Lens vs Optic - What's the difference?
lens | optic |
An object, usually made of glass, that focuses or defocuses the light that passes through it.
* {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=July-August, author=
, magazine=(American Scientist), title= A device which focuses or defocuses electron beams.
(geometry) A convex shape bounded by two circular arcs, joined at their endpoints, the corresponding concave shape being a lune.
(biology) A genus of the legume family; its bean.
(anatomy) The transparent crystalline structure in the eye.
* {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=July-August, author=
, title= (by extension, figuratively) A way of looking, literally or figuratively, at something.
* 2004 April 11, Ann Hulbert, "Are the Kids All Right?", in (The New York Times Magazine) , page 11:
To film, shoot.
(geology) To become thinner towards the edges.
Of, or relating to the eye or to vision.
* Milton
Of, or relating to optics or optical instruments.
An eye.
*(Alexander Pope) (1688-1744)
*:The difference is as great between / The optics seeing, as the object seen.
*1819 , (Lord Byron), Don Juan , I:
*:how they, / Who saw those figures on the margin kiss all, / Could turn their optics to the text and pray, / Is more than I know
*
*:Elbows almost touching they leaned at ease, idly reading the almost obliterated lines engraved there. ¶ ("I never) understood it," she observed, lightly scornful. "What occult meaning has a sun-dial for the spooney? I'm sure I don't want to read riddles in a strange gentleman's optics ."
A lens or other part of an optical instrument that interacts with light.
*{{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=July-August, author=
, title= A measuring device with a small window, attached to an upside-down bottle, used to dispense alcoholic drinks in a bar.
As nouns the difference between lens and optic
is that lens is an object, usually made of glass, that focuses or defocuses the light that passes through it while optic is an eye.As a verb lens
is to film, shoot.As a adjective optic is
of, or relating to the eye or to vision.lens
English
(wikipedia lens)Noun
(es)Catherine Clabby
Focus on Everything, passage=Not long ago, it was difficult to produce photographs of tiny creatures with every part in focus. That’s because the lenses that are excellent at magnifying tiny subjects produce a narrow depth of field.}}
Fenella Saunders, magazine=(American Scientist)
Tiny Lenses See the Big Picture, passage=The single-imaging optic of the mammalian eye offers some distinct visual advantages. Such lenses can take in photons from a wide range of angles, increasing light sensitivity. They also have high spatial resolution, resolving incoming images in minute detail.}}
- If "the public looks at the condition of America's children largely through a negative lens ," worries Child Trends promote child well-being."
Derived terms
* contact lens * fisheye lens * lenticel * lenticular * lenticule * lentil * long lens * long-focus lens * macro lens * normal lens * telephoto lens * wide-angle lens * zoom lensVerb
optic
English
Alternative forms
* optick (obsolete) * optique (obsolete)Adjective
(-)- The moon, whose orb / Through optic glass the Tuscan artist views.
Noun
(en noun)Fenella Saunders, magazine=(American Scientist)
Tiny Lenses See the Big Picture, passage=The single-imaging optic of the mammalian eye offers some distinct visual advantages. Such lenses can take in photons from a wide range of angles, increasing light sensitivity. They also have high spatial resolution, resolving incoming images in minute detail.}}