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Caustic (optics)
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<p>In <a href="/facts/Optics/p0vq4S1T">optics</a>, a caustic or caustic network is the <a href="/facts/Envelope_(mathematics)/jr5DkCGD">envelope</a> of <a href="/facts/Ray_(optics)/PgUEC7Sm">light rays</a> which have been <a href="/facts/Reflection_(physics)/BhcjDs79">reflected</a> or <a href="/facts/Refraction/S8kvSKzM">refracted</a> by a curved surface or object, or the <a href="/facts/Projection_(mathematics)/QxxC9XTp">projection</a> of that envelope of rays on another surface. The caustic is a <a href="/facts/Curve/xBQ0pTBW">curve</a> or <a href="/facts/Surface_(mathematics)/whF08jvy">surface</a> to which each of the light rays is <a href="/facts/Tangent/sF0jH3EI">tangent</a>, defining a boundary of an envelope of rays as a curve of concentrated light. In some cases caustics can be seen as patches of light or their bright edges, shapes which often have <a href="/facts/Cusp_(singularity)/QH3fEGry">cusp singularities</a>. </p>