Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. The branch of physics that deals with light and vision, chiefly the generation, propagation, and detection of electromagnetic radiation having wavelengths greater than x-rays and shorter than microwaves.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. That branch of physical science which treats of the nature and properties of light, of the theory of colors (chromatics), of the change which light suffers either in its qualities or in its course when refracted or transmitted through bodies (dioptrics), when reflected from their surfaces or when passing near them (catoptrics), of the structure of the eye and the laws of vision, and of the construction of instruments of introspection, as telescopes, microscopes, etc.
Wiktionary
- n. physics The physics of light and vision.
- n. The light-related aspects of a device.
- n. figuratively Perception, image, public relations.
- n. Plural form of optic.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. That branch of physical science which treats of the nature and properties of light, the laws of its modification by opaque and transparent bodies, and the phenomena of vision.
WordNet 3.0
- n. the branch of physics that studies the physical properties of light
- n. optical properties
Examples
“Also today's rifled slug gun with modern optics is a long way from Uncle Bud's High Standard pump.”
“Even in optics where you usually get what you pay for there are binos etc. that I just can't imagine are worth the price.”
“Su, F. (1990) Technology of our times: people and innovation in optics and optoelectronics.”
“Johnson is being recognized for her internationally acknowledged expertise in optics, optoelectronic switching, and display technology and her commitment to education and the engineering profession.”
“Again, and again, the Thunderf****r Magnum with Nevermiss optics is no substitute for proper marksmanship technique and good shot placement, what ever the arrer any particular Indian chooses to shoot.”
“Newton made numerous contributions to the sciences, including important studies in optics, gravitation, and the development of calculus.”
The pre-history of Einstein’s relativity « Skulls in the Stars
“All of the optics is bang-on, but I think you are over-stretching the analogy to sound waves a bit.”
Optics basics: What is a wave? Part III: Diffraction « Skulls in the Stars
“Quantum optics is used as a tool to better understand the theory of quantum mechanics, though a number of highly speculative applications, such as quantum computing and quantum cryptography, are being explored.”
Optics basics: The three major branches of optical science « Skulls in the Stars
“PD wrote: “All of the optics is bang-on, but I think you are over-stretching the analogy to sound waves a bit.””
Optics basics: What is a wave? Part III: Diffraction « Skulls in the Stars
“Geometrical optics is commonly used in the design of complicated optical systems, and researchers are studying ways to ‘improve’ the geometric models to provide better overlap with the wave theory of light.”
Optics basics: The three major branches of optical science « Skulls in the Stars
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘optics’.
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phrontistery - o
from phrontistery.info
oakum, oakus, oast, obambulate, obdormition, obduracy, obedible, obedientiary, obeism, obeliscolychny, obelize, obelus and 504 more...
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eyes
words for the peepers.
eyes, peepers, heaters, windows to the soul, eyeballs, lenses, pearly whites, visual cortex, retinas, cortex, eye sockets, optic nerve and 3 more...
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big book gre
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 6691 more...
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the first list
an immense, grandiloquent list that loads like a thousand years sentence in stone. new words are in the other lists.
ridiculous, brummagem, predicament, sanctimonious, vapid, eschew, admonish, auspicious, capitulation, enumerate, lachrymose, tenet and 1648 more...
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Pluralia Tantum
Nouns that are common in plural form but are non-existent or rarely used in singular form.
scissors, thanks, clothes, remains, tights, trousers, pants, news, billiards, means, mathematics, physics and 221 more...
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junestag's Words
postmodernism, cat, fish, rabbit, dell, coffee, elearning, mazda, php, mysql, flash, blogger and 755 more...
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MY WORDS
egoist, entomologists, egotist, altruist, introvert, extrovert, ambivert, misanthrope, misogynist, misogamist, ascetic, Altruism and 193 more...
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Rainbows?!
superciliary, iridal, welkin, heterochrome, gwydion, cerulean, supernal, prismatic, optics, hypethral, cerulific, serein and 29 more...
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Known Words with Alternate Meanings
Words whose meaning I think I know, but which turn out to also have completely unrelated alternate meanings.
Tweets
Looking for tweets for optics.
bilby "Shadow treasurer Joe Hockey, newly slim and ever-smiley, went to Parramatta Westfield on Tuesday. For most people this is called a walk, but for a politician it is known as a walk-through, a special species of perambulation that can only occur under certain conditions.
There must be cameras present to capture the spontaneous nature of the politician's interactions with locals. And he must be reasonably sure he will not be barged with a shopping trolley or gypsy-cursed by a passing pensioner - these things make for bad optics, as they say in the spin trade."
- Jacqueline Maley, Hockey walks the talk, but minus the tutu, theage.com.au, 6 March 2013.
Mar 5, 2013