Lens (optics) in the accompanying diagrams), while "negative" "R" means that rays reaching the surface have already passed the center of curvature. Consequently, for external lens surfaces as diagrammed above, and indicate "convex" surfaces (used to converge light in a positive lens), while and indicate "concave" surfaces. The reciprocal of the radius of curvature is called the curvature. A flat surface has zero curvature, and its radius of curvature is infinity. If "d" is small compared to "R" and "R", then the "thin lens" approximation can be made. For a lens in air, "f" is then given by As mentioned above, a
Parallel projection Parallel projection A parallel projection is a projection of an object in three-dimensional space onto a fixed plane, known as the "projection plane" or "image plane", where the "rays", known as "lines of sight" or "projection lines", are parallel to each other. It is a basic tool in descriptive geometry. The projection is called "orthographic" if the rays are perpendicular (orthogonal) to the image plane, and "oblique" or "skew" if they are not. A parallel projection is a particular case of "projection" in mathematics and "graphical projection" in technical drawing. Parallel projections can be seen as the limit of a