Optical path length in the context of Differential interference contrast microscopy

Interferometry is a technique which uses the interference of superimposed waves to extract information. Interferometry typically uses electromagnetic waves and is an important investigative technique in the fields of astronomy, fiber optics, engineering metrology, optical metrology, oceanography, seismology, spectroscopy (and its applications to chemistry), quantum mechanics, nuclear and particle physics, plasma physics, biomolecular interactions, surface profiling, microfluidics, mechanical stress/strain measurement, velocimetry, optometry, and making holograms.

Interferometers are devices that extract information from interference. They are widely used in science and industry for the measurement of microscopic displacements, refractive index changes and surface irregularities. In the case with most interferometers, light from a single source is split into two beams that travel in different optical paths, which are then combined again to produce interference; two incoherent sources can also be made to interfere under some circumstances. The resulting interference fringes give information about the difference in optical path lengths. In analytical science, interferometers are used to measure lengths and the shape of optical components with nanometer precision; they are the highest-precision length measuring instruments in existence. In Fourier transform spectroscopy they are used to analyze light containing features of absorption or emission associated with a substance or mixture. An astronomical interferometer consists of two or more separate telescopes that combine their signals, offering a resolution equivalent to that of a telescope of diameter equal to the largest separation between its individual elements.

Chappuis absorption (French: [ʃapɥi]) refers to the absorption of electromagnetic radiation by ozone, which is especially noticeable in the ozone layer, which absorbs a small part of sunlight in the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. The Chappuis absorption bands occur at wavelengths between 400 and 650 nm. Within this range are two absorption maxima of similar height at 575 and 603 nm.

Compared to the absorption of ultraviolet light by the ozone layer, known as the Hartley and Huggins absorptions, Chappuis absorption is distinctly weaker. Along with Rayleigh scattering, it contributes to the blue color of the sky, and is noticeable when the light has to travel a long path through the Earth's atmosphere. For this reason, Chappuis absorption only has a significant effect on the color of the sky at dawn and dusk, during the so-called blue hour. It is named after the French chemist James Chappuis (1854–1934), who discovered this effect.

Optical path (OP) is the trajectory that a light ray follows as it propagates through an optical medium.The geometrical optical-path length or simply geometrical path length (GPD) is the length of a segment in a given OP, i.e., the Euclidean distance integrated along a ray between any two points.The mechanical length of an optical device can be reduced to less than the GPD by using folded optics. The optical path length in a homogeneous medium is the GPD multiplied by the refractive index of the medium.

In physics, optical depth or optical thickness is the natural logarithm of the ratio of incident to transmitted radiant power through a material.Thus, the larger the optical depth, the smaller the amount of transmitted radiant power through the material. Spectral optical depth or spectral optical thickness is the natural logarithm of the ratio of incident to transmitted spectral radiant power through a material. Optical depth is dimensionless, and in particular is not a length, though it is a monotonically increasing function of optical path length, and approaches zero as the path length approaches zero. The use of the term "optical density" for optical depth is discouraged.

In chemistry, a closely related quantity called "absorbance" or "decadic absorbance" is used instead of optical depth: the common logarithm of the ratio of incident to transmitted radiant power through a material. It is the optical depth divided by log_e(10), because of the different logarithm bases used.

Schlieren (/ˈʃlɪərən/ SHLEER-ən; German: [ˈʃliːʁn̩] , German for 'streaks') are optical inhomogeneities in transparent media that are not necessarily visible to the human eye. Schlieren physics developed out of the need to produce high-quality lenses devoid of such inhomogeneities. These inhomogeneities are localized differences in optical path length that cause deviations of light rays, especially by refraction. This light deviation can produce localized brightening, darkening, or even color changes in an image, depending on the directions the rays deviate.