spherical aberration

noun

1. variation in focal length of a lens or mirror from center to edge, due to its spherical shape.

spherical aberration

noun

1. physics a defect of optical systems that arises when light striking a mirror or lens near its edge is focused at different points on the axis to the light striking near the centre. The effect occurs when the mirror or lens has spherical surfaces See also aberration

spherical aberration

/ sfîr′ĭ-kəl /

1. See under aberration

Word History and Origins

Origin of spherical aberration¹

First recorded in 1865–70

Example Sentences

One example is Land’s discussion of graded-index lenses in aquatic animals, which achieve high power without spherical aberration, using a smooth transition from low to high refractive power.

From Nature

The problem was a slight optical defect called spherical aberration.

From Scientific American

That wasn’t the case at first: The Hubble has a 2.4-meter diameter mirror with a notorious “spherical aberration” that blurred the telescope’s initial images.

From Washington Post

But when the first image came back, it was blurry owing to a flaw known as spherical aberration.

From Nature

The Super Spectra coating helps reduce ghosting and spherical aberration.

From Forbes