Op·tic Op·tic·al a.
 1. Of, pertaining to, or using vision or sight; as, optical illusions. [wns=2]
 Syn: -- ocular, optic, visual.
 The moon, whose orb
 Through optic glass the Tuscan artist views.   --Milton.
 2. Of or pertaining to the eye; ocular; as, the optic nerves (the first pair of cranial nerves) which are distributed to the retina; the optic (or optical) axis of the eye. See Illust. of Brain, and Eye. [wns=3]
 3. Relating to the science of optics or to devices designed to assist vision; as, optical works; optical equipment. [wns=1]
 Optic angle Opt., the angle included between the optic axes of the two eyes when directed to the same point; -- sometimes called binocular parallax.
 Optic axis. Opt. (a) A line drawn through the center of the eye perpendicular to its anterior and posterior surfaces.  In a normal eye it is in the direction of the optic axis that objects are most distinctly seen. (b) The line in a doubly refracting crystal, in the direction of which no double refraction occurs.  A uniaxial crystal has one such line, a biaxial crystal has two.
 Optical circle Opt., a graduated circle used for the measurement of angles in optical experiments.
 Optical square, a surveyor's instrument with reflectors for laying off right angles.

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 Par·al·lax n.
 1. The apparent displacement, or difference of position, of an object, as seen from two different stations, or points of view.
 2. Astron. The apparent difference in position of a body (as the sun, or a star) as seen from some point on the earth's surface, and as seen from some other conventional point, as the earth's center or the sun.
 Annual parallax, the greatest value of the heliocentric parallax, or the greatest annual apparent change of place of a body as seen from the earth and sun; it is equivalent to the parallax of an astronomical object which would be observed by taking observations of the object at two different points one astronomical unit (the distance of the Earth from the sun) apart, if the line joining the two observing points is perpendicular to the direction to the observed object; as, the annual parallax of a fixed star.  The distance of an astronomical object from the Earth is inversely proportional to the annual parallax.  A star which has an annual parallax of one second of an arc is considered to be one parsec (3.26 light years) distant from the earth; a star with an annual parallax of one-hundredth second of an arc is 326 light years distant.  See parsec in the vocabulary, and stellar parallax, below.
 Binocular parallax, the apparent difference in position of an object as seen separately by one eye, and then by the other, the head remaining unmoved.
 Diurnal parallax or Geocentric parallax, the parallax of a body with reference to the earth's center.  This is the kind of parallax that is generally understood when the term is used without qualification.
 Heliocentric parallax, the parallax of a body with reference to the sun, or the angle subtended at the body by lines drawn from it to the earth and sun; as, the heliocentric parallax of a planet.
 Horizontal parallax, the geocentric parallx of a heavenly body when in the horizon, or the angle subtended at the body by the earth's radius.
 Optical parallax, the apparent displacement in position undergone by an object when viewed by either eye singly. --Brande & C.
 Parallax of the cross wires (of an optical instrument), their apparent displacement when the eye changes its position, caused by their not being exactly in the focus of the object glass.
 Stellar parallax, the annual parallax of a fixed star.

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