Why is the edge of the light from my flashlight beam so blurry?

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the phenomenon of blurry edges in flashlight beams, specifically addressing the effects of chromatic aberration. Participants noted that the sharp edge of the light beam (Red 1) contrasts with the blurry edge (Red 2), which appears yellow due to the dispersion of light. This blurriness occurs because the light source is not a single point, leading to varying shadow sharpness. The discussion references the Wikipedia page on chromatic aberration for further understanding.

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somega
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On the photo you can see:

Red 1: the edge is very sharp (as expected)
Red 2: the edge is very blurry (but why?)

Same for green.

You can also see (Red 2) that the blurry edge is yellow.

What is this effect called?
 
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somega said:
View attachment 259524

On the photo you can see:

Red 1: the edge is very sharp (as expected)
Red 2: the edge is very blurry (but why?)

Same for green.

You can also see (Red 2) that the blurry edge is yellow.

What is this effect called?
Green: Because the light source is not a single point, the shadows are blurry.
Red: Same as green but also:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromatic_aberration
 
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