Optical instrument - online puzzles

An optical instrument ( or "optic" for short) is a device that either processes light waves to enhance an image for viewing, or analyzes light waves ( or photons) to determine one of a number of characteristic properties.

Image enhancement

The first optical instruments were telescopes used for magnification of distant images, and microscopes used for magnifying very tiny images. Since the days of Galileo and Van Leeuwenhoek, these instruments have been greatly improved and extended into other portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. The binocular device is a generally compact instrument for both eyes designed for mobile use. A camera could be considered a type of optical instrument, with the pinhole camera and camera obscura being very simple examples of such devices.

Analysis

Another class of optical instrument is used to analyze the properties of light or optical materials. They include:

Interferometer for measuring the interference properties of light waves

Photometer for measuring light intensity

Polarimeter for measuring dispersion or rotation of polarized light

Reflectometer for measuring the reflectivity of a surface or object

Refractometer for measuring refractive index of various materials, invented by Ernst Abbe

Spectrometer or monochromator for generating or measuring a portion of the optical spectrum, for the purpose of chemical or material analysis

Autocollimator which is used to measure angular deflections

Vertometer which is used to determine refractive power of lenses such as glasses, contact lenses and magnifier lensDNA sequencers can be considered optical instruments as they analyse the color and intensity of the light emitted by a fluorochrome attached to a specific nucleotide of a DNA strand.

Surface plasmon resonance-based instruments use refractometry to measure and analyze biomolecular interactions.

Other optical devices

Polarization controller

Camera

Magic lantern

See also

Scientific instruments

References

External links

Giorgio Carboni. "From Lenses to Optical Instruments ".