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isnainidiah
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How do you use Fermat's principle of least time to explain various concepts in geometrical optics?
You can use Fermat's principle to derive the laws on which geometrical optics is based: The laws of reflection and refraction.isnainidiah said:How do you use Fermat's principle of least time to explain various concepts in geometrical optics?
Yes. That is the basis of geometrical optics.isnainidiah said:So when we talk about optic geometry, we just explain the reflection and refraction, isn't it ??
I don't quite understand the question. Use Fermat to derive the laws of optics, then use those laws to design mirrors and lenses to do what you would like (form images, for example).isnainidiah said:then what if the answer to the question "how do you use Fermat's principle to explain the need for forms of mirrors and lenses"?
Usually, the need for designing certain shapes of the mirrors and lenses is for aberration correction purpose. Aberration comes in various forms, all of them have adverse effect on the formed image, so suppressing them by designing certain shapes and/or material of the mirrors and lenses is demanded.isnainidiah said:Yeah i mean, how we use fermat principle to explain the required shapes of lenses and mirrors ?
So, the design of mirror and lens just for certain purpose, is'n it?blue_leaf77 said:Usually, the need for designing certain shapes of the mirrors and lenses is for aberration correction purpose. Aberration comes in various forms, all of them have adverse effect on the formed image, so suppressing them by designing certain shapes and/or material of the mirrors and lenses is demanded.
Are you asking about correcting for abberations? Or just asking about the basic shapes of lenses and mirrors?isnainidiah said:So, the design of mirror and lens just for certain purpose, is'n it?
Then, we derived the fermat principle that can we use to design the mirror and lens for certain purpose, is'n it
I asking about basic shapes of lenses or mirror and also another shapes of lenses or mirror,Doc Al said:Are you asking about correcting for abberations? Or just asking about the basic shapes of lenses and mirrors?
So, we need the purpose first,blue_leaf77 said:The (practical) purpose for which lenses or mirrors with certain shapes needs to be produced usually comes first, then one applies the theories either through Fermat's principle or merely ray tracing to analyse the optical elements.
It should be that way, you don't normally use your design software to design optics as a plaything as weird as you want (except for learning purpose). There must be a specific purpose for certain optics design.isnainidiah said:So, we need the purpose first,
then we can use many theories to analyse it, isn't it ?
Okay, thak your for the explanationblue_leaf77 said:It should be that way, you don't normally use your design software to design optics as a plaything as weird as you want (except for learning purpose). There must be a specific purpose for certain optics design.
Fermat's Principle is the fundamental principle of geometrical optics, which states that light follows the path of least time between two points. This principle helps explain the behavior of light when passing through different mediums and encountering obstacles.
Fermat's Principle is used in geometrical optics to predict the path of light as it travels through different mediums and encounters different obstacles. It helps us understand how light bends and reflects, and allows us to make calculations and predictions about the behavior of light.
Geometrical optics is a branch of optics that deals with the behavior of light in terms of rays and their paths. It simplifies the understanding of light by assuming that light travels in straight lines and does not consider the wave nature of light. Other branches of optics, such as physical and quantum optics, take into account the wave nature of light.
Fermat's Principle can be applied to all types of light, including visible light, infrared, ultraviolet, and even other forms of electromagnetic radiation such as radio waves and microwaves. As long as the light can be described as a wave, Fermat's Principle can be used to explain its behavior in geometrical optics.
Fermat's Principle is closely related to the law of reflection and the law of refraction, as it helps to explain and derive these laws. The law of reflection states that the angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection, and Fermat's Principle can be used to show that this is the path of least time for light. Similarly, the law of refraction states that the ratio of the sine of the angle of incidence to the sine of the angle of refraction is a constant, and Fermat's Principle can be used to prove this relationship as well.