Distortion (optics)

<p>In <a href="/facts/Geometric_optics/gIFu84Tm">geometric optics</a>, distortion is a deviation from <a href="/facts/Rectilinear_projection/YHMYNmld">rectilinear projection</a>; a projection in which straight lines in a scene remain straight in an image. It is a form of <a href="/facts/Aberration_in_optical_systems/YIqd9cA8">optical aberration</a> that may be distinguished from other aberrations such as <a href="/facts/Spherical_aberration/x7V1JMQ9">spherical aberration</a>, <a href="/facts/Coma_(optics)/Ik0LSlET">coma</a>, <a href="/facts/Chromatic_aberration/Fy1hIg1Y">chromatic aberration</a>, <a href="/facts/Petzval_field_curvature/mXu48qvq">field curvature</a>, and <a href="/facts/Astigmatism_(optical_systems)/svYYGDPS">astigmatism</a> in a sense that these impact the image sharpness without changing an object shape or structure in the image (e.g., a straight line in an object is still a straight line in the image although the image sharpness may be degraded by the mentioned aberrations) while distortion can change the object structure in the image (so named as distortion).
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Distortion (optics) open-in-new

Distortion (optics)