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Definition: Optical |
OpticalAdjective1. Relating to or using sight; "ocular inspection"; "an optical illusion"; "visual powers"; "visual navigation". 2. Of or relating to or involving light or optics; "optical supplies. 3. Of or relating to or resembling the eye; "ocular muscles"; "an ocular organ"; "ocular diseases"; "the optic (or optical) axis of the eye"; "an ocular spot is a pigmented organ or part believed to be sensitive to light". Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "optical" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1781. (references) |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Nature of Light
The term "light" (light beam or light ray) refers to the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum visible to the human eye, but can also include other forms of electromagnetic radiation. The three basic dimensions of light (and of all electromagnetic radiation) are brilliance (or amplitude), color (or frequency), and polarization (or angle of vibration). Due to wave-particle duality, light simultaneously exhibits properties of both waves and particles.
Theories About Light
- Particle Thoery
- First proposed by Isaac Newton in the seventeenth century
- Argues that light is made up of tiny particles of matter (corpuscles)
- <Discounted>
- Corpuscles are emitted in all directions
- <Discounted>
- Supports the fact that light is reflected
- Argues that light speeds up upon entering a denser medium because gravitational pull is greater
- <Discounted>
- Greatly discounted by wave theory
- Wave (or Ray) Theory
- First proposed by Christian Huygens in the seventeenth century
- Argues that light is emitted as a series of waves only
- <Discounted>
- Waves are emitted in all directions
- Waves not affected by gravity, so they slow down upon entering a denser medium
- Greatly discounted the corpuscular theory
- Can interfere with each other like sound waves (noted in eighteenth century by Thomas Young)
- Waves can be polarized
- Assumes that light needs a medium for transmission like sound
- <Discounted>
- Electromagnetic Theory
- Argues that light waves are electromagnetic and do not need a medium
- Proposed by James Clerk Maxwell at the end of the nineteenth century
- Shows that visible light is part of the electromagnetic spectrum
- Quantum (or Wave-particle duality) Theory
- Combines previous three theories
- Pioneered at end of the nineteenth century
- Max Planck proposed that light waves are made of packets of energy known as quanta or photons in 1900
- Light behaves as both particles and waves
Visible Light Wavelengths
Visible light is that portion of the spectrum between the wavelengths of about 400 nanometers (abbreviated nm) and 800 nm (in air). Light can also be characterized by its frequency. The frequency and wavelength of light obey the relation
The Speed of Light
Speed of Light Formula
where λ is the wavelength, f is the frequency, v is the speed of the light. If the light is travelling in a vacuum, then v = c, thus
- ,
where c is the speed of light. We can express v as
- ,
where n is a constant (the refractive index) which is a property of the material through which the light is passing.
Change to the Speed of Light
All light propagates at a finite speed. Even moving observers always measure the same value of c, the speed of light in vacuum, as c = 299,792,458 metres per second; however, when light passes through a transparent substance such as air, water or glass, its speed is reduced, and it suffers refraction. Thus, n=1 in a vacuum and n>1 in matter. It is a violation of the technical terminology of physics to speak of the "velocity of light;" velocity is reserved for a different use.
History of the Speed of Light
The speed of light has been measured many times, by many physicists. The best early measurement is Olaus Roemer's (a Danish physicist), in 1676. He had developed a method for measuring light. He observed and noted the motions of Jupiter and one of its moonss with a telescope. It was possible to time the revolution of the moon because it was eclipsed by Jupiter at regular intervals. Roemer discovered that the moon revolved around Jupiter once every 42-1/2 hours when Earth was closest to Jupiter. The problem was that when Earth and Jupiter were not as close, the moon's revolution seemed to be more. It was clear that light took longer to reach Earth when it was farther away from Jupiter. The speed of light was calculated by analyzing the distance between the two planets at various times. Roemer reached a speed of 227,000 kilometers per second (approximately 141,050 miles per second).
Albert A. Michelson improved on Roemer's work in 1926. He used rotating mirrors to measure the time it took light to make a round trip from Mt. Wilson to Mt. San Antonio in California. The precise measurements yielded a speed of 186,285 miles/second (299,796 kilometers/second). In daily use, the figures are rounded off to 186,000 mi/sec and 300,000 km/sec.
Optics
The study of light and the interaction of light and matter is termed optics. The observation and study of optical phenomena such as rainbows offers many clues as to the nature of light as well as much enjoyment.
