Revision as of 10:38, 16 January 2014 edit 2pem (talk \| contribs) Extended confirmed users 642 edits Bugfix: missing /ref tag ← Previous edit		Revision as of 02:14, 17 January 2014 edit undo Srleffler (talk \| contribs) Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers, Rollbackers 45,977 edits Put formula in image caption into plain text, so size isn't so glaringly different. Simplify caption. The reader can see that it is a plot. Next edit →
Line 1: [[File:Small angle compare error.svg\|thumbnail\|~~Plot showing the~~The error associated with the paraxial approximation~~. N.B~~. In this plot the cosine is approximated by {{nowrap\|1 - θ<~~math~~sup>~~1-\theta^2/~~2</~~math~~sup>/2}}.]] In [[geometric optics]], the '''paraxial approximation''' is a [[small-angle approximation]] used in [[Gaussian optics]] and [[Ray tracing (physics)\|ray tracing]] of light through an optical system (such as a [[lens (optics)\|lens]]).<ref name=Greivenkamp> {{cite isbn \| 0819452947 \| pages=19–20}}</ref>

Paraxial approximation: Difference between revisions