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The 53 pages that link to Geometrical optics, each with the reason it gives.

• DiffractionCompared with: It neglects wave spreading and interference, which become essential near apertures and edges.

• Depth of fieldNarrower topic: Depth-of-field calculations commonly use its ray-based account of lens imaging.

• OpticsBroader topic: It describes image formation when diffraction can be neglected.

• Snell's lawNarrower topic: Snell's law is a central ray rule within this approximation.

• Mie scatteringCompared with: It becomes useful for particles far larger than the wavelength, beyond simple wavelength-scale behavior.

• ApertureNarrower topic: Ray geometry explains how the aperture bounds the light entering the lens.

• Diffraction limitCompared with: Ray models omit diffraction and therefore cannot explain the resolution limit.

• Fermat's principleNarrower topic: Fermat's principle is a foundation for this ray-based description of light.

• Huygens–Fresnel principleCompared with: It predicts ray paths but not the interference patterns explained by the principle.

• Ray tracingNarrower topic: Ray tracing computes the paths that geometric optics describes.

• Louis de BroglieCompared with: De Broglie’s analogy treated particles more like waves than ray-like classical objects.

• Apollonius of PergaRelated: Reflective properties of conics make them useful in optical instrument design.

• Chromatic aberrationNarrower topic: Ray diagrams show how separate wavelengths form displaced focal points.

• Fresnel equationsNarrower topic: Fresnel coefficients supplement ray paths by specifying their interface energy and amplitude changes.

• Optical aberrationNarrower topic: Aberration analysis often traces rays through a system to compare actual and ideal image positions.

• Corpuscular theory of lightNarrower topic: Corpuscles traveling in straight paths fit the ray-based descriptions of optical phenomena.

• De Broglie wavelengthCompared with: It illustrates how wave behavior becomes negligible when wavelength is small relative to structures.

• Hamilton–Jacobi equationRelated: Hamilton's analogy between rays and mechanical paths helped motivate the equation.

• Diffuse reflectionNarrower topic: Ray directions explain the basic scattering picture for surfaces much larger than a wavelength.

• Field of viewNarrower topic: It provides the ray diagrams used to derive many field-of-view relationships.

• Optical telescopeNarrower topic: It describes how telescope lenses and mirrors form images.

• Fraunhofer diffractionCompared with: It cannot account for the interference fringes that define Fraunhofer patterns.

• Classical limitBroader topic: It is the classical ray limit of wave optics, derived through the same short-wavelength logic.

• Fourier opticsCompared with: It predicts ray paths, while Fourier optics captures interference and diffraction.

• Law of reflectionNarrower topic: The law is a basic directional rule within this approximation.

• Wave opticsCompared with: Its ray approximation works when wave effects are negligible compared with the system’s scale.

• Atmospheric opticsNarrower topic: Many halos and mirages can be traced by following rays through ice crystals or air layers.

• Classical electromagnetismNarrower topic: It follows from electromagnetic wave theory when wavelengths are small relative to structures.

• Fresnel diffractionCompared with: It cannot account for the near-field fringe structure predicted by Fresnel diffraction.

• Newtonian telescopeNarrower topic: It describes how the primary and diagonal mirrors route light to the eyepiece.

• Parabolic reflectorNarrower topic: The reflector’s ideal ray behavior is described without modeling light as a wave.

• Scattering theoryCompared with: Scattering theory retains wave interference that ray-based descriptions omit.

• Spherical aberrationNarrower topic: The usual description of spherical aberration follows individual rays through an optical system.

• Virtual imageNarrower topic: Virtual images are located using the ray model rather than wavefront calculations.

• WKB approximationRelated: WKB gives the mathematical bridge from wave equations to ray propagation.

• Angle of incidenceNarrower topic: The angle-of-incidence construction belongs to the ray-based description of light.

• Wave interferenceCompared with: This ray-based approximation cannot account for interference fringes.

• Halo (optical phenomenon)Narrower topic: Ray paths through crystal faces provide a useful account of common halo angles.

• Principal symbolRelated: The leading symbol equation determines the phases of high-frequency approximate solutions.

• Aperture (optics)Narrower topic: Ray geometry explains pupil images and aperture stops before diffraction is considered.

• Airy functionNarrower topic: Airy functions resolve wave behavior where ray-based predictions fail near caustics.

• Classical physicsBroader topic: It predicts image formation when wave effects are negligible.

• History of opticsBroader topic: Ray-based methods connect ancient visual geometry to lens design and image formation.

• Ibn SahlNarrower topic: Ibn Sahl's lens designs treat light paths geometrically rather than as waves.

• Crystal opticsCompared with: Crystal propagation often requires polarization and phase information beyond ray paths.

• Diffraction-limited systemCompared with: It predicts ideal ray convergence but cannot describe the finite diffraction blur.

• Robert GrossetesteRelated: He applied geometry to explain optical effects and the behavior of light.

• Transverse modeCompared with: Transverse modes require wave behavior that ray-based optics cannot describe.

• Curved mirrorNarrower topic: Curved-mirror diagrams and image predictions use its ray-based approximation.

• Electromagnetic field calculationsCompared with: It replaces detailed field solutions with ray paths in suitable high-frequency settings.