Color and Wavelengths
The different wavelengths are interpreted by the human brain as colors, ranging from red at the longest wavelengths (lowest frequencies) to violet at the shortest wavelengths (highest frequencies). The intervening frequencies are seen as orange, yellow, green, blue, and, conventionally, indigo. The frequencies of the spectrum immediately outside the range the human eye is able to perceive are called ultraviolet (UV) at the high frequency end and infrared (IR) at the low. Though humans cannot see IR, we do perceive it by receptors in the skin as heat. Cameras that can pick up IR and convert it to visible light are called night-vision cameras. UV radiation is not perceived by humans at all except in a very delayed fashion, as overexposure of the skin to UV light causes sunburn, or skin cancer. Some animals, such as bees, can see UV radiation while others, such as pit viper snakes, can see IR using pits in their heads.
Measurement of Light
The following quantities and units are used to measure light.
- brightness (or temperature)
- illuminance or illumination (SI unit: lux)
- luminous flux (SI unit: lumen)
- luminous intensity (SI unit: candela)
Light Sources
- thermal radiation (black body radiation)
- incandescent light bulbs
- sunlight
- glowing solid particles in flames (see fire)
- atomic spectral emission (emission lines can either be stimulated or spontaneous)
- laser and maser (stimulated emission)
- light emitting diodes
- gas discharge lamps (neon signs, mercury lamps, etc)
- flames (light from the hot gas itself, see also above)
- acceleration of a free charged particle (usually an electron)
- cyclotron radiation
- Bremsstrahlung radiation
- Cherenkov radiation
- chemoluminescence
- fluorescence
- phosphorescence
- cathode ray tube
- bioluminescence
- sonoluminescence
- triboluminescence
- radioactive decay
- particle-antiparticle annihilation
Light Waves
A light wave
See also: Huygens' principle, Color temperature, Illumination, International Commission on Illumination, Wave-particle duality, Light pollution, photic sneeze reflex
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Light."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Optical astronomy encompasses a wide variety of observations via telescopes that are sensitive in the range of visible light. It includes imaging, where a picture of some sort is made of the object; photometry, where the amount of light coming from an object is measured, spectroscopy, where the distribution of that light with respect to its wavelength is measured, and polarimetry where the polarisation state of that light is measured.An example of spectroscopy is the study of spectral lines to understand of what kind of matter light is going through.
Optical astronomy also includes looking up at night.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Optical astronomy."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
An optical phenomenon is any observable event which results from the interaction of light and matter. See also list of optical topics and opticsCommon optical phenomenon are often due to the interaction of light from the sun or moon with the atmosphere, clouds, water, or dust and other particulates. One common example would be the rainbow, when light from the sun is reflected off water droplets in rain as it falls to the ground. Others, such as the green ray, are so rare that many consider them to be mythical. Some, such as instances of fata Morgana, are commonplace only in certain locations.
Other phenomena are simply interesting aspects of optics, or optical effects. The colors generated by a prism are often shown in classrooms for instance.
Some optical illusions can be explained as observations of unusual optical phenomena.
Atmospheric optical phenomena include:
Other optical phenomena include:
- Afterglow
- Airglow
- Alexander's band, the dark region between the two bows of a double rainbow.
- Alpenglow
- Auroral light (northern and southern lights, aurora borealis and aurora australis)
- Elves [1]
- Glories
- the Green ray
- Halos, of Sun or Moon
- Rainbows
- Sprites [1]
- Sun dogs
Optical effects include:
- Zodiacal light
- Gegenschein
- Sylvanshine
- Iridescence
Optical illusions:
- Asterism, star gems such as star sapphire or star ruby.
- Aventurescence, spangled gems such as aventurine quartz and sunstone.
- The Camera obscura
- Caustics
- Chatoyancy, cat's eye gems such as chrysoberyl cat's eye or aquamarine cat's eye
- Chromatic polarization
- cathodoluminescence
- Diffraction, the apparent bending and spreading of light waves when they meet an obstruction.
- dispersion
- Double refraction
- The Double-slit experiment
- electroluminescence
- fluorescence, also called luminescence or photoluminescence.
