focal plane
noun
: a plane that is perpendicular to the axis of a lens or mirror and passes through the focus
Examples of focal plane in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Normally, these telescopes produce a curved focal plane that doesn't match the flat surface of a CCD camera sensor.
—
Gemma Lavender, Space.com, 15 Jan. 2025
That makes the full panoply hard to study simultaneously because much of it takes place above or below the microscope’s narrow focal plane.
—The Physics Arxiv Blog, Discover Magazine, 2 Dec. 2024
Cons of Iron Sights for Hunters Unlike optical sights, which put the reticle and the target in the same focal plane and require your eye to focus on only that plane, iron sights involve three focal planes: rear sight, front sight, and target.
—David E. Petzal, Field & Stream, 30 Jan. 2023
The focal plane took six months to assemble.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN, 8 Sep. 2020
That said, the a7R V sports a pro-grade mechanical focal plane shutter, with support for electronic first curtain, but those are long-running features in the series.
—PCMAG, 31 Oct. 2022
Focusing is fast and accurate, the focal plane seems bigger, there’s no discernible shutter lag, and most of all: the pictures look better.
—Dieter Bohn, The Verge, 21 Jan. 2021
Every night between December 2009 and March 2019 that the moon was not overly bright, the telescope tracked a patch of sky, and the fibers fed the light that fell onto the focal plane into two spectrographs.
—Kyle Dawson, Scientific American, 1 May 2021
One end of each cable was supported by an aluminum plate positioned at the focal plane of the telescope.
—Kyle Dawson, Scientific American, 1 May 2021
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Gemma Lavender, Space.com, 15 Jan. 2025
That makes the full panoply hard to study simultaneously because much of it takes place above or below the microscope’s narrow focal plane.
—The Physics Arxiv Blog, Discover Magazine, 2 Dec. 2024
Cons of Iron Sights for Hunters Unlike optical sights, which put the reticle and the target in the same focal plane and require your eye to focus on only that plane, iron sights involve three focal planes: rear sight, front sight, and target.
—David E. Petzal, Field & Stream, 30 Jan. 2023
The focal plane took six months to assemble.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN, 8 Sep. 2020
That said, the a7R V sports a pro-grade mechanical focal plane shutter, with support for electronic first curtain, but those are long-running features in the series.
—PCMAG, 31 Oct. 2022
Focusing is fast and accurate, the focal plane seems bigger, there’s no discernible shutter lag, and most of all: the pictures look better.
—Dieter Bohn, The Verge, 21 Jan. 2021
Every night between December 2009 and March 2019 that the moon was not overly bright, the telescope tracked a patch of sky, and the fibers fed the light that fell onto the focal plane into two spectrographs.
—Kyle Dawson, Scientific American, 1 May 2021
One end of each cable was supported by an aluminum plate positioned at the focal plane of the telescope.
—Kyle Dawson, Scientific American, 1 May 2021
Cite this Entry
“Focal plane.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/focal%20plane. Accessed 27 Feb. 2025.
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