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Gouy Phase Shift
The Gouy phase shift is a phase shift gradually acquired by a Gaussian beam around its beam waist (focus). It is named after Louis Georges Gouy. Calculations At distance from the waist of a Gaussian beam, the Gouy phase is given by\psi(z) = \arctan \left( \frac \right). is the Rayleigh range: z_\mathrm = \frac, where is the radius of the beam at the waist, is the index of refraction of the medium in which the beam propagates, and is the wavelength of the beam in free space. Speed of light The Gouy phase results in an increase in the apparent wavelength near the waist (). Thus the phase velocity in that region formally exceeds the speed of light. That paradoxical behavior must be understood as a near-field phenomenon where the departure from the phase velocity of light (as would apply exactly to a plane wave) is small except in the case of a beam with large numerical aperture, in which case the wavefronts' curvature changes substantially over the interval of a sing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
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Phase Shift
In physics and mathematics, the phase (symbol φ or ϕ) of a wave or other periodic function F of some real variable t (such as time) is an angle-like quantity representing the fraction of the cycle covered up to t. It is expressed in such a scale that it varies by one full turn as the variable t goes through each period (and F(t) goes through each complete cycle). It may be measured in any angular unit such as degrees or radians, thus increasing by 360° or 2\pi as the variable t completes a full period. This convention is especially appropriate for a sinusoidal function, since its value at any argument t then can be expressed as \varphi(t), the sine of the phase, multiplied by some factor (the amplitude of the sinusoid). (The cosine may be used instead of sine, depending on where one considers each period to start.) Usually, whole turns are ignored when expressing the phase; so that \varphi(t) is also a periodic function, with the same period as F, that repeatedly sc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
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Speed Of Light
The speed of light in vacuum, commonly denoted , is a universal physical constant exactly equal to ). It is exact because, by international agreement, a metre is defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of second. The speed of light is invariant (physics), the same for all observers, no matter their relative velocity. It is the upper limit for the speed at which Information#Physics_and_determinacy, information, matter, or energy can travel through Space#Relativity, space. All forms of electromagnetic radiation, including visible light, travel at the speed of light. For many practical purposes, light and other electromagnetic waves will appear to propagate instantaneously, but for long distances and sensitive measurements, their finite speed has noticeable effects. Much starlight viewed on Earth is from the distant past, allowing humans to study the history of the universe by viewing distant objects. When Data communication, comm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
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Physical Optics
In physics, physical optics, or wave optics, is the branch of optics that studies Interference (wave propagation), interference, diffraction, Polarization (waves), polarization, and other phenomena for which the ray approximation of geometric optics is not valid. This usage tends not to include effects such as quantum noise in optical communication, which is studied in the sub-branch of coherence theory (optics), coherence theory. Principle ''Physical optics'' is also the name of an approximation commonly used in optics, electrical engineering and applied physics. In this context, it is an intermediate method between geometric optics, which ignores wave effects, and full wave electromagnetism, which is a precise theory. The word "physical" means that it is more physical than geometric or ray (optics), ray optics and not that it is an exact physical theory. This approximation consists of using ray optics to estimate the field on a surface and then integral, integrating that field ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
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Phasor
In physics and engineering, a phasor (a portmanteau of phase vector) is a complex number representing a sinusoidal function whose amplitude and initial phase are time-invariant and whose angular frequency is fixed. It is related to a more general concept called analytic representation,Bracewell, Ron. ''The Fourier Transform and Its Applications''. McGraw-Hill, 1965. p269 which decomposes a sinusoid into the product of a complex constant and a factor depending on time and frequency. The complex constant, which depends on amplitude and phase, is known as a phasor, or complex amplitude, and (in older texts) sinor or even complexor. A common application is in the steady-state analysis of an electrical network powered by time varying current where all signals are assumed to be sinusoidal with a common frequency. Phasor representation allows the analyst to represent the amplitude and phase of the signal using a single complex number. The only difference in their analytic rep ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
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Sign Convention
In physics, a sign convention is a choice of the physical significance of signs (plus or minus) for a set of quantities, in a case where the choice of sign is arbitrary. "Arbitrary" here means that the same physical system can be correctly described using different choices for the signs, as long as one set of definitions is used consistently. The choices made may differ between authors. Disagreement about sign conventions is a frequent source of confusion, frustration, misunderstandings, and even outright errors in scientific work. In general, a sign convention is a special case of a choice of coordinate system for the case of one dimension. Sometimes, the term "sign convention" is used more broadly to include factors of the imaginary unit and , rather than just choices of sign. Relativity Metric signature In relativity, the metric signature can be either or . (Throughout this article, the signs of the eigenvalues of the metric are displayed in the order that presents the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
