Article
Analysis of the Shadow-Sausage Effect Caustic
Applied Optics
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-20-2003
Disciplines
Abstract
We analyze the optical caustic produced by light refracted at the curved meniscus surrounding a cylindrical rod standing partially out of a liquid-filled container. When the rod is tilted from the vertical or when light is diagonally incident, the caustic is a four-cusped astroid with two of its cusps obscured by the rod's shadow. If a portion of the flat end of the rod is raised above the water level, the caustic evolves into a pattern of five interlocking cusps. The five cusps result from symmetry breaking of a three-cusped surface perturbation caustic. (C) 2003 Optical Society of America.
DOI
10.1364/AO.42.000418
Version
Publisher's PDF
Publisher's Statement
This paper was published in Applied Optics and is made available as an electronic reprint with the permission of OSA. The paper can be found at the following URL on the OSA website: http://www.opticsinfobase.org/ao/abstract.cfm?URI=ao-42-3-418. Systematic or multiple reproduction or distribution to multiple locations via electronic or other means is prohibited and is subject to penalties under law.
Citation Information
Lock, James A., Charles L. Adler, Diana Ekelman, Jonathan Mulholland, and Brian Keating. "Analysis of the Shadow-Sausage Effect Caustic." Applied Optics 42 (2003): 418-428.