A system includes a detector and a computing device communicatively coupled to the detector. The detector detects spatial or temporal spectral features of a light beam after transmission of the light beam through a turbulent or aberrated medium and generate a measurement signal indicative of the spectral feature. The computing device receives the measurement signal and a comparative signal indicative of a spectral feature of the light beam prior to or after transmission of the light beam through the medium. The computing device compares the measurement signal and the comparative signal and determines, based on the comparison of the measurement signal and the comparative signal, one or more values related to variations in refractive indices of the medium.

A system and method are provided for receiving light that has traveled from an optical source through an atmosphere along a distance. The system includes: a receiver lens system having an aperture and being arranged to receive the light from the optical source; a beam splitter; an imaging lens; an image processing component; a photodetector system; and a refractive index structure parameter component. The photodetector system outputs data associated with averaged scintillation data of the aperture. The image processing component generates a normalized covariance curve based on a first portion of the received light. The refractive index structure parameter component generates a refractive index structure parameter, C.sub.n.sup.2, of the atmosphere along the distance based on the data associated with averaged scintillation data of the aperture and the normalized covariance curve.

A turbulence-free CCD camera system with nonclassical imaging resolution, for applications in long-distance imaging, such as satellite and aircraft-to-ground based distant imaging, utilizing an intensity-fluctuation correlation measurement of thermal light. The proposed camera system has the following advantages over classic imaging technology: (1) it is turbulence-free; (2) its spatial resolution is mainly determined by the angular diameter of the light source. For example, using sun as the light source, this camera may achieve a spatial resolution of 200 micrometer for any object on Earth. 200-micrometer resolution is insignificant for short distance imaging, however, taking a picture of a target at 10-kilometer, a classic camera must have a lens of 90-meter diameter in order to achieve 200-micrometer resolution. Unlike a classic camera, the proposed turbulence-free CCD camera system has adequate spatial resolution zoom a long distance and still distinguish the objects within a small area, even with a small lens.

A turbulence-free CCD camera system with nonclassical imaging resolution, for applications in long-distance imaging, such as satellite and aircraft-to-ground based distant imaging, utilizing an intensity-fluctuation correlation measurement of thermal light. The proposed camera system has the following advantages over classic imaging technology: (1) it is turbulence-free; (2) its spatial resolution is mainly determined by the angular diameter of the light source. For example, using sun as the light source, this camera may achieve a spatial resolution of 200 micrometer for any object on Earth. 200-micrometer resolution is insignificant for short distance imaging, however, taking a picture of a target at 10-kilometer, a classic camera must have a lens of 90-meter diameter in order to achieve 200-micrometer resolution. Unlike a classic camera, the proposed turbulence-free CCD camera system has adequate spatial resolution zoom a long distance and still distinguish the objects within a small area, even with a small lens.

A measuring apparatus with an optical sensor for optically measuring at least one measured variable of a medium includes a closed housing, a flow cell with a measuring chamber arranged in the housing, a reference chamber arranged in the housing and a carrier rotatably mounted in the housing. The optical sensor comprises at least one light source and at least one detector, which are arranged on the carrier in such a way that measurements of the at least one measured variable can be performed on a medium located in the measuring chamber using the optical sensor when the carrier is in a measuring position that can be accessed by rotating the carrier, and reference measurements can be carried out on a reference medium located in the reference chamber using the optical sensor when the carrier is in a reference position that can be accessed by rotating the carrier.