Concave function Concave function In mathematics, a concave function is the negative of a convex function. A concave function is also synonymously called concave downwards, concave down, convex upwards, convex cap or upper convex. A real-valued function formula_1 on an interval (or, more generally, a convex set in vector space) is said to be "concave" if, for any formula_2 and formula_3 in the interval and for any formula_4, A function is called "strictly concave" if for any formula_7 and formula_8. For a function formula_9, this second definition merely states that for every formula_10 strictly between formula_2 and formula_3, the point formula_13 on
Compound refractive lens the order of meters, by using many lenses in series. To minimize the absorption the lens must be made from a material such as aluminium, beryllium, or lithium. CRLs were first demonstrated in the mid-1990s by a group of scientists at the ESRF. They drilled holes in an aluminium block, and achieved focusing in two dimensions. For X-rays a concave lens focuses the X-rays because the index of refraction is slightly below unity. In a CRL of this type the walls between the cylindrical holes act as concave lenses for X-rays traveling perpendicular to the axis of the drilled cylinders.