- phosphorescence
- metamerism as of alexandrite
- pleochroism gems or crystals which seem many-colored
- Rayleigh scattering (Why the sky is blue, sunsets are red, clouds are white, and associated phenomena)
- Synchrotron radiation
- The separation of light into colors by a prism
- triboluminescence
- The Zeeman effect
- Thomson scattering
- Total internal reflection
- The Umov effect
- Polarized light-related phenomena such as double refraction, or Haidinger's brush
- The ability of light to travel through space or through a vacuum.
There are many phenomena which result from either the particle or the wave nature of light. Some are quite subtle and observable only by precise measurement using scientific instruments. One famous observation was of the bending of light from a star by the Sun during a solar eclipse. This demonstrated that space is curved. See Theory of relativity.
- The unusually large size and rich color of the Moon as it rises and sets
Observations of some phenomena such as the photoelectric effect, the flow of electric current in a material or through a vacuum (as in a photocell) when the material is exposed to light, led to advances in science, as they could not be easily explained by existing theory.
Further Reading
- Thomas D. Rossing and Christopher J. Chiaverina, Light Science: Physics and the Visual Arts, Springer, New York, 1999, hardback, ISBN 0-387-98827-0
- Robert Greenler, Rainbows, Halos, and Glories, Elton-Wolf Publishing, 1999, hardback, ISBN 0897169263
- Polarized Light in Nature, G. P. Können, Translated by G. A. Beerling, Cambridge University Press, 1985, hardcover, ISBN 0-521-25862-6
- Abenteuer im Erdschatten (German).
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Optical phenomenon."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
The optical spectrum (visible light or visible spectrum) is that portion of the electromagnetic spectrum which is visible to the human eye. The optical spectrum is a composite, or mixture, of the various colors.
There are no exact bounds to the optical spectrum ; a light-adapted eye typically has a maximum sensitivity of ~555 nm (in the green). Commonly the response of the eye is considered to cover 380 nm to 780 nm although a range of 400 nm to 700 nm range is more common. The eye may, however, have some visual response at even wider wavelength ranges.
Wavelengths in the range visible to the eye occupy most of the "optical window", a range of wavelengths that are easily transmitted through the Earth's atmosphere.
Note: Ultraviolet and Infrared are often considered to be "light" but are generally not visible to the human eye.
The Optical Spectrum and Isaac Newton
It was Sir Isaac Newton in 1666 who first used the word spectrum to refer to the celebrated Phenomenon of Colours which can be extracted from sunlight, by a glass prism.
Visible Light
Visible light is electromagnetic radiation that is made of colors of light that the eye can see. This light has wavelengths that are generally expressed in nanometers.
See frequency, wavelength, Rydberg formula.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Optical spectrum."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
The optical telegraph preceded the electrical telegraph. It was faster than riding couriers for bringing a message over long distances. Types of optical telegraph are the semaphore, ship flags, smoke signals, and beacons. The distance that an optical telegraph can bridge is limited by geography, the shape of the earth, and the sharpness of the human eye. In practical use, most optical telegraphs used relay leagues to bridge longer distances.There was in France at the end of the 18th century a complete and working installation of optical telegraph. During the Revolutionary period, a French inventor, Claude Chappe (1763-1805), convinced the Deputies to set up a huge network between major cities. It was used for army and national communications till the 1850s.
A chain of semaphores was built in England during the Napoleonic Wars in the 19th century to warn London of a French invasion. The chain ran from the Admiralty in Whitehall to Portsmouth in the English Channel. As a result there are several locations still called Telegraph Hill. There is a restored example on a hill at Chatley Heath in Surrey.
Throughout Chinese history, smoke signals were used as communication tool during war time. Until these days, the Chinese phrase 烽火 (feng1 huo3, fire signals) is still used as a synonym for war.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Optical telegraph."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
See also list of optical topics.
Optics is a branch of physics that describes the behavior and properties of light and the interaction of light with matter. Optics explains and is illuminated by optical phenomena.
The field of optics usually describes the behavior of visible, infrared and ultraviolet light; however since light is an electromagnetic wave, analogous phenomena occur in X-rays, microwaves, radio waves, and other forms of electromagnetic radiation. Optics can thus be regarded as a sub-field of electromagnetism. Some optical phenomena depend on the quantum nature of light and as such some areas of optics are also related to quantum mechanics.
Optics, however, as a field is often considered largely separate from the physics community. It has its own identity, societies, and conferences. The pure science aspects of the field are often called Optical Science or Optical Physics. Applied optical sciences are often called optical engineering. Applications of optical enginering related specifically to illumination systems is called illumination engineering. Each of these disciplines tends to be quite different in its applications, technical skills, focus, and professional affiliations.
