Collimated light is light whose rays are parallel, and therefore will spread slowly as it propagates. The word is related to "collinear" and implies light that does not disperse with distance (ideally), or that will disperse minimally (in reality). A perfectly collimated beam with no divergence cannot be created due to diffraction, but light can be approximately collimated by a number of processes, for instance by means of a collimator. Collimated light is sometimes said to be focused at infinity. Thus as the distance from a point source increases, the spherical wavefronts become flatter and closer to plane waves, which are perfectly collimated.
Read more about Collimated Light: Etymology, Collimation and Decollimation
Famous quotes containing the word light:
“People press toward the light not in order to see better but in order to shine better.—We are happy to regard the one before whom we shine as light.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)