TERMINOLOGY

Terminology standard for the scientific literature should be used in the articles of "Opticheskii Zhurnal". 

The use of new terms and definitions in the article should be well grounded. 

The use of terms established by the State standards and other legal regulations of the Russian Federation is obligatory as defined in this documents. 

1. GOST R 58568-2019 Optics and Photonics. Photonics. Terms and definitions. 

2. GOST R 70039-2023 Optics and Photonics. Optical systems' characteristics. Terms and definitions.

3. GOST R 70973-2023 Physical optics. Terms, definitions.

4. GOST 8.654-2016 Photometry. Terms and definitions.

5. GOST R 59605—2021 Optics and photonics. Semiconductor radiation detectors. Photoelectric devices and photodetectors. Terms and definitions.

6. GOST ISO/TS 27687—2014 Nanotechnologies. Terms and definitions of nanoobjects. Nanoparticle, nanofiber and nanoplate.

7. GOST R 59165—2020 Optics and photonics. Fiber-optic sensors. Temperature detectors based on fiber Bragg grating. General technical requirements and testing methods.

8. GOST R 57436—2017 Semiconductor devices. Terms and definitions.

9. GOST R 57562—2017 Fiber-optic security systems. Terms and definitions.

10. GOST R 56257-2014 Characteristics of external environmental impact factors. General classification.

11. GOST 15093—90 Lasers and laser radiation control devices. Terms and definitions.

12. GOST R 70895—2023. Electrooptic elements for optical modulators and deflectors. Electrooptic intensity and polarization modulators. System of parameters.

The reference documents in the field of metrology and measuring technique are:

1. CIS Standardization recommendations 29—2013. State system for ensuring uniform measurement. CIS Standardization recommendations. Metrology. Main terms and definitions.

2. International vocabulary of metrology: Basic and general concepts and associated terms: translated from English and French / All-Russian Research Institute for Metrology named after D.I. Mendeleev, Belorussian State Institute of Metrology. Ed. 2 — St. Petersburg: NPO “Professional” publishers, 2010. — 82 p.

“International vocabulary of metrology (VIM) establishes internationally agreed notions and corresponding terms in English and French, and its translation into Russian establishes the correspondence of the mentioned terms in Russian. This translation is not the reference document”.

The importance of use of the terms established by the standards is explained, for instance, in GOST R 58568-2019. Optics and Photonics. Photonics. Terms and definitions [1].

“This standard establishes the basic terms and definitions in relation to photonics as a branch of economy, including the scientific research, development, production, technologies and use of the product.

The purpose of this standard is to provide the agreed general terminology that will reduce the ambiguity and incomprehension and thus will promote the development of photonics”.

ABOUT GOST 8.654-2016 PHOTOMETRY. TERMS AND DEFINITIONS

GOST 8.654-2016 witnesses as follows [4].

“Photometry X: Definition of quantities characterizing the radiation in accordance to established luminance function, either photopic V(λ), or scotopic V'(λ).

Note – in scientific literature the term “photometry” is used sometimes in a broader sense - a science of optical radiation measuring (radiometry), however this use case is not recommended”.

Thus, it is advisable to use terminology of GOST R 70973-2023 [3], when describing the optical radiation.

COMMON ERRORS

The below examples cannot be considered as profound analysis, but they are the examples of common errors.

1. ABOUT THE TERMS “LIGHT” AND “OPTICAL RADIATION”.

GOST R 58568-2019 gives the following definitions.

“Optical radiation: electromagnetic emission with wavelengths falling within the range between the transition region to X-rays (1 nm) and transition region to radio waves (1 mm).

Visible radiation (light): An optical radiation that can convey visual sensation.   

Note - there are no exact limits of spectral range of visible radiation, because they depend on power of radiation reaching the retina and sensitivity of the observer’s eye. The lower bound is the range from 360 nm to 400 nm, and the upper bound is from 760 nm to 830 nm”.   

2. ABOUT THE TERM “INTENSITY”

Groundless use of the term “intensity” often leads to ambiguity of the physical processes’ description in the presented manuscripts.  

GOST R 70973-2023 Physical optics. Terms, definitions [3] gives the following definition.

"Intensity of radiation I: A value proportional to the square of amplitude of electromagnetic oscillation".

However, many values are proportional to the square of amplitude of electromagnetic oscillation, for instance:

- Radiant energy (power), J.

- Radiation flow, W.

- Irradiance, W/m².

- Radiant intensity, W/sr.

- Radiant exposure, (W/m²) •s.

- Radiance of optical radiation.

- Pointing vector magnitude.

The mentioned values have different dimensions, but all of them are proportional to the square of amplitude of electromagnetic oscillation.

As a result, the following terms can be found in manuscripts:

- “laser radiation intensity” instead of “laser radiation flow (power)”,

- “incidence radiation intensity” instead of “irradiance”,

- “scattered radiation intensity” instead of “radiance of scattered radiation” (or “radiant intensity”).

3. ABOUT THE TERMS “PRECISION”, “ACCURACY”

One of the frequent error is the use of the term “accuracy” instead of “precision”.

According to CIS Standardization recommendations 29—2013 [11]:

“Measurement accuracy”; accuracy of measurement result: Proximity of measured value to the real value of quantity measured.

Note — The term “measurement accuracy” describes the quality of measurements on the whole, combining the terms “correctness and accuracy of measurement”.

“Precision” (of measurement result): Difference between the measured value of the quantity and reference quantity value”.

Thus, the “measurement accuracy” is first of all a qualitative concept, while “precision” is quantitative concept of the measurement result.

Dear Authors, please note that the use of unified standardized terminology decreases the ambiguity and promotes better understanding of your articles by the readers.