Article
Article
Chromatic aberration
Article By:
Herzberger, Max J. Formerly, Department of Physics, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Last reviewed:November 2019
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.134200
The type of error in an optical system in which the formation of a series of colored images occurs, even though only white light enters the system. Chromatic aberrations are caused by the fact that the refraction law determining the path of light through an optical system contains the refractive index n, which is a function of wavelength λ. Thus the image position and the magnification of an optical system are not necessarily the same for all wavelengths, nor are the aberrations the same for all wavelengths.
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