Because of the wide application of the science of "light" to real-world applications, the area of optical science, and optical engineering tends to be very cross-disiplinary. You will find optical science a part of many related disciplines including electrical engineering, physics, psychology, medicine, and others.
Classical Optics
Classical or geometric optics, sometimes called ray optics is the branch of optics that describes light propagation in terms of rays. Rays are bent at the interface between two dissimilar media, and may be curved in a medium in which the refractive index is a function of position. The ray in geometric optics is perpendicular to the wavefront in physical optics.
Geometric optics of:
- reflection
- refraction
- diffraction
- dispersion
- polarization
- coherence
- scattering
- ray and wave theories of optics
- Fourier optics
- Fermat's principle
- gradient index optics
- optical lens design
- fabrication and testing (optical components)
- lenses
- mirrors
- prisms
- optical instruments
Modern Optics
Modern Optics is a term used to describe areas of optical science and engineering that became popular in the 20th century. These areas of optical science typically relate to the electromagnetic or quantum properties of light but do include other topics.
- quantum optics
- Jones calculus
- lasers
- holography
- crystal optics
- nonlinear optics
- statistical optics
- physical optics
- Fourier optics
- diffractive optics
- guided-wave optics
- integrated optics
- non-imaging optics
- thin-film optics
- optical pattern recognition
- optical processors
- micro-optics
- radiometry
- photometry
- optical modeling and simulation methods
Other Optical Fields
- color science
- illumination engineering
- human visual system
- optical communication systems
- image processing
- pattern recognition
- thermal physics - radiative heat transfer
- optical data storage (science of)
- electronic displays (science of)
- photography (science of)
- information theory
- material science - optical properties
- optical computers
Everyday optics
Optics is part of everyday life. Rainbows and appearances of Fata Morgana or the Green ray are examples of optical phenomena.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Optics."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Optoelectronic: Pertaining to any device that functions as an electrical-to-optical or optical-to-electrical transducer, or an instrument that uses such a device in its operation.Note 1: Photodiodes, LEDs, injection laser diodes, and integrated optical circuit (IOC) elements are examples of optoelectronic devices commonly used in optical fiber communications.
Note 2: "Electro-optical" is often erroneously used as a synonym.
Source: from Federal Standard 1037C and from MIL-STD-188
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Optoelectronic."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Optoelectronics is the study and application of electronic devices that interact with light. In this context, light often includes invisible forms of radiation such as ultraviolet and infrared.Optoelectronics is based on the quantum mechanical effects of light on semiconducting materials, sometimes in the presence of electric fields.
Optoelectronics includes the following physical phenomena.
- Photoelectric or photovoltaic effect, used in:
- photodiodes (including solar cells)
- phototransistors
- photomultipliers
- Photoconductivity, used in:
- light-dependent resistors
- photoconductive camera tubes
- charge-coupled imaging devices
- Stimulated emission, used in:
- lasers
- Lossev effect, or radiative recombination, used in:
- light-emitting diodes or LED
- Photoemissivity, used in
- photoemissive camera tube
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Optoelectronics."
