An Optics Laboratory Module on Image Formation, Aberrations, and Lens Design
written by
Robert D. Polak and Nicholas M. Pflederer
To foster a deeper understanding of advanced laboratory concepts, weekly laboratories in an upper-division optics course have been replaced by modules, where students study a single topic over the course of several weeks. This culminates in a laboratory report written according to the American Institute of Physics style manual. One module covers image formation, aberrations and lens design. The students measure the mechanical properties of a lens and the optical properties of the glass. With this information, they build a virtual lens using ray-tracing software and compare results within the virtual environment to those measured in the laboratory.
2015 Conference on Laboratory Instruction Beyond the First Year of College
Part of the BFY Conference series
College Park, MD: July 22-24, 2015
Pages 84-87
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<a href="https://advlabs.aapt.org/items/detail.cfm?ID=13813">Polak, Robert D., and Nicholas M. Pflederer. "An Optics Laboratory Module on Image Formation, Aberrations, and Lens Design." Paper presented at the 2015 Conference on Laboratory Instruction Beyond the First Year of College, College Park, MD, July 22-24, 2015.</a>
R. Polak and N. Pflederer, , presented at the 2015 Conference on Laboratory Instruction Beyond the First Year of College, College Park, MD, 2015, WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=13813&DocID=4234).
R. Polak and N. Pflederer, An Optics Laboratory Module on Image Formation, Aberrations, and Lens Design, presented at the 2015 Conference on Laboratory Instruction Beyond the First Year of College, College Park, MD, 2015, <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=13813&DocID=4234>.
Polak, R., & Pflederer, N. (2015, July 22-24). An Optics Laboratory Module on Image Formation, Aberrations, and Lens Design. Paper presented at 2015 Conference on Laboratory Instruction Beyond the First Year of College, College Park, MD. Retrieved April 5, 2025, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=13813&DocID=4234
Polak, Robert D., and Nicholas M. Pflederer. "An Optics Laboratory Module on Image Formation, Aberrations, and Lens Design." Paper presented at the 2015 Conference on Laboratory Instruction Beyond the First Year of College, College Park, MD, July 22-24, 2015. https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=13813&DocID=4234 (accessed 5 April 2025).
Polak, Robert D., and Nicholas M. Pflederer. "An Optics Laboratory Module on Image Formation, Aberrations, and Lens Design." 2015 Conference on Laboratory Instruction Beyond the First Year of College. College Park, MD: 2015. 84-87 of BFY Conference. 5 Apr. 2025 <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=13813&DocID=4234>.
@inproceedings{
Author = "Robert D. Polak and Nicholas M. Pflederer",
Title = {An Optics Laboratory Module on Image Formation, Aberrations, and Lens Design},
BookTitle = {2015 Conference on Laboratory Instruction Beyond the First Year of College},
Pages = {84-87},
Address = {College Park, MD},
Series = {BFY Conference},
Month = {July 22-24},
Year = {2015}
}
%A Robert D. Polak %A Nicholas M. Pflederer %T An Optics Laboratory Module on Image Formation, Aberrations, and Lens Design %S BFY Conference %D July 22-24 2015 %P 84-87 %C College Park, MD %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=13813&DocID=4234 %O 2015 Conference on Laboratory Instruction Beyond the First Year of College %O July 22-24 %O application/pdf
%0 Conference Proceedings %A Polak, Robert D. %A Pflederer, Nicholas M. %D July 22-24 2015 %T An Optics Laboratory Module on Image Formation, Aberrations, and Lens Design %B 2015 Conference on Laboratory Instruction Beyond the First Year of College %C College Park, MD %P 84-87 %S BFY Conference %8 July 22-24 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=13813&DocID=4234
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