Lesson plan
Visual angle
Visual angle is the angle a viewed object subtends at the eye, usually stated in degrees of arc. It also is called the object's angular size. The diagram on the right shows an observer's eye looking at a frontal extent (the vertical arrow) that has a linear size S , located in the distance D from point O . For present purposes, point O can represent the eye's nodal points at about the center of the lens, and also represent the center of the eye's entrance pupil that is only a few millimeters in front of the lens. The three lines from object endpoint A heading toward the eye indicate the bundle of light rays that pass through the cornea, pupil and lens to form an optical image of endpoint A on the retina at point a . The central line of the bundle represents the chief ray. The same holds for object point B and its retinal image at b . The visual angle V is the angle between the chief rays of A and B .
Article summary
Visual angle is the angle a viewed object subtends at the eye, usually stated in degrees of arc. It also is called the object's angular size. The diagram on the right shows an observer's eye looking at a frontal extent (the vertical arrow) that has a linear size S , located in the distance D from point O . For present purposes, point O can represent the eye's nodal points at about the center of the lens, and also represent the center of the eye's entrance pupil that is only a few millimeters in front of the lens. The three lines from object endpoint A heading toward the eye indicate the bundle of light rays that pass through the cornea, pupil and lens to form an optical image of endpoint A on the retina at point a . The central line of the bundle represents the chief ray. The same holds for object point B and its retinal image at b . The visual angle V is the angle between the chief rays of A and B .
Key claims
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.