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Columbia Encyclopedia
aberration, in optics, condition that causes a blurring and loss of clearness in the images produced by lenses or mirrors. Of the many types of aberration, the two most significant to the lens maker are spherical and chromatic. Spherical aberration is caused by the failure of a lens or mirror of spherical section to bring parallel rays of light to a single focus. The effect results from the operation of the laws of optics, not from defects in construction. Spherical aberration can be prevented by using a parabolic rather than a spherical section, but this involves much greater complexity and expense in lens or mirror construction. Chromatic aberration results in the blurred coloring of the edge of an image when white light is sent through a lens. This is caused by the fact that some colors of light are bent, or refracted, more than others after passing through a lens. For example, violet light is bent more than red and thus is brought to a focus nearer the lens than red. No single lens can ever be free of chromatic aberration, but by combining lenses of different types, the effects of the component lenses can be made to cancel one another. Such an arrangement is called an achromatic lens. See reflection; refraction.
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Wikipedia
Aberration has several meanings:
- An abnormality of chromosomes
- A disorder in one's mental state (see Mental illness)
In optics:
- Optical aberration, an imperfection in image formation by an optical system
- Spherical aberration, which occurs when light rays strike a lens or mirror near its edge
- Chromatic aberration, caused by differences in refractive index for different wavelengths of light
- Defocus aberration, which occurs when a system is out of focus
In relativity:
- Aberration of light, an astronomical phenomenon which produces an apparent motion of celestial objects
- Relativistic aberration, aberration of light relating to near light speeds
In entertainment:
- Aberration (Dungeons & Dragons), a creature type in the role-playing game
- Aberration (film), the horror movie
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Last updated on Tuesday June 10, 2008 at 13:21:16 PDT (GMT -0700)
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Last updated on Tuesday June 10, 2008 at 13:21:16 PDT (GMT -0700)
View this article at Wikipedia.org - Edit this article at Wikipedia.org - Donate to the Wikimedia Foundation
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