Difference between revisions of "Caustic (optics)"

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(Created page with "In optics, a '''caustic''' or '''caustic network''' is the envelope of light rays reflected or refracted by a curved surface or...")
 
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* [[Caustic (mathematics)]]
 
* [[Caustic (mathematics)]]
 
* [[Envelope (mathematics)]]
 
* [[Envelope (mathematics)]]
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* [[Ray (optics)]]
  
 
== External links ==
 
== External links ==

Latest revision as of 11:06, 6 September 2016

In optics, a caustic or caustic network is the envelope of light rays reflected or refracted by a curved surface or object, or the projection of that envelope of rays on another surface.

Description

The caustic is a curve or surface to which each of the light rays is tangent, defining a boundary of an envelope of rays as a curve of concentrated light.

Therefore, in the image to the right, the caustics can be the patches of light or their bright edges.

These shapes often have cusp singularities.

See also

External links