Sign up ×  Suppose a ray of light hits a concave mirror and is
parallel to the principal axis but far away from it such that it
doesn't follow paraxial ray approximation. Will it pass through
focus or between focus and radius of curvature or between pole
and focus?  Here pole, focus and radius of curvature mean the
same thing as in paraxial ray approximation .
share|cite|improve this question It is depending upon the
distance of ray from axis of mirror. –  ABC Apr 27 '13 at 16:28
Removed the ridiculous down-vote by adding a +1. –  Antillar
Maximus May 15 '13 at 11:31 It really depends on the shape of
your "concave" mirror. Is it spherical, parabolic, or just any
old dent in a shiny surface? It affects the answer... –  Floris
Oct 17 '14 at 19:40  3 Answers 3  up vote 0 down vote accepted
enter image description here  Assuming mirror to be spherical
section. C is the center of sphere.  See, Using trigonometry.
$$x=d \times \sin(2\theta)$$ $$x=R\times\sin\theta$$  Eliminate
$\theta$ and get $d$ : distance from