Spherical Lenses

Spherical lenses are a common type of lens that is used in many different products. While they might have a common shape, these lenses provide a different sort of variety for each product. There are many products and services that use spherical lenses on a regular basis, but for this article, we will only discuss three of the most common: barcode scanner, laser emissions, and holographic lighting.

 

Bar Code Scanners

 

Extremely common in everyday society, barcode scanners, or bar code readers, are found in almost every brick and mortar store out there. These readers scan a barcode through a spherical lens and a light sensor. It then translates this optical impulse to the computer where the price and product description are placed. These are extremely common, but they are very involved. The spherical lens helps to decode the barcode’s image which is essentially data from the barcode.

 

Laser Emissions

 

Yeah, it sounds like a superpower, but laser emissions, or laser beams, is quite common as well. Through the spherical lens, light is emitted. This process is called optical amplification, and the term laser is an acronym for “light amplification by stimulated emission or radiation.” That’s just a scarier way to put it. Laser emissions, or laser beams, are used in many things from construction to medical use to surveying. Lasers are extremely helpful in everyday society.

 

Holographic Lighting

 

A hologram is basically the use of special laser light that illuminates a subject. Holograms are created by a lens and a light field to create a three-dimensional image. These images can be seen without special eyewear, making them extremely exciting in the science world. The hologram is not an image but is light that is diffracted in patterns through a spherical lens. These aren’t quite as common as the other two products, but it is pretty cool.

 

Conclusion

 

You may not know it, but you are surrounded by spherical lenses. These special lenses might be the same shape, but they do quite a variety of things to light to create products and services that are used in everyday society. Barcode scanners, laser beams, and even holographs are just a few of the things that utilize the special spherical lens.