| The following table is compiled from various sources, across various languages. When English abbreviations or acronyms come from a non-English source, this is noted. | |||
| Entry | Source | Expression | Field |
| OPAQUE | English | Optical and Atmospheric Quantities in Europe | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |||
Synonyms: OpticalSynonyms: ocular (adj), opthalmic (adj), optic (adj), visual (adj). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Information | Magnetic media, paper medium, optical media; random access memory, RAM; read-only memory, ROM; write once read mostly memory, WORM. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
| Domain | Usage | |
Movie/TV Titles | An Optical Poem (1937) Optical Surgery (1987) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
References |
| ||
Books |
| ||
Periodicals | |||
Theater & Movies | |||
Music |
| ||
High Tech |
| ||
Consumer Goods | |||
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | This sequence of pictures shows successive steps in optical improvement from ground based ... Credit: NASA. |  | NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has obtained the most detailed and highest resolution optical ... Credit: NASA. |
 | An evening view to the east after a steady rain. The light area is an optical effect as the sun was setting to the west behind the photographer. Credit: America's Coastlines. |  | Optical effect as sun actually below horizon during March sunset. Credit: Paths Less Taken - NOAA at the Ends of the Earth. |
 | Figure 13. (end) R. Bertel's spectograph. The optical device. See image ship4014 for further discussion. Credit: Sailing for Science - the NOAA Fleet Then and Now. |  | Workers raise a 14,800-pound Ground Based Electro Optical Deep Space Surveillance system telescope mount into position at the Maui Space Surveillance Complex in Hawaii, Nov. 3. (Courtesy photo). |
 | [An optical instrument]. Credit: National Library of Medicine. |  | Halftone reproduction of a close-up photograph published in the "Strand Magazine", 1st Quarter 1901, showing dents in the monitor's turret armor made by Confederate cannon shot during the Civil War. These same dents are visible in Photo # NH 59436, taken circa 1864-65. An interesting optical illusion can be seen if this image is turned upside down. Credit: NAVY. |
 | Diagrams of optical phenomena, including the rainbow, the double Icelandic spar, and prism refraction. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Optical illusion disc with man pumping water. Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
 |  |
| "LightMouse 1" by Ashvin Jetpuria Commentary: "Toyed around this optical mouse of mine." | "Moon Rock" by Philip Jackson Commentary: "A few nights ago I receieved in the post my super telephoto plus adapter for y camera. with this stunning optical device i can now take detailed pictures of the moon's surface. ." |
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers. | |
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | The optical problems associated with SOD are generally not treatable. (references) | |
Determine the role of optical and computer technology for the following of patients with atypical moles. (references) | ||
Baseline high-quality total body photographs may aid such examinations, as may other enhanced optical techniques such as epiluminescence microscopy. (references) | ||
Business | Some data networks combine optical network with radio network. (references) | |
Optical networks, radio networks and VSAT networks have been built. (references) | ||
Connectivity is by digital transmission systems operating mainly on optical cables. (references) | ||
Economic History | India | The OFCs are made of optical fiber, which is indigenously available. (references) |
India | However, silica tubes, the prime raw material for optical fiber, are imported. (references) | |
Netherlands | Organized optical disc software piracy, and e-commerce piracy are also of major concern to the Dutch. (references) | |
Political Economy | TAIWAN | An optical disk law was passed by the legislature in October 2001. (references) |
UKRAINE | The United States is urging Ukraine to enact licensing legislation for optical media production. (references) | |
INDONESIA | U.S. rightholders are concerned about the rapid increase in pirate optical disc (OD) production facilities in Indonesia. (references) | |
Trade | Ukraine | In early 2001, the Cabinet of Ministers passed another resolution aimed at licensing the import of industrial-grade polycarbonate, the main raw material used to produce optical media compact discs. (references) |
Mauritius | Textiles and apparel account for 80% of EPZ exports, but there has been some diversification into manufacture of watches, electronic measuring instruments, jewelry, leather goods, toys, and optical goods. (references) | |
Bolivia | There has been special preference for used/refurbished medical equipment, such as medical diagnostic systems, optical instruments, anesthesia apparatus, operating room furniture, patient room furniture, other hospital furniture, and surgical instruments and apparatus. (references) | |
Lexicography | Devil's Dictionary | HALO, n. Properly, a luminous ring encircling an astronomical body, but not infrequently confounded with "aureola," or "nimbus," a somewhat similar phenomenon worn as a head-dress by divinities and saints. The halo is a purely optical illusion, produced by moisture in the air, in the manner of a rainbow; but the aureola is conferred as a sign of superior sanctity, in the same way as a bishop's mitre, or the Pope's tiara. In the painting of the Nativity, by Szedgkin, a pious artist of Pesth, not only do the Virgin and the Child wear the nimbus, but an ass nibbling hay from the sacred manger is similarly decorated and, to his lasting honor be it said, appears to bear his unaccustomed dignity with a truly saintly grace. |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Term | Phrase(s) |
Thomas Jefferson | 1801-1809 | To justify a general conclusion, requires many observations, even where the subject may be submitted to the anatomical knife, to optical classes, to analysis by fire, or by solvents. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| "Optical" is generally used as an adjective (general or positive) -- approximately 100.00% of the time. "Optical" is used about 932 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Adjective (general or positive) | 100% | 932 | 7,743 |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| Country | Name | Country | Name |
| Canada | EXFO ELECTRO OPTICAL ENGR | France | Highwave Optical Technologies |
| Germany | Adva AG Optical Networking | Hong Kong | Arts Optical International Holdings Ltd. |
| Japan | Asahi Optical Co Ltd | South Africa | General Optical Company Limited |
| South Korea | SAM YANG OPTICAL | United Kingdom | Applied Optical Technologies Plc |
| USA | OIS Optical Imaging Systems, Inc. | ||
| (more examples...) |
Source: compiled by the editor from Icon Group International, Inc.
