Talk:Apochromat

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This type of lens is properly called an 'apochromatic lens', not an 'apochromat'. The term apochromatic is much more widely used than apochromat, almost four times as often according to Google. We should consider renaming the article instead of redirecting from apochromatic to apochromat. Chris Jefferies 00:23, 4 January 2007 (UTC)

"Properly" is a matter of opinion, and probably depends on the field in which one works. The terms achromat and apochromat are well-established terms with a long history in optics. --Srleffler 03:37, 4 January 2007 (UTC)

You seem to have searched on the wrong terms. Apochromat gets 178,000 Google hits, vs. only 13,200 for the equivalent noun phrase "apochromatic lens". While the adjective apochromatic is more common than either, the page naming policy says that Wikipedia page names must be nouns not adjectives, except in rare cases. The Google search shows that apochromat is a better Wikipedia article title than the much less common noun phrase apochromatic lens.--Srleffler 03:50, 4 January 2007 (UTC)

OK, thanks for the interesting comments. I was a light microscopist for many years and never came across the term 'apochromat'. Maybe it's an American term (I'm European) or perhaps there have been changes since I left the field, but in the 1980s all the major manufacturers used the term 'apochromatic lens' or the abbreviation 'apo', but not 'apochromat'. Of course, it could also be that my memory is faulty :-( Chris Jefferies 15:15, 4 January 2007 (UTC)