The Principles of Optical Spherical Reflectors and Parabolic Reflectors
Both spherical reflectors and parabolic reflectors are optical elements that use the principle of reflection to change the direction of light propagation. The following is an introduction to their principles:
Principle of Spherical Reflector
Basic reflection principle: A spherical reflector is a reflector whose reflective surface is a part of a sphere. According to the law of reflection of light, when light is directed to a spherical reflector, the reflected light will follow the law of “reflection angle equals incident angle”. That is, the incident light, reflected light and the normal of the reflector surface at the incident point will be in the same plane, and the reflection angle is equal to the incident angle.
Imaging Principle of Spherical Reflector
Concave mirror: When light parallel to the main axis is incident on the concave mirror, it will converge at one point after reflection. This point is called the focus. When the object is located at different positions of the concave mirror, images of different properties will be formed. For example, when the object is outside the center of the concave mirror, an inverted and reduced real image is formed; when the object is between the center of the sphere and the focus, an inverted and enlarged real image is formed; when the object is located within the focus, an upright and enlarged virtual image is formed.
Convex mirror: Convex mirror has a divergent effect on light. When light parallel to the main axis is incident on the convex mirror, the reverse extension line of the reflected light will intersect at one point to form a virtual focus. The image formed by the convex mirror is always an upright and reduced virtual image. It can expand the field of view and is often used in scenes such as car rearview mirrors.
Principle of Parabolic Reflector
Optical properties of parabola: The reflective surface of a parabolic reflector is a curved surface obtained by rotating a parabola around its axis of symmetry. A parabola has such optical properties: light emitted from the focus of a parabola will be emitted parallel to the axis of symmetry of the parabola after being reflected by the parabola; conversely, light parallel to the axis of symmetry will be incident on a parabolic reflector and will converge at the focus after reflection.
Application Principle of Parabolic Reflectors
Application in focusing systems: Based on the above properties, parabolic reflectors are often used in focusing systems, such as solar water heaters, focusing devices in solar power stations, etc. It can focus a large area of parallel sunlight into a smaller area, increase energy density, and thus achieve efficient energy collection and utilization.
Application in imaging systems: In some optical imaging systems, such as reflecting telescopes, parabolic reflectors can focus parallel light from distant celestial bodies to one point to form a clear image. Compared with spherical reflectors, parabolic reflectors can avoid spherical aberration and provide clearer and more accurate imaging effects.
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Hanzhong Brisun Optics Co., Ltd. Is the high precision optical element manufacturer provides customized production of Various optical lenses, including spherical lens, cylindrical lens, optical window, mirror, prism, filter, metal base mirror and other high-precision optical elements. The base materials include various optical glass, fused quartz, calcium fluoride (CaF2), zinc selenide (ZnSe), germanium (GE), silicon (SI), sapphire, metal and other materials. And provide antireflective film, high reflection film, spectroscopic film, metal film and other optical coatings.
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