Expressions using "optical": digital transmission over multimode optical fibers ♦ digital transmission over multimode optical fibres ♦ erasable optical disc ♦ microscope optical instruments ♦ multimode optical fibre ♦ nonlinear optical loop mirror ♦ optical aberration ♦ optical activity ♦ optical aura ♦ optical axis ♦ optical bench ♦ optical bit storage ♦ optical bleach ♦ optical bleaching agent ♦ optical brightener ♦ optical brightening agent ♦ optical cable ♦ optical Carrier 12 ♦ optical Carrier 3 ♦ optical Carrier 48 ♦ optical Carrier n ♦ optical cavity ♦ optical character reader ♦ optical Character Recognition ♦ optical circle ♦ optical condenser ♦ optical coupler ♦ optical crown ♦ optical cube ♦ optical density ♦ optical device ♦ optical diff ♦ optical disk ♦ optical dynamometer ♦ optical fiber ♦ optical fiber cable ♦ optical fiber cladding ♦ optical fiber coupler ♦ optical fibre ♦ optical fibre cable ♦ optical fibre cladding ♦ optical fibre coupler ♦ optical flint ♦ optical flow ♦ optical fusion ♦ optical glass ♦ optical grep ♦ optical illusion ♦ Optical Illusions ♦ optical index ♦ optical instrument ♦ optical isomer ♦ optical isomerism ♦ optical lens ♦ optical Mark Reader ♦ optical mark reading ♦ optical maser ♦ optical mouse ♦ optical neural computer ♦ optical opacity ♦ optical optic ♦ optical parallax ♦ optical phenomenon ♦ optical prism ♦ optical pyrometer ♦ optical recording ♦ optical resist ♦ optical return loss ♦ Optical Rotatory Dispersion ♦ optical square ♦ Optical Storage Devices ♦ optical switch ♦ optical telescope ♦ optical Time Domain Reflectometer ♦ optical Time Domain Reflectometry ♦ optical whitening agent ♦ Physical layer High speed Optoelectronics for Tomorrow's Optical Networks ♦ plastic optical fiber ♦ plastic optical fibre ♦ synchronous optical network ♦ transmission optical density. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "optical": optical-disc, optical-disk, optical-fibre, optical-glass, optical-illusion, optical-link, optical-microscope, optical-numeric-disk, optical-parts, optical-quality, optical-reconnaissance, optical-storage. | |
Ending with "optical": all-optical, electro-optical, magneto-optical. | |
Containing "optical": magneto-optical disk. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day | Expression | Frequency per Day |
optical illusion | 5,306 | vista optical | 66 |
optical | 525 | optical instrument | 65 |
sears optical | 404 | optical target | 61 |
optical mouse | 358 | optical waveguide | 60 |
optical disk | 261 | cohen optical | 59 |
optical equipment | 132 | doc optical | 57 |
illusion optical scary | 116 | dragon optical | 56 |
sterling optical | 113 | for eyes optical | 54 |
optical fiber | 106 | optical component | 54 |
optical character recognition | 95 | microsoft mouse optical | 53 |
wireless optical mouse | 94 | optical frame | 52 |
american optical | 91 | optical art | 48 |
wal mart optical | 90 | jc penney optical | 47 |
hakim optical | 83 | allusion optical | 47 |
optical state texas | 78 | optical comparator | 46 |
illusion optical picture | 77 | optical sensor | 46 |
optical cable | 74 | optical lens | 45 |
optical device | 69 | optical zoom | 45 |
optical drive | 68 | logitech optical mouse | 44 |
cohens fashion optical | 68 | art illusion optical | 42 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Translations for "optical"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Albanian | optik (optic, visual), pamor (visual). (various references) | |
Arabic | متعلق بالبصريات, بصرياتي, بصري (ocular, optic, visual). (various references) | |
Bulgarian | видим (apparent, discernible, observable, ostensible, outward, perceivable, seeable, sensible, visible), оптически (visual), оптичен (optic), зрителен (ocular, optic, visional, visionary, visual). (various references) | |
Chinese | 光纖 (fiber optic, light, optical fiber, ray), 光学 (Optics). (various references) | |
Czech | optický (optic, visual), oèní (ocular, ophthalmic, optic), zrakový (ocular, optic, visional, visual). (various references) | |
Danish | optisk gloedetraadspyrometer (disappearing filament type pyrometer). (various references) | |
Dutch | optische gloeidraadpyrometer (disappearing filament type pyrometer). (various references) | |
