Optical Image Formation Research Articles

Announcements

The fifteenth Thomas Young Oration of the Physical Society will be delivered by Prof. F. Zernicke, of the University of Groningen; he will speak on “Diffraction and Optical Image Formation”, and the lecture will be delivered at the Imperial College of Science and Technology, London, on September 24 at 5.10 p.m.

The performance of aircraft camera lenses

The estimation of the best combination of lens and film for aerial reconnaissance photography is not a simple problem, owing to the number of variables, such as focal length and aperture of the lens, the size and speed of the film, forward motion and speed of the aircraft which are involved. For quantitative considerations it is necessary to adopt a measure of the detail-revealing capacity of the negatives, and for this purpose the resolving power was chosen, since it was not only obviously related to the capacity of the negative to reveal detail, but also capable of justification as a possible means of estimating the performance of the lens in optical image formation. In order that the resolving power figures may correspond as closely as possible to practical performance, careful choice of test-object was necessary, for experiment showed that different test-objects gave different results. A test-object consisting of two rectangles separated by their width, with a difference in density of 0.2 between them and the background, was adopted. Apparatus with such test-objects at the focus of a collimator of long focal length was set up, and with it measurements were made of the photographic resolving power all over the field, and in a set of planes embracing the focus, for a representative collection of air camera lenses. The results showed that the photographic resolving power improved as the lenses were stopped down from their maximum apertures until very small apertures were reached, and that as a general rule the resolving power diminished towards the outer parts of the field. The variation with aperture was accounted for, in general terms, by theoretical considerations, and certain regularities in the change of resolving power with angular distance from the optical axis were also explained. A figure for the performance of any lens was obtained by averaging the resolving power over the field of the lens, having regard to the greater area covered at the larger angles. It was found that the performance of any of the lenses could be represented with very fair accuracy by the formula R = [207/fG]1/2 [F.No/tan2 θ]0.3, where R is the mean resolving power in lines per mm. over the field up to an angular distance theta from the axis, f is the focal length of the lens in inches, and F.No its relative aperture. G is the granularity of the film in density-microns at a density of 1.0. This formula has no substantial theoretical basis, although it can be accounted for to some extent. It has proved useful, for it assists in the choice of the focal length, aperture and angle of view most appropriate for any given purpose in aerial reconnaissance photography. It may also be used, at least until the progress of lens design renders it inaccurate in form, for estimating the merit of a given lens design by comparison of its performance with that given by the formula.

The Limitations of Optical Image Formation

Annals of the New York Academy of SciencesVolume 48, Issue 1 p. 3-29 The Limitations of Optical Image Formation Max Herzberger, Max HerzbergerSearch for more papers by this author Max Herzberger, Max HerzbergerSearch for more papers by this author First published: August 1946 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-6632.1946.tb31743.xCitations: 6AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume48, Issue1The Limitations of Optical Image FormationAugust 1946Pages 3-29 RelatedInformation

Second-Order Derivatives ofDandN

Annals of the New York Academy of SciencesVolume 48, Issue 1 p. 3-29 The Limitations of Optical Image Formation Max Herzberger, Max HerzbergerSearch for more papers by this author Max Herzberger, Max HerzbergerSearch for more papers by this author First published: August 1946 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-6632.1946.tb31743.xCitations: 6AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume48, Issue1The Limitations of Optical Image FormationAugust 1946Pages 3-29 RelatedInformation

New York Academy of Sciences: A. Cressy Morrison Prize Awards for 1945

Two A. Cressy Morrison Prizes for 1945 have been awarded as follows: A prize of 200 dollars for the paper entitled “Electromesons”, by John Archibald Wheeler, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey ; a prize of 200 dollars for the paper entitled “Limitations of Optical Image Formation”, by Max J. Herzberger, Eastman Kodak Research Laboratories, Rochester, New York. An honourable mention was awarded for the paper entitled “The Golgi Apparatus”, by Leonard G. Worley, Department of Biology, Brooklyn College, New York. It is announced that Mr. Morrison has renewed his offer of two prizes of 200 dollars each to be competed for during the year 1946, for the two most acceptable papers in a field of science covered by the Academy or an affiliated society ; these prizes are to be awarded in December 1946. Mr. Morrison has also offered a prize in astronomy for 1946, in renewal of those awarded in recent years, of 500 dollars for the paper adjudged by the Council of the Academy to be the most meritorious contribution on the subject of solar and stellar energy.

The Limitations of Optical Image Formation

The Limitations of Optical Image Formation

Modern Microscopical Optics with Special Reference to Fluorite Objectives

GAUSS'S theory of lenses and other optical systems, which was published in 1840 in his “Dioptrische Untersuchungen,” and subsequently largely extended by many other investigators, rendered it possible to apply the cardinal theorems relating to the formation of optical images to the most complicated systems of lenses, of which already in Gauss's time the microscope objectives furnished a good example. This theory paved the way for the computation of microscopic objectives and furnished a means of studying the optical principles of the microscope as a whole and the objective and eyepiece considered separately.

Die optischen Instrumente

THE aim of this little book, one of a series dealing popularly with various subjects of scientific or general interest, is to give a simple account of the development and modern theory of optical instruments, and to make clear to readers possessing no special technical knowledge the main features of their optical construction. The treatment is largely based on the work of Abbe; and in the introductory chapters, which deal with the general principles governing the formation of optical images and the consequences dependent on the characteristics of the eye, special attention is given to the question of aperture and the limits of the image-forming pencils, and to the manner in which the perspective of a picture may be modified in the image. In the application of these considerations to the photographic lens, the microscope, and the telescope, there is some novelty and interest. In other respects a clear and concise account is given of the main properties and aberrations of the different instruments, whether for objective or subjective use, with some brief historical notes. The section on the photographic lens is followed by useful particulars as to enlarging and projection apparatus; the description of the microscope includes a short explanation of Abbe's theory of microscopic vision, of the relation of “numerical aperture” to resolving power, and of the sine law, and even admits of reference to the possibilities of photomicrography with ultra-violet light. To the description of the ordinary forms of telescope are added some notes on the prism binocular as constructed by the Zeiss firm. The diagrams and illustrations are noticeably well drawn and clearly printed.