Optical Glass
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optical glass
[′äp·tə·kəl ′glas] (materials)
A type of glass which is free from imperfections, such as unmelted particles, bubbles, and chemical inhomogeneities, which would affect its transmission of light.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.
Optical Glass
a highly transparent, homogeneous, and chemically resistant glass. Optical glass is manufactured with precisely defined optical properties—an index of refraction rang-
ing from 1.47 to 2.04 and dispersion value ranging from 70 to 78. Depending on the combination of these properties, optical glasses are subdivided into crown glass (low refraction and high dispersion) and flint glass (with the opposite properties). Optical glass is used to manufacture optical instruments and devices, such as eyeglasses, objectives, microscopes, binoculars, and photometers.
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.