nodal point

American  

noun

Optics.

1. either of two points on the axis of a lens or other optical system, determined by extending an incident oblique ray and the corresponding refracted ray to the axis for the pair of rays that are parallel outside the optical system.

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Etymology

Origin of nodal point

First recorded in 1835–45

Example Sentences

Each “Mixtape” functions as a nodal point for a gathering of large portraits.

From New York Times • Apr. 5, 2023

He becomes the nodal point in a web of trauma and regret, variously the agent, victim and witness of someone else’s unhappiness.

From New York Times • Dec. 7, 2022

“I think it taps into a large nodal point of vigilante justice or a kind of frontier mentality.”

From New York Times • Jul. 1, 2015

It’s easy to look at the riot as that nodal point, but really, you’re ignoring all of the heat that came before.”

From New York Times • Nov. 9, 2012

His music and his science had met at this nodal point.

From Heroes of the Telegraph by Munro, John