The History of the Catoptric Optical System

Catoptric systems are optical systems which make use of light reflecting mirrors only in the image formation process. A catoptric optical system consists of a number of plane or curved mirrors. A concave spherical can be regarded as a catoptric image forming system. 

Catoptrics were first introduced by the ancient Greeks, with two of their main texts mentioning catoptrics.

The first telescope which was built using a catoptrics system was the Newtonian reflector. This telescope was invented and produced in 1668 by Issac Newton in order to eliminate chromatic aberrations found in telescopes which use lenses for viewing.

The first ever optical system that was built based on catoptric optics was the lighthouse in 1777. The illumination in lighthouses consists of paraboloidal reflectors which form a concentrated light beam.

References

• Catoptric Systems – Georgia State University
• Spherical Mirrors – University of Denver
• Catoptrics – Britannica