The optic lens manufacturers from UKA Optics field the question several times, “What is optical design?” They also work with potential customers and explain how optical design connects with all other optics areas, optical engineering and optical systems.
If you’re a “general reader” interested in general information about lenses and optics then this post is for you.
At its most basic, optics is the science of light and it’s concerned with all aspects of the way that light behaves. Optics is the reason for the sky being blue to magnifying glasses making items look larger to the ways that lasers work.
Visible light is only a small area of the optics field. Ultra violet light, electromagnetic bands and wavelengths are all within the realm of optics and optical design. Colors in the light spectrum range from those that can be seen by the naked eye to those that are invisible to the naked eye and that can only be seen when heightened through the use of optics to amplify the wavelengths they emit.
Light is measured in wavelengths and photons and there are optical lenses and systems available that can amplify all of those lights to make them visible.
How do lenses enhance optics?
Lenses fit into devices ranging from cameras to lasers to microscopes and more. The lenses are the objects through which the wavelengths pass and that allows the researcher or photographer to see what’s being transmitted.
Lenses, aka optical systems, can house any number and combination of elements, prisms, mirrors, rotating scanners, filters, diffraction grates and other optical compounds to suit the task it is being asked to perform. There are systems that can capture infrared (IR) and ultraviolet (UV) light wavelengths and frequencies. A famous example of an optical system is the Hubble Telescope.
The way lenses are designed by lens manufacturers such as UKA Optics is to first gather the specifications and determine how the lens will be used and what kind of process it will be asked to perform.
Software usually goes hand in hand with lens design so researchers and scientists can capture the images they are viewing through the lens. Understanding the outcomes you’re seeking the light waves you’re measuring and the component into which the lens will be housed is vital when considering custom lens design.