Finnish | optinen heijastusvoima (optical reflectance, reflectivity), optinen heijastushäviö (optical return loss), optinen heijastuvuus (optical reflectance, reflectivity), optinen hermoverkkotietokone (optical neural computer), optinen kuvantaminen (optical imagery), optinen luku (optical character recognition), optinen luotauslaite (optical plumbing instrument, optical plummet), optinen maser (optical maser), Optinen merkkien tunnistus (Optical character recognition (OCR)), optinen tallennus (holographic recording, optical recording), optinen tiheys (density, optical density), optinen vuo (optical flow), optinen piilasi (flint, flint optical glass, optical flint, optical flint glass), optinen haaroitin (coupler, optical coupler, optical fiber coupler, optical fibre coupler), epäselektiivinen optinen absorptio (free carrier absorption, metallic absorption, non-selective optical absorption), kellot (equipment and supplies and optical goods, not elsewhere specified;watches and clocks, photographic apparatus), kattoluoti (optical plummet for plumbing roof points, roof plummet, upward sighting plummet), integroidun optiikan teknologiat optisten signaalien tosiaikaista laajakaistaista käsittelyä varten (Integrated optic technologies for real-time wideband optical signal processing), harhanäky (optical illusion), fotoresisti (light-sensitive resin, light-sensitive resist, optical resist, photoresist), laser (laser, light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation, optical maser), ensimmäisen sukupolven valokaapeli (first generation optical fiber cable, first generation optical fibre cable), digitaalinen siirto yksimuotovalokuiduilla (digital transmission over single-mode optical fibers, digital transmission over single-mode optical fibres), digitaalinen siirto monimuotovalokuiduilla (digital transmission over multimode optical fibers, digital transmission over multimode optical fibres), galliumarsenidisuodatin (gallium arsenide filter, gallium-arsenide optical filter), kovera malja (concave optical tool, concave tool), läpäisysuhteen optinen tiheys (absorbance, transmission optical density), muualla luokittelemattomat valokuvaus-ja optiikkavälineet (equipment and supplies and optical goods, not elsewhere specified;watches and clocks, photographic apparatus), näköharha (optical illusion), aihio (billet, blank, optical blank, preform, pressing, semi-finished products, semis, slug), valoilmiö (optical phenomenon), valokaapeli (fiber cable, fiber optic cable, fibre cable, fibre optic cable, optical cable, optical fiber cable, optical fibre cable), valoherkkä aine (light-sensitive resin, light-sensitive resist, optical resist, photoresist), valkaisuaine (bleaching agent, brightener, fluorescent whitening agent, optical bleach, optical bleaching agent, optical brightener, optical brightening agent, optical whitening agent, whitening agent), synkroninen optinen verkko (SONET, synchronous optical network), refraktioindeksi (index of refraction, optical index, refraction coefficient, refractive index), kupera malja (convex optical tool, convex tool). (various references) | |
French | optique (optic, optics). (various references) | |
German | optisch (optic, optically, visual). (various references) | |
Greek | οπτικόσ (optic, optician, visual). (various references) | |
Hebrew | אופטי, חזותי (graphic, visual), ראותי (visual). (various references) | |
Hungarian | optikai (op, optic), látási (optic, visual). (various references) | |
Italian | ottico (optic, optician). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | オプション取引 (medical operation, obelisk, oblisque, Omaha, omega, omelette, omelette rice, omit, omnibus, Omron Corporation, opaque, opcode, OPEC, opera, opera glasses, opera house, opera-comique, operand, operating, operating system, operating-system, operation, operation center, operation code, operational, operational amplifier, operations, operations research, operator, operetta, opossum, opportunism, opportunist, opposition party, optical art, optimism, optimist, optimistic, optimize, optimizer, option dealing, option trading, option transaction, optoelectronics, OR, Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OS). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | オプティカル . (various references) | |
Korean | 광학 (Optics). (various references) | |
Manx | shilleydagh (optic), reayrtoil (optic). (various references) | |
Pig Latin | opticalay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | relativo à óptica, pirómetro óptico de desaparição de filamento (disappearing filament type pyrometer), ótico (optic, optician, visual), óptico (optic, optician, visual). (various references) | |
