Cylindrical lens

Cylindrical lens
Cylindrical lenses.
Diagram showing cylindrical lenses.
A- Plano-Convex cylindrical lens
B - Plano-Concave cylindrical lens

A cylindrical lens is a lens which focuses light which passes through on to a line instead of on to a point, as a spherical lens would. The curved face or faces of a cylindrical lens are sections of a cylinder, and focus the image passing through it onto a line parallel to the intersection of the surface of the lens and a plane tangent to it. The lens compresses the image in the direction perpendicular to this line, and leaves it unaltered in the direction parallel to it (in the tangent plane).

Cylindrical lenses can be used to correct ocular astigmatism, although toric lenses are more commonly used. They can also potentially be used in solar water heating installations, such as a plastic pillow-type solar water heater. They are used to correct the output from diode lasers, to produce a round beam from the diode's elliptical output.

Sources

  • Jacobs, Donald H. Fundamentals of Optical Engineering. McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1943.

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Cylindrical lens — Cylindric Cy*lin dric (s? l?n dr?k), Cylindrical Cy*lin dric*al ( dr? kal), a. [Gr. kylindriko s, from ky lindros cylinder: cf. F. cylindrique.] Having the form of a cylinder, or of a section of its convex surface; partaking of the properties of… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • cylindrical lens — cilindrinis lęšis statusas T sritis fizika atitikmenys: angl. cylinder lens; cylindrical lens vok. Zylinderlinse, f rus. цилиндрическая линза, f pranc. lentille cylindrique, f …   Fizikos terminų žodynas

  • cylindrical lens — a lens used to correct astigmatism, having one plane surface and one cylindrical, or one spherical surface and one toroidal. The meridian along the lens axis has no refractive power, but the meridian at right angles to the axis has maximum… …   Medical dictionary

  • Lens (optics) — For other uses, see Lens. A lens. Lenses can be used to focus light. A lens is an optical device with perfect or approximate axial symmetry which tra …   Wikipedia

  • Cylindrical — Cylindric Cy*lin dric (s? l?n dr?k), Cylindrical Cy*lin dric*al ( dr? kal), a. [Gr. kylindriko s, from ky lindros cylinder: cf. F. cylindrique.] Having the form of a cylinder, or of a section of its convex surface; partaking of the properties of… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Cylindrical surface — Cylindric Cy*lin dric (s? l?n dr?k), Cylindrical Cy*lin dric*al ( dr? kal), a. [Gr. kylindriko s, from ky lindros cylinder: cf. F. cylindrique.] Having the form of a cylinder, or of a section of its convex surface; partaking of the properties of… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Cylindrical vault — Cylindric Cy*lin dric (s? l?n dr?k), Cylindrical Cy*lin dric*al ( dr? kal), a. [Gr. kylindriko s, from ky lindros cylinder: cf. F. cylindrique.] Having the form of a cylinder, or of a section of its convex surface; partaking of the properties of… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Lens — (l[e^]nz), n.; pl. {Lenses} ( [e^]z). [L. lens a lentil. So named from the resemblance in shape of a double convex lens to the seed of a lentil. Cf. {Lentil}.] (Opt.) A piece of glass, or other transparent substance, ground with two opposite… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Cylindrical perspective — is a form of distortion caused by fisheye and panoramic lenses which reproduce straight horizontal lines above and below the lens axis level as curved while reproducing straight horizontal lines on lens axis level as straight. This is also a… …   Wikipedia

  • Lens — The transparent structure inside the eye that focuses light rays onto the retina (the nerve layer that lines the back of the eye, senses light and creates impulses that go through the optic nerve to the brain). The lens was named after the lentil …   Medical dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”