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Helmholtz Equation
In mathematics, the Helmholtz equation is the eigenvalue problem for the Laplace operator. It corresponds to the elliptic partial differential equation: \nabla^2 f = -k^2 f, where is the Laplace operator, is the eigenvalue, and is the (eigen)function. When the equation is applied to waves, is known as the wave number. The Helmholtz equation has a variety of applications in physics and other sciences, including the wave equation, the diffusion equation, and the Schrödinger equation for a free particle. In optics, the Helmholtz equation is the wave equation for the electric field. The equation is named after Hermann von Helmholtz, who studied it in 1860. from the Encyclopedia of Mathematics. Motivation and uses The Helmholtz equation often arises in the study of physical problems involving par ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
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Curvature
In mathematics, curvature is any of several strongly related concepts in geometry that intuitively measure the amount by which a curve deviates from being a straight line or by which a surface deviates from being a plane. If a curve or surface is contained in a larger space, curvature can be defined ''extrinsically'' relative to the ambient space. Curvature of Riemannian manifolds of dimension at least two can be defined ''intrinsically'' without reference to a larger space. For curves, the canonical example is that of a circle, which has a curvature equal to the reciprocal of its radius. Smaller circles bend more sharply, and hence have higher curvature. The curvature ''at a point'' of a differentiable curve is the curvature of its osculating circle — that is, the circle that best approximates the curve near this point. The curvature of a straight line is zero. In contrast to the tangent, which is a vector quantity, the curvature at a point is typically a scalar q ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
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Numerical Aperture
In optics, the numerical aperture (NA) of an optical system is a dimensionless number that characterizes the range of angles over which the system can accept or emit light. By incorporating index of refraction in its definition, has the property that it is constant for a beam as it goes from one material to another, provided there is no refractive power at the interface (e.g., a flat interface). The exact definition of the term varies slightly between different areas of optics. Numerical aperture is commonly used in microscopy to describe the acceptance cone of an Objective (optics), objective (and hence its light-gathering ability and Optical resolution, resolution), and in fiber optics, in which it describes the range of angles within which light that is incident on the fiber will be transmitted along it. General optics In most areas of optics, and especially in microscopy, the numerical aperture of an optical system such as an objective lens is defined by \mathrm = n \sin \t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
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Near And Far Field
The near field and far field are regions of the electromagnetic (EM) field around an object, such as a transmitting antenna, or the result of radiation scattering off an object. Non-radiative ''near-field'' behaviors dominate close to the antenna or scatterer, while electromagnetic radiation ''far-field'' behaviors predominate at greater distances. Far-field (electric) and (magnetic) radiation field strengths decrease as the distance from the source increases, resulting in an inverse-square law for the '' power'' intensity of electromagnetic radiation in the transmitted signal. By contrast, the near-fields and strengths decrease more rapidly with distance: The radiative field decreases by the inverse-distance squared, the reactive field by an inverse-''cube'' law, resulting in a diminished power in the parts of the electric field by an inverse fourth-power and sixth-power, respectively. The rapid drop in power contained in the near-field ensures that effects due to the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
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Phase Velocity
The phase velocity of a wave is the rate at which the wave propagates in any medium. This is the velocity at which the phase of any one frequency component of the wave travels. For such a component, any given phase of the wave (for example, the crest) will appear to travel at the phase velocity. The phase velocity is given in terms of the wavelength (lambda) and time period as :v_\mathrm = \frac. Equivalently, in terms of the wave's angular frequency , which specifies angular change per unit of time, and wavenumber (or angular wave number) , which represent the angular change per unit of space, :v_\mathrm = \frac. To gain some basic intuition for this equation, we consider a propagating (cosine) wave . We want to see how fast a particular phase of the wave travels. For example, we can choose , the phase of the first crest. This implies , and so . Formally, we let the phase and see immediately that and . So, it immediately follows that : \frac = -\frac \frac = \frac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
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Gaussian Beam
In optics, a Gaussian beam is an idealized beam of electromagnetic radiation whose amplitude envelope in the transverse plane is given by a Gaussian function; this also implies a Gaussian intensity (irradiance) profile. This fundamental (or TEM00) transverse Gaussian mode describes the intended output of many lasers, as such a beam diverges less and can be focused better than any other. When a Gaussian beam is refocused by an ideal lens, a new Gaussian beam is produced. The electric and magnetic field amplitude profiles along a circular Gaussian beam of a given wavelength and polarization are determined by two parameters: the waist , which is a measure of the width of the beam at its narrowest point, and the position relative to the waist.Svelto, pp. 153–5. Since the Gaussian function is infinite in extent, perfect Gaussian beams do not exist in nature, and the edges of any such beam would be cut off by any finite lens or mirror. However, the Gaussian is a useful appro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |