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Science and mathematics. Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point. Ray (graph theory), an infinite sequence of vertices such that each vertex appears at most once in the sequence and each two consecutive vertices in the sequence are the two endpoints of an edge in the graph. Ray (optics), an idealized narrow beam of light.
Geometrical optics. Geometrical optics, or ray optics, is a model of optics that describes light propagation in terms of rays. The ray in geometrical optics is an abstraction useful for approximating the paths along which light propagates under certain circumstances. The simplifying assumptions of geometrical optics include that light rays:
e. In geometry, a straight line, usually abbreviated line, is an infinitely long object with no width, depth, or curvature, an idealization of such physical objects as a straightedge, a taut string, or a ray of light. Lines are spaces of dimension one, which may be embedded in spaces of dimension two, three, or higher.
In optics, a ray is an idealized geometrical model of light or other electromagnetic radiation, obtained by choosing a curve that is perpendicular to the wavefronts of the actual light, and that points in the direction of energy flow. [1][2] Rays are used to model the propagation of light through an optical system, by dividing the real light ...
Angle. A green angle formed by two red rays on the Cartesian coordinate system. In Euclidean geometry, an angle is the figure formed by two rays, called the sides of the angle, sharing a common endpoint, called the vertex of the angle. [1] Angles formed by two rays are also known as plane angles as they lie in the plane that contains the rays.
Normal (geometry) A polygon and its two normal vectors. A normal to a surface at a point is the same as a normal to the tangent plane to the surface at the same point. In geometry, a normal is an object (e.g. a line, ray, or vector) that is perpendicular to a given object. For example, the normal line to a plane curve at a given point is the ...
v. t. e. Geometry (from Ancient Greek γεωμετρία (geōmetría) 'land measurement'; from γῆ (gê) 'earth, land' and μέτρον (métron) 'a measure') [1] is a branch of mathematics concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. [2] Geometry is, along with arithmetic, one of ...
Each optical element (surface, interface, mirror, or beam travel) is described by a 2 × 2 ray transfer matrix which operates on a vector describing an incoming light ray to calculate the outgoing ray. Multiplication of the successive matrices thus yields a concise ray transfer matrix describing the entire optical system.