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Glite Dictionary
aspherical

aspherical

8.2
A lens or mirror not perfectly round to make images clearer
  • adjective
  • /æˈsfɪrɪkəl/
  • Specialized
translation icon : asférico
  • An aspherical mirror can provide better optical performance compared to a standard spherical mirror.

Examples

  • Many modern projectors incorporate aspherical lenses to enhance clarity and focus.

  • The lens 6 7 structure design (including 4 aspherical lenses and three anomalous dispersion lenses) has a high optical performance.

    Blog text (33)

  • The image on the organic EL panel, through a unique lens structure (including two glass lenses and a double-sided aspherical lens), projects to the eyes of the photographer to bring you high quality comparable to the optical viewfinder framing effect.

    Blog text (7)

  • The camera uses an aspherical lens to improve image quality and reduce distortion.

Synonyms

spheroidal
vsaspherical
1 7.6

Having the shape of a ball or an egg and almost round

focuses on small deviation from perfect roundness, often for optical surfaces
aspheric
vsaspherical
  • Specialized
9.4

A surface that is not perfectly round used for lenses or mirrors

means the same but often appears as an alternative term
ellipsoidal
vsaspherical
  • Specialized
7.9

Shaped like a stretched or squashed ball, for example a planet

describes only slight deviation from perfect roundness rather than a fully stretched form
nonspherical
vsaspherical
6.6

Not shaped like a ball

refers to a slight deviation from perfect roundness, often in optics

Antonyms

spherical
18 4.2

Round like a ball

How Spherical

spherical
18 4.2
aspherical
  • Specialized
8.2

Surface Forms

aspherical positive

Morphology

aspherical = spherical (semi-transparent) = a + sphere + ic + al

The relation to 'spherical' is clear, but the negative prefix 'a-' is less familiar to many learners and the technical sense often means 'not perfectly spherical' rather than simply 'not spherical'.

Etymology

The word aspherical comes from the first part a- meaning 'not' and sphere meaning 'ball' or 'round shape'. So an aspherical lens or mirror is 'not perfectly round', and that small change helps cameras and glasses give clearer images.