Lenses

LENSES
A lens is a piece of any transparent material (like glass) with
two faces, of which at least one is curved.

• The center of such a sphere is called center of curvature (C).

• The center of the lens is called optical center (O).
• The line passing through the optical center and center of curvature
of the faces of the lens is called principal axis or optical axis.
 Types of lenses
There are two types of lenses; convex lens or converging lens and concave
lens or diverging lens. A convex lens is thicker in the middle and thinner at
the edges. A concave lens is thinner in the middle and thicker at the edges.
• Real or virtual
• Enlarged or Reduced
• Erect or Inverted
 Ray Diagram for Convex Lens

Principal Axis

• A parallel ray refracts through the focal point.

• A ray through the center of the lens continues straight.
• A ray coming through the focal point, refracts parallel to the principal
axis.
 Ray Diagram for Concave Lens

Object

Image

The image formed by concave lens is:

• Virtual
• Reduced
• upright
 THE LENSE FORMULAR
While a ray diagrams provide useful information about object-
image relationship, yet fail to provide the information in a
qualitative form. Hence to obtain a numerical information.

The Lens equation expresses the quantitative relationship

between the object distance (𝑑𝑜 ) the image distance (𝑑𝑖 ) and the
focal length (f). The equation is stated as follows:

1 1 1
= +
𝑓 𝑑𝑜 𝑑𝑖
• The Magnification Equation relates the ratio of the image distance and object
distance to the ratio of the image height ( ℎ𝑖 ) and object height( ℎ𝑜 ). The
magnification equation is stated as follows:
ℎ𝑖 𝑑𝑖
𝑚= =−
ℎ𝑜 𝑑𝑜

• The Power of a lens is defined to be the inverse of focal length:

1
𝑃=
𝑓
• The power of a lens is positive if it is converging and negative if it is diverging.
Lens Power is measured in diopters, D:

1𝐷 = 1𝑚−1
EXAMPLE: An object of height 3 cm, is placed 12 cm in front of a
diverging lens with a focal length of – 7.9 cm.
a) Use ray tracing to form the image
b) Use the thin lens equations to find the image distance and size

1 1 1 1 1 1
= +  = +  di = −4.8cm
f d o di −7.9 12 di

di hi
= −  hi = −
( −4.8 )( 3)
= 1.2cm
do ho (12 )
Practice Problems
• Problem 1: A 4.00 cm light bulb is placed a distance of 45.7 cm from
a double convex lens having a focal length of 15.2 cm. Determine the
image distance and the image size.

• Problem 2: A 4.00 cm light bulb is placed a distance of 8.30 cm from

a double convex lens having a focal length of 15.2 cm. Determine the
image distance and the image size.

• Problem 3: An object of height 4.0cm is placed a distance of 35.5 cm

from a diverging lens having a focal length of -12.2 cm. Determine the
image distance and the image size.
OPTICAL INSTRUMENTS
 The Microscope The objective has short focal
distance.
The object is placed just beyond
the focal point.
A real, inverted, enlarged, image
is formed, at or near the focus of
the eyepiece.
The eyepiece works as a magnifier,
producing a further magnified
image.

The distance between the lenses is larger than the sum of focal lengths.
The total magnification is the product of each lens magnification.
M  - (di / fobjective) (N / feyepiece)
 The Human Eye

The eye produces a real, inverted image in the retina. The Ciliary
muscles change the shape of the lens, adjusting the focal length
according to the object distance. The amount of light that enters the
eye is controlled by the iris, that expands or contracts to adjust the
pupil size
 The Camera

The camera forms a real,

and inverted image, on a
photographic film, or a
solid state sensor

The camera focuses by moving the lens back and forth.

The aperture of the camera can be adjusted:

focal length f
f - number = = Small f-number
aperture diameter D  large aperture

The amount of light that enters the camera is controlled

by the f-number (i.e 5.6) and the shutter speed (i.e.1/250).
 The Magnifying Glass
A magnifying glass is a convex lens that is used to produce a magnified image of
an object.

Object at near point:   ho / N

If a lens with focal distance f
(f < N), is placed in front of the eye,
and the object is placed at f,
the image forms at infinite,
with angular size ’  ho / f.
Since f < N  ’  , and
the object appears magnified.
Angular magnification:
M = ’ /   N / f Tan   
 The Telescope

• A telescope is a device used to form a magnified images of distance object.

• Telescopes deal with objects that are infinitely far away.
• The image formed by the objective is at its focal point, (and at the focal point of the
eyepiece). The eyepiece works as a magnifier, producing a further enlarged image.

