Concave function the graph of formula_1 is above the straight line joining the points formula_15 and formula_16. A function formula_1 is quasiconcave if the upper contour sets of the function formula_18 are convex sets. 1. A differentiable function is (strictly) concave on an interval if and only if its derivative function is (strictly) monotonically decreasing on that interval, that is, a concave function has a non-increasing (decreasing) slope. 2. Points where concavity changes (between concave and convex) are inflection points. 3. If is twice-differentiable, then is concave if and only if is non-positive (or, informally, if the "acceleration" is non-positive). If its
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.