Optical science has three main branches. They are listed below:
Geometrical optics
We all know that light travels in a straight line. When the sunrays peek through a gap in a cloud or some dark foliage, you may notice continuous lines or stream of line occurring from that gap. When the gaps become smaller, the stream gets narrower, but remains a stream of light nonetheless. The earliest researchers made the use of geometry for modeling this view of light. The light is made to travel along the rays or line segments where they are straight in free space, but tend to change direction or curve when encountering some matter.
Physical optics
At the focal point, all the rays tend to intersect. The density of these rays at this very point is infinite which, on the basis of the geometrical optics indicate an infinitely bright focal spot, but this cannot be true. This field of optics deal with the wave properties of light which can be classified into: interference, diffraction and polarization. Interference means the ability of a wave to interfere, making localized places where the field is too bright and too dark. Diffraction bends them around the corner and spread after passing via an aperture. Polarization means properties of light associated with its transverse nature.
Quantum optics
Quantum optics is the study of the particle or quantum nature of light. The light has wavelike as well as particle like properties on the basis of the circumstances of measurement. This is called wave particle duality and is deemed as one of the cornerstones of modern physics. The individual light particles or photons eventually accumulate like a wavelike pattern where each light particle carries with it wave information needed to accumulate diffraction pattern.
These very three branches of optical science hence entail the study of light on smaller and finer measurement scales. Geometrical optics is used to design complex optical systems. Physical optics stays on the edge of engineering and pure science and quantum optics is used as a tool to learn the theory of quantum mechanics and there are a number of application of optics in this regard, like quantum computing, cryptography etc.
For more insight on the application of optics, diffractive lens, micro lens, and other aspects of the optical world, you can visit this website today!
