Learning lens design from Rudolf Kingslake

Abstract

Rudolf Kingslake championed the importance of lens design fundamentals and, with the introduction of computer- aided design, was wary of what the future held for theory. The transition from ray tracing taking minutes to taking fractions of a second has changed the way lens design is taught and approached. Today's powerful computational tools have largely supplanted fundamentals, yet the synergy of thoughtfully combining theory with numerical capacity is what leads to the greatest insight, most efficiently. Recently uncovered materials of Professor Kingslake's highlight this fact and suggest how lens design's past has enduring importance today.