Electro-Optical Advancement

In the area of ray optics, both lenses and mirrors support the advancement and development of new technological materials. However, the combination of lenses and mirrors gave a new pathway to the field and added other refinements. For enhancing the power of concentration and forming highly magnifying images through the help of refraction and reflection phenomena, lenses and mirrors are combined. Let us understand more about it. 

Definition of Mirror and Lens

Mirror

Mirrors are the objects that have the capacity to bend the ray of light and show reflection phenomena and elicit real or virtual images. Moreover, when an object is placed at the front side of the mirror, the image of the same object forms in the mirror. 

Lens 

It is made up of transparent material that has the ability to show refraction phenomena in order to form an image. There are two types of lenses, concave lens (diverging in nature) and convex lens (converging in nature). 

In the field of ray optics, objects are the source of incident rays and images are formed due to reflected rays. 

Ray figures of reflected and refracted lights 

In ray optics, ray figures help in understanding the pathway of the light. It is formed with the help of arrows and lines and it also helps in identifying the direction of light travels. 

Combination of lens and mirror 

For enhancing the power of concentration and forming highly magnifying images through the help of refraction and reflection phenomena, lenses and mirrors are combined. Any lens has two main central focuses on each side and both concave mirror and convex lenses have this kind of feature. By combining them, the raised part of the mirror and the inward part of the lens segregate the ray of light at a point of convergence. Lens-mirror combination tracing the polar axis helps in obtaining the value of the concentration of more than ten, even if the lenses are cost-effective. However, due to changes in the focal length of lenses and mirrors, there will be no improvement in the concentration. Many researchers, scholars and scientists have recommended that good concentration can be achieved by the non-tracking methodologies for lens and mirror combination. 

Advantages 

• By combining suitable reflecting material (mirror) and refractive material (lens), the concentration of the lens is improved and enhanced which is adequate for the field of thermodynamics. 
• Hence, this combination is more useful for concentration than the formed images, and this is helpful in various devices such as radiation detectors, and solar energy collectors. 

Applications of the combination of lens and mirrors

Fresnel Lens Solar radiation 

Function: These lenses are primarily used for solar panels, scanners, and other electro-optical designs. Even after combining them with modern technology, like low-cost plastic, they play an important role in advancement. 

Structure and working: The structure of this device is made up of a combination of lens and mirrors and it is used to enhance the concentration rate. The lenses used in this can be simple or fresnel. Fresnel lens is a flat optical material which has a surface with minute concentric holes. Hence, each of the holes will act as an individual prism. In particular conditions, it is applied to improve the solar energy rate. Because of its structure, it has the capacity to attain a high concentration of solar energy and high temperature. 

Solar radiation collectors

Function: The primary function of this object is to gather the solar energy from the sun and it is done by absorbing the solar radiation and then it also transforming that energy into heat or electric energy. 

Structure and working: This instrument is made up of a combination of lens and mirror. Lens and mirrors are used to strengthen concentration rate and enhance the focus of sunlight onto a thermal receiver, like a boiler tube. Then, the receiver will absorb and convert the sunlight into heat energy. After that, this heat is transferred to a steam generator or engine which has the capacity to convert this into electricity. 

Types: There are five types of solar radiation thermal collectors, and these are Flat Plate Solar Collectors, Evacuated Tube Solar Collectors, Asphalt Solar Collectors, Concrete Solar Collectors, Pitched Roof Solar collectors, Solar Thermal collections, and PVT – Photovoltaic Solar Thermal Collectors.

Conclusion

Through new technological advancements, the growth of the people is also increasing.  With less number of resources and more inputs, the field of ray optics is improving day by day. Fresnel lens radiation, radiation detectors, and solar energy collectors are two important inventions that support in improving energy conservation and transfer. The materials constructed based on lens and mirror combination are mainly tracing or non-tracing, and it also affects the concentration level of the main device.