Aplanatic - Definitions from Dictionary.com

4 results for: Aplanatic

Browse Nearby Entries

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

ap·la·nat·ic

Audio Help [ap-luh-nat-ik] Pronunciation Key

–adjective Optics.

free from spherical aberration and coma.

[Origin: 1785–95; a-⁶ + Gk planá(ein) to wander + -tic. See planet

]

—Related forms

ap·la·nat·i·cal·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Aplanatic

To learn more about Aplanatic visit Britannica.com

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

ap·la·nat·ic Audio Help (āp'lə-nāt'ĭk) Pronunciation Key
adj. Of or relating to optical systems that correct for spherical aberration.

[From a-¹ + Greek planāsthai, to wander; see pelə-² in Indo-European roots.]

(Download Now or Buy the Book)

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

aplanatic
adjective
free from or corrected for spherical aberration; "an aplanatic mirror"

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Aplanatic

Ap`la*nat"ic\, a. [Gr. 'a priv. + ? disposed to wander, wandering, ? to wander.] (Opt.) Having two or more parts of different curvatures, so combined as to remove spherical aberration; -- said of a lens.

Aplanatic focus of a lens (Opt.), the point or focus from which rays diverging pass the lens without spherical aberration. In certain forms of lenses there are two such foci; and it is by taking advantage of this fact that the best aplanatic object glasses of microscopes are constructed.

Browse Nearby Entries: