Question about toroidal mirror

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the properties and applications of toroidal mirrors, particularly in relation to their use in collimating beams from point sources. Participants explore the definitions of sagittal and tangential planes, the nature of object and image vectors, and the implications of astigmatism in optical systems.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants inquire about the meaning of S's in relation to the sagittal plane and whether it represents the distance between the image point and the sagittal plane.
  • There is mention of toroidal mirrors having two focal points, with questions about their locations and how they are utilized in beam collimation.
  • One participant explains that S and S' are object and image vectors, emphasizing their components along the sagittal and tangential planes.
  • Another participant suggests that the equations governing toroidal mirrors resemble the lens-maker equation, proposing that positioning the source at a specific distance from the mirror could yield a collimated rectangular beam, although they admit to not having practical experience with this method.
  • A detailed explanation is provided regarding stigmatic and astigmatic images, the significance of meridional and sagittal planes, and the introduction of astigmatism when a narrow beam is obliquely incident on a surface.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express various viewpoints and questions regarding the properties and applications of toroidal mirrors, with no consensus reached on the specifics of their use or the definitions involved.

Contextual Notes

The discussion includes complex definitions and concepts that may depend on specific interpretations of optical systems, and participants acknowledge the complications arising from non-rotationally symmetric surfaces.

einstein1921
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http://www.lasertechn.com/index.php/toroidal-mirrors
in the figure, what does S’s – for the sagittal plane means? the distance between the image point and the sagittal plane ??
I see in some papers,they use toroidal mirror to collimate the beam from a point source, how does this happen and why? some material say toroidal mirror have two focus point, where is it?
any thing help would be appreciated
best wishes!
Thank you!
 
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S and S' are object and image vectors - notice the object and image are not on the same line?
The vectors have components along the saggital plane and the tangential plane.
 
Simon Bridge said:
S and S' are object and image vectors - notice the object and image are not on the same line?
The vectors have components along the saggital plane and the tangential plane.
thank you for your answer!how to use toroidal mirror to collimate the beam from a point source?
 
einstein1921 said:
thank you for your answer! how to use toroidal mirror to collimate the beam from a point source?
If you look at the equations - you can see that they look kinda like the lens-maker equation with a factor depending on the incident angle where you normally get the power. Presumably putting the source 1/P from the mirror will have a collimating effect - you'd get a rectangular beam.

OTOH: never tried - never seen it done this way.
 
einstein1921 said:
http://www.lasertechn.com/index.php/toroidal-mirrors
in the figure, what does S’s – for the sagittal plane means? the distance between the image point and the sagittal plane ??
I see in some papers,they use toroidal mirror to collimate the beam from a point source, how does this happen and why? some material say toroidal mirror have two focus point, where is it?
any thing help would be appreciated
best wishes!
Thank you!

This is a complicated topic, so let's go slowly.

First are some definitions: sagittal, meridonal, etc. In order to define these, we need basic notions of a rotationally symmetric optical system. If all rays from arbitrary object point P converge to a single unique image point P', the image is called 'stigmatic', and if not, the image is 'astigmatic'. Stigmatic images of a plane object OP, oriented normal to the optical axis, lie also on a surface OP', and a reference plane can be drawn that contains the optical axis, the object plane, and the image surface. This reference plane is defined as the 'tangential' or 'meridional' plane, and is the plane that is typically drawn in lens diagrams. All stigmatic rays lie within the meridional plane, but not all rays are stigmatic. These other rays, skew rays, are used to analyze astigmatic aberrations (stigmatic rays are used to analyze comatic aberrations). Typically, the skew rays lying in planes perpendicular to the meridional planes are chosen- those perpendicular planes are 'sagittal' planes and *are not constant throughout an optical system*- the sagittal plane changes after each surface refraction/reflection.

Your situation is even more complicated, because the optical surface is not rotationally symmetric. When a narrow beam is obliquely incident on a refracting/reflecting surface, astigmatism is introduced, and the image of a point source becomes a pair of focal lines, one sagttial pointing toward the lens axis and the other tangential, tangential to the lens axis, both lines perpendicular to the principal ray. The formulas on the page you cite are kinda-sorta like the Coddington equations that locate these focal lines.

How's that so far?
 

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