RAFAEL GONZÁLEZ: THE MEXICAN WHO MANAGED TO SOLVE A PROBLEM THAT NEITHER NEWTON COULD SOLVE

There are problems that we have to which we do not see a very clear solution, but they are almost always there, evident before our eyes. After years, centuries in which different researchers worldwide could not find the solution to an optical problem, a Mexican managed to solve it in the best way. Today we will tell you the story of Rafael González and the spherical aberration in optical lenses. 

Rafael González Acuña, 28 years old, is a graduate of Tec de Monterrey, from the Industrial Physics Engineering career . He is currently studying a doctorate in nanotechnology within the same institution. One day he had his moment of lucidity and realized that he was facing the solution of a lifetime. "I remember that one morning I was preparing a bread with Nutella, and suddenly I said: mothers! is there! " Gonzalez told Conecta . 

One of the most important physicists in history, Isaac Newton, throughout his life I try to find the solution to this problem problem but could never solve it. Although approximations had already been found, no one had found the complete answer, until now. Rafael joined with Alejandro Chaparro, a graduate of the UNAM so that together they could finish it. 

One of the solutions for the problem was to use two lenses that were not spherical but aspherical, whose characteristic is that they only have spherical details in the part of the surface . However, until now, the calibration of these lenses depended on a calculation that was not entirely accurate, that Rafael managed to land in the best way. 

Photo: Special

Through a fairly elaborate equation they managed to get to the root of the problem. According to González: "During our study,  we calculated the efficiency of 500 rays, and the average satisfaction  of all the examples was 99.9999999999%.". Thanks to this discovery, many industries such as telescopes, cameras and other items that use lenses can reduce costs. 

Rafael and Alejandro published their solution in an article called General formula for bi-aspheric lens design free of spherical aberration, which appeared in the specialized magazine  Applied Optics . Something curious about all this is that the discovery of our countrymen received the distinction of the editor of the magazine, something that happens less than 1 percent of the 35 thousand articles published there. 

Without a doubt Rafael is the perfect example to realize that, although we see something difficult, sometimes the solution is in us, in our mind . A round of applause for this great Mexican.