Our Phones Will Have Better Cameras, Because Someone Solved A 2,000-Year-Old Math Problem

No matter how high-tech your camera lens is, it's not perfect. A problem lenses have had for years is that even if the centre of images clicked are clear, the edges seem a little soft.

But that might soon be fixed thanks to a 2,000-year-old problem that was just solved.

You see theoretically, a curved class lens should be able to refract all the rays of light passing through it onto a single target, called its focal point. In reality though, it's not nearly that simple. There are minor differences in refraction across the lens, as well as imperfections in the shape and materials, that cause some of the rays of light passing through to shift. This is especially true for those near the edges of the lens.

This effect is called spherical aberration, and it's a well-documented problem. However, it's one veen Isaac Newton couldn't fix, nor could ancient Greek mathematician Diocles.

We have come a long way towards minimizing the effects though. Aside from improvements to how we manufacture lenses, we often also use additional curved lenses in a camera specifically to counteract this issue. It's a long trial and error process though whenever you're designing a lens for a new application.

But all of that is about to change thanks to Mexican physicist Rafael G Gonz¨¢lez-Acu?a, a doctoral student at the Tecnol¨®gico de Monterrey. Following months of work, he's finally been able to write a mind-numbingly difficult equation that allows a specific calculation for how to counteract spherical aberration.

Rafael G Gonz¨¢lez-Acu?a/Tecnol¨®gico de Monterrey

Of course, the equation won't make the slightest bit of sense to most people. But for lens manufacturers, it's a godsend. Instead of having to experiment with the problem when building a new lens, they can instead just plug in this equation to exactly calculate what they need to do to eliminate any spherical aberration.

And that's not just beneficial to photographers either, it'll make it easier for smartphone makers to perfect cameras on their devices, and astronomers' telescopes.