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Optical engineering
 
 
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Optical engineering is the field of study that focuses on applications of optics
Optics

Optics is the study of the behavior and properties of light including its optical phenomena with matter and its imaging by optical instruments....
.

Optical engineers design components of optical instrument
Optical instrument

An optical instrument either processes light waves to enhance an image for viewing, or analyzes light waves to determine one of a number of characteristic properties....
s such as lenses
Lens (optics)

A lens is an optics device with perfect or approximate axial symmetry which transmittance and refraction light, converging or diverging the beam....
, microscope
Microscope

A microscope is an Laboratory equipment for viewing objects that are too small to be seen by the naked or unaided eye. The science of investigating small objects using such an instrument is called microscopy....
s, telescope
Telescope

A telescope is an instrument designed for the observation of remote objects by the collection of electromagnetic radiation. The first known practically functioning telescopes were invented in the Netherlands at the beginning of the 17th century....
s, and other equipment that utilize the properties of light
Light

Light, or visible light, is electromagnetic radiation of a wavelength that is Visible spectrum to the human eye , or up to 380?750 nm. In the broader field of physics, light is sometimes used to refer to electromagnetic radiation of all wavelengths, whether visible or not....
. Other devices include optical sensors and measurement systems, laser
Laser

A laser is a device that emits light through a process called stimulated emission. The term laser is an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation....
s, fiber optic communication systems, optical disc
Optical disc

In computing, sound reproduction, and video, an optical disc is a flat, circular disc wherein Data is stored in the pits in its flat surface ? sequentially on the continuous, spiral track extending from the innermost track to the outermost track, covering the entire disc surface....
 systems (e.g. CD, DVD
DVD

DVD, also known as "Digital Versatile Disc" or "Digital Video Disc,"is a popular optical disc data storage device media format. Its main uses are video and data storage....
), etc.

Since optical engineers want to design and build devices that make light do something useful, they must understand and apply the science of optics in substantial detail, in order to know what is physically possible to achieve (physics
Physics

Physics is the natural science which examines basic concepts such as energy, force, and spacetime and all that derives from these, such as mass, charge, matter and its Motion ....
 and chemistry
Chemistry

Chemistry is the science concerned with the composition, structure, and properties of matter, as well as the changes it undergoes during chemical reactions....
).






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Encyclopedia


Optical engineering is the field of study that focuses on applications of optics
Optics

Optics is the study of the behavior and properties of light including its optical phenomena with matter and its imaging by optical instruments....
.

Optical engineers design components of optical instrument
Optical instrument

An optical instrument either processes light waves to enhance an image for viewing, or analyzes light waves to determine one of a number of characteristic properties....
s such as lenses
Lens (optics)

A lens is an optics device with perfect or approximate axial symmetry which transmittance and refraction light, converging or diverging the beam....
, microscope
Microscope

A microscope is an Laboratory equipment for viewing objects that are too small to be seen by the naked or unaided eye. The science of investigating small objects using such an instrument is called microscopy....
s, telescope
Telescope

A telescope is an instrument designed for the observation of remote objects by the collection of electromagnetic radiation. The first known practically functioning telescopes were invented in the Netherlands at the beginning of the 17th century....
s, and other equipment that utilize the properties of light
Light

Light, or visible light, is electromagnetic radiation of a wavelength that is Visible spectrum to the human eye , or up to 380?750 nm. In the broader field of physics, light is sometimes used to refer to electromagnetic radiation of all wavelengths, whether visible or not....
. Other devices include optical sensors and measurement systems, laser
Laser

A laser is a device that emits light through a process called stimulated emission. The term laser is an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation....
s, fiber optic communication systems, optical disc
Optical disc

In computing, sound reproduction, and video, an optical disc is a flat, circular disc wherein Data is stored in the pits in its flat surface ? sequentially on the continuous, spiral track extending from the innermost track to the outermost track, covering the entire disc surface....
 systems (e.g. CD, DVD
DVD

DVD, also known as "Digital Versatile Disc" or "Digital Video Disc,"is a popular optical disc data storage device media format. Its main uses are video and data storage....
), etc.

Since optical engineers want to design and build devices that make light do something useful, they must understand and apply the science of optics in substantial detail, in order to know what is physically possible to achieve (physics
Physics

Physics is the natural science which examines basic concepts such as energy, force, and spacetime and all that derives from these, such as mass, charge, matter and its Motion ....
 and chemistry
Chemistry

Chemistry is the science concerned with the composition, structure, and properties of matter, as well as the changes it undergoes during chemical reactions....
). However, they also must know what is practical in terms of available technology, materials, costs, design methods, etc. As with other fields of engineering, computer
Computer

A computer is a machine that manipulates Data according to a list of Code .The first devices that resemble modern computers date to the mid-20th century , although the computer concept and various machines similar to computers existed earlier....
s are important to many (perhaps most) optical engineers. They are used with instruments, for simulation, in design, and for many other applications. Engineers often use general computer tools such as spreadsheet
Spreadsheet

A spreadsheet is a computer application that simulates a paper worksheet. It displays multiple cells that together make up a grid consisting of rows and columns, each cell containing either alphanumeric text or numeric values....
s and programming language
Programming language

A programming language is a machine-readable artificial language designed to express computations that can be performed by a machine, particularly a computer....
s, and they make frequent use of specialized optical software designed specifically for their field.

Optical engineering metrology
Metrology

Metrology is the science of measurement. Metrology includes all theoretical and practical aspects of measurement....
 uses optical methods to measure micro-vibrations with instruments like the laser speckle interferometer or to measure the properties of the various masses with instruments measuring refraction
Refraction

Refraction is the change in direction of a wave due to a change in its speed. This is most commonly observed when a wave passes from one optical medium to another....
.

See also

  • Optics
    Optics

    Optics is the study of the behavior and properties of light including its optical phenomena with matter and its imaging by optical instruments....
  • Optical physics
    Optical physics

    Optical physics, or optical science, is a subfield of atomic, molecular, and optical physics. It is the study of the generation of electromagnetic radiation, the properties of that radiation, and the interaction of that radiation with matter, especially its manipulation and control....
  • SPIE
  • CODE V
    CODE V

    CODE V is a commercial software package developed by Optical Research Associates. It is used for the Optical lens design and analysis of camera and optical communication systems....
  • Zemax
    Zemax

    Zemax is a widely-used optical design computer program sold by Zemax Development Corporation of Bellevue, Washington . It is used for the design and analysis of optical systems....

Further reading

  • Driggers, Ronald G. (ed.) (2003). Encyclopedia of Optical Engineering. New York: Marcel Dekker. 3 vols. ISBN 978-0824709402