Romanian | optic (optic, visional, visual), ocular (eye, eye-glass, eyepiece, ocular, optic). (various references) | |
Russian | оптический (optic, visual). (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | optički (optic, perspective), očni (ocular, ophthalmic, optic), vidani (optic). (various references) | |
Spanish | óptico (optic, optician). (various references) | |
Swedish | optiskt. (various references) | |
Thai | เกี่ยวกับสายตา (ocular, optic, optically). (various references) | |
Turkish | optik (optic, optics, visual), göz (blinker, cell, compartment, Cubby, cubbyhole, cubicle, cuddy, drawer, eye, eyehole, glim, ocular, ophthalmic, optic, opto-, orb, orbit, orbital, peeper, sight), görme (seeing, sight, vision, visual), görüş (apprehension, argument, aspect, case, concept, conviction, estimation, eye, feeling, genius, horizon, idea, interest, notion, opinion, outlook, position, sentiments, sight, thought, view, vision, visual). (various references) | |
Ukrainian | оптичний (perspective, telescopic, visual), зоровий (optic, visual). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "optical": optically. (additional references) | |
Words ending with "optical": synoptical. (additional references) | |
Words containing "optical": synoptically. (additional references) | |
| |
"Optical" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: ontical, opial, opstical, optia, Optica, opticals, opticle, Opticram, Optika, Optilas, optinal, ostial, postictal, Pottisham. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "optical" (pronounced Ä"ptikul) |
| 6 | -p t i k u l | elliptical. |
| 5 | -t i k u l | acoustical, alphabetical, analytical, antithetical, apolitical, astronautical, critical, dialectical, ecclesiastical, egotistical, fanatical, geopolitical, heretical, hypercritical, hypocritical, identical, statistical, tactical, testicle, logistical, mathematical, mystical, nonpolitical, pharmaceutical, problematical, sabbatical, theoretical, uncritical, vertical, viatical. |
| 4 | -i k u l | archaeological, archeological, astrological, astronomical, asymmetrical, atypical, autobiographical, bicycle, biographical, biological, biomedical, biotechnological, botanical, categorical, cervical, chronological, classical, comical, conical, cubicle, cyclical, cylindrical, cynical, dermatological, diabolical, ecological, economical, ecumenical, electrical, electrochemical, electromechanical, empirical, encyclical, epidemiological, eschatological, ethical, ethnical, evangelical, galenical, geographical, geological, geometrical, graphical, gynecological, helical, historical, hysterical, icicle, ideological, illogical, immunological, spherical, stereotypical, strategical, surgical, symmetrical, technical, technological, teleological, theatrical, theological, inimical, ironical, lackadaisical, lexical, liturgical, logical, lyrical, magical, mechanical, metallurgical, metaphorical, metaphysical, methodological, metrical, morphological, musical, mythological, neoclassical, neurological, nonelectrical, nonsensical, nonsurgical, nontechnical, ontological, ornithological, paradoxical, pathological, pedagogical, periodical, petrochemical, pharmacological, philosophical, phonological, physical, physiological, popsicle, preclinical, prototypical, psychical, psychological, puritanical, rabbinical, radiological, rhetorical, semiclassical, semicylindrical, semitropical, serological, sociological, topical, toxicological, tricycle, tropical, typographical, tyrannical, umbilical, uneconomical, unethical, untypical, vehicle, virological, whimsical, zoological. |
| 3 | -k u l | aeronautical, agrochemical, allegorical, anarchical, anatomical, ankle, anthropological, article, barnacle, biblical, bifocal, biochemical, brickle, buckle, cackle, chemical, Chronicle, chuckle, circle, clavicle, clerical, clinical, commonsensical, coracle, cortical, crackle, cuticle, cycle, debacle, diacritical, domical, ducal, encircle, epochal, equivocal, etymological, farcical, fecal, fickle, fiscal, focal, follicle, freckle, geophysical, gonococcal, grackle, grammatical, granduncle, hackle, heckle, heterocercal, hierarchical, honeysuckle, Huckle, hypothetical, impractical, Sokol, sparkle, speckle, spectacle, sprinkle, stickle, suckle, tabernacle, tackle, ten |
