vice...
ocular surface
That surface of a lens located nearest to the eye.
opacimeter
An instrument for measuring opacity.
opacity
A measure of a material's inability to transmit light, equal to the reciprocal of its transmittance.
open optical interface
An interface in an optical network that permits an optical signal to pass without changing the optical signal to an electrical signal and therefore does not limit the signal to a specific protocol.
optical activity
The capacity of a chiral substance such as a crystal or molecule to rotate the plane of polarized light that is transmitted through it. Any substance that cannot be superimposed onto it's mirror...
optical artifacts
Optical artifacts refer to undesired or unintended effects that can occur in optical systems, such as microscopes, cameras, telescopes, and other optical instruments. These artifacts can distort or...
optical blacking
A light absorbing material applied to ground optical surfaces during the process of making that surface non reflective. Such material should have a refractive index as high as that of the underlying...
optical character reader
A photosensitive device used to optically scan and read character data (numbers, letters etc.) and input this data into a storage device. Optical character readers are based off the process of...
optical character recognition
Optical character recognition (OCR) is a technology that is used to convert printed or handwritten text into machine-readable text. OCR software and systems are designed to recognize and extract...
optical contact
The adhesion of two sufficiently clean and close-fitting surfaces without the use of cement or glue. The optically contacted surface is almost as durable as the body of the glass, and the surfaces...
optical manufacturing tools and machinery
Optical manufacturing tools and machinery encompass a wide range of equipment, instruments, and systems used in the fabrication, shaping, finishing, and testing of optical components and systems....
optical surface
A reflecting or refracting surface contained within an optical system.
optically active material
A material that can rotate the polarization of light that passes through it. An optically active material exhibits different refractive indices for left- and right-circular polarizations (circular...
optoacoustic
Optoacoustic, or photoacoustic, refers to a phenomenon and related techniques that involve the generation of acoustic waves in a material induced by the absorption of light. The term "optoacoustic"...
optical wireless -> free-space optics
Free-space optics (FSO), also known as optical wireless communication or optical wireless networking, refers to the transmission of data using modulated beams of light through free space (air or a...
O
opacity
object beam
In holography, the wave of light that illuminates the object to be recorded, which diffracts it to the recording medium, where it interferes with the reference beam, generating the hologram.
object conjugate -> object distance
The distance between the object and the cornea, or the first surface of the objective in an optical device.
object distance
The distance between the object and the cornea, or the first surface of the objective in an optical device.
objective aperture -> clear aperture
The limited light-gathering area of an optical system. The area is normally restricted to an edge or outer surface of an individual component. Also known as free aperture or objective aperture. The...
objective grating
A coarse diffraction grating that is used to form a scale of intensities to determine the relative magnitudes of stars. The grating is placed over the objective of a telescope to form a diffraction...
oblate crystal -> negative crystal
A uniaxial, birefringent crystal such as calcite or ruby in which the velocity of the extraordinary ray surpasses that of the ordinary ray. This can also be defined as the index of refraction of the...
obsidian
An acid-resistant, lustrous volcanic glass, usually black or banded.
occluder
A device that completely or partially restricts the amount of light reaching the eye.
OCCR
optical Chinese character recognition
ocean color
Refers to the characteristic hue of the ocean according to the presence and concentration of specific minerals or substances, such as chlorophyll. Atmospheric aberrations of color must be corrected...
OCR
optical character recognition; optical character reader
octave
In optics, an octave typically refers to a range of frequencies or wavelengths that spans a factor of 2. In other words, when dealing with optics, an octave encompasses a doubling of frequency or...
ocular -> eyepiece
Also known as ocular. The lens system used between the final real image in a visual optical system and eye. It acts as an image magnifier. Many types of eyepieces are known; e.g., the Huygens used in...
oculometer
An electro-optical infrared tracker consisting of a beamsplitter, an illuminating source, an image dissector tube and an electronics unit, that automatically acquires and tracks particular eye...
OCV
optical character verification
OEM
original equipment manufacturer
OFD
open-face detector
off-axis paraboloid and ellipsoid mirror
Off-axis paraboloid and ellipsoid mirrors are specialized optical components used in various optical systems, particularly in applications requiring precise focusing, collimation, or imaging of...
off-axis paraboloidal mirror -> paraboloidal mirror
A concave mirror that has the form of a paraboloid of revolution. The paraboloidal mirror may have only a portion of a paraboloidal surface through which the axis does not pass, and is known as an...
offset prism
A prism or prism assembly that serves to displace the instrument's optical axis.
oil-immersion objective
A form of high-power microscope objective where the space between the object and the first element is filled with an oil having the same index as that element. This form reduces losses, increases the...
oil-on plate
A polished plano-parallel plate that is contacted to an unpolished glass surface to permit see-through analysis of the material. The plate eliminates effects because of the surface quality of the...
OLCR
online character recognition
oleophobic
Oleophobic is a term used to describe substances or materials that repel or resist oils. The word oleophobic comes from the Greek words "oleo," meaning oil, and "phobos," meaning fear. Oleophobic...
ondoscope
A glow discharge tube placed on an insulating rod to detect the presence of high-frequency radiation in the vicinity of a transmitter. The tube indicates the presence of the radiation by the glow...
ONI
optical network interface
OOI
open optical interface
OPAL
optical access line
opaque
A term describing a substance that is impervious to light; the characteristic of a substance that has no luminous transmittance.
opaque projector
An opaque projector is a device used for enlarging and projecting images from opaque objects such as printed pages, photographs, or three-dimensional objects onto a screen or surface. Unlike a...

Photonics DictionaryO


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