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 central or perspective projection, in which the rays pass through a fixed point called the "center" or "viewpoint", as this point is moved towards infinity. Put differently, a parallel projection corresponds to a perspective projection with an infinite focal length (the distance between the lens and the focal point in photography) or "zoom". In parallel projections, lines that are parallel in three-dimensional space remain parallel in the two-dimensional projected image. A perspective projection of an object is often considered more realistic than a parallel projection, since it more closely resembles human vision and photography. However, parallel projections are popular in