L3-13: OPTICAL BOARD - SPHERICAL ABERRATION IN CONCAVE MIRROR
- ID Code: L3-13
- Purpose: Show spherical aberration in a spherical mirror.
- Description:
Spherical aberration can be shown using a number of rays to show how they focus. The number and spacing of rays can be changed by choice of slit baffle and changing the position of the baffle. A baffle with pairs of rays equidistant from the optical axis of different colors can be used to emphasize the difference between pairs of rays.
Using a rectangular open baffle the caustic can be illustrated, as in the photograph at the right above.
- Availability: Available
- References: http://lecdem.physics.umd.edu/images/refs/refsl.htm#L3-13