Re: How would one simulate the action of a lens in a computer?

The effects of lenses on light can be computed precisely, as light follows 
well-known physical laws, and there are several software packages for 
simulating this to optimise lens design, although many of these are highly 
specialised and therefore expensive. 
Making use of phase information, however would be substantially more 
difficult, mainly due to the very large quantity of information, and I'm 
not sure if it is possible with current technology.