• The distance between lenses is about the sum of the focal lengths.
• The angular magnification is M = ’ /  = fobjective / feyepiece
DEFECTS OF VISION
 DEFECTS OF VISION
COMMON DEFECTS OF VISION
There are mainly three common defects of vision. These are:
• Myopia or near-sightedness
• Hyperopia or far-sightedness
• Astigmatism
 MYOPIA
• Myopia is also known as near-sightedness

• A person with myopia can see nearby objects clearly but cannot see distant
objects distinctly. A person with this defect has the far point nearer than infinity.
Such a person may see clearly up to a distance of a few meters.

• In a myopic eye, the image of a distant object is formed in front of the retina
and not at the retina itself.
CAUSES OF MYOPIA
This defect may arise due to:
(i) excessive curvature of the eye lens
(ii) elongation of the eyeball.
 CORRECTION OF MYOPIA
This defect can be corrected by using a concave lens of suitable power.
A concave lens of suitable power will bring the image back on to the
retina and thus the defect is corrected.
 HYPEROPIA
• Hyperopia is also known as far sightedness.
• A person with hyperopia can see distant objects clearly but cannot see nearby
objects distinctly.
CAUSES OF DEFECT
• This defect arises either because

(i) the focal length of the eye lens is too long

(ii) the eyeball has become too small.
 Correction of Hyperopia
This defect can be corrected by using a convex lens of appropriate
power. Eye-glasses with converging lenses provide the additional
focusing power required for forming the image on the retina.
 Astigmatism
• Astigmatism is a defect that create asymmetric blur in the vision due to the
irregular corneal curvature/shape or lens.
• Due to this condition the light rays that enter the eye fail to converge at a single
focal point on the retina and form two foci instead.
• The lack of a single focus point results in the formation of blurred images on the
retina.
 CORRECTION OF ASTIGMATISM
One of the most common ways to fix an astigmatism, glasses contain a
cylindrical lens that compensates for the uneven curves in your cornea or
lens.
 BIFOCAL LENSES
Sometimes, a person may suffer from both myopia and hypermetropia. Such people often
require bifocal lenses.
STRUCTURE OF BIFOCAL LENSES
A common type of bi-focal lenses consists of both concave and convex lenses. The upper
portion consists of a concave lens. It facilitates distant vision. The lower part is a convex
lens. It facilitates near vision.
Example
A person having a myopic eye uses concave lens of focal length 50cm.
What is the power of the lens?
Solution:
Focal length of a concave lens is always negative therefore
−50
𝑓 = −50𝑐𝑚 → = −0.5𝑚
100

1
𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑎 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑠 =
𝑓𝑜𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ

1
𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 = = −2𝐷
−0.5
 Spectroscopy
• The science of spectroscopy grew out of studies of the interaction of
electromagnetic energy with matter. When light shines on an object, for
example, we know that part of the light is scattered (reflected) and part is
absorbed. Of the initial part that is absorbed, some is later emitted as light of
a different color or wavelength.
 What is spectroscopy
• Spectroscopy is the study of the absorption and emission of light and
other radiation by matter. It involves the splitting of light (or more
precisely electromagnetic radiation) into its constituent wavelengths (a
spectrum), which is done in much the same way as a prism splits light
into a rainbow of colours. In fact, old style spectroscopy was carried
out using a prism and photographic plate.
• Optical instruments called spectrometers reveal in photographic or
printed records as a series of specific wavelengths or frequencies of
the light energies absorbed and emitted.
• These records, in turn is referred to as spectra.
 SPECTROMETER
Spectrometer is a device used for detecting and analyzing
wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation
 TYPES OF SPECTROMETER
• NMR Spectrometer
The NMR spectrometer observes and measures the interaction of nuclei spins when
the sample is placed in a strong, constant magnetic field

• Mass Spectrometer
A mass spectrometer measures the mass-to-charge ratio of ions and identifies the
composition of elements present in a sample.

• Optical Spectrometer
An optical spectrometer measures the properties of light, usually near the optical
region in the electromagnetic spectrum, i.e. ultraviolet, visible and infrared light
ESSENTIAL COMPONENTS OF A SPECTROMETER

A spectrometer consists of three main components:

• entrance slit
• grating
• detector
USES OF A SPECTROMETER
• Optical spectrometers have a wide range of applications
across physics, chemistry, and biology.

• You can use them to measure the transmission,

reflection, scattering, or absorption of light on a sample
as well as electroluminescence or photoluminescence
from an emitter.