15

Lenses

At the British Museum in London, England, lies the Nimrud lens. Estimated to be 3 000 years old, this clear rock crystal is possibly the oldest lens found.
Historians and scientists proposed that the ancient Assyrian race could have used the device as a burning-glass to concentrate the light rays from the Sun to a spot to start fires.

Chapter

Chapter 15: Lenses

Lenses
There are two type of lenses,

A convex lens or converging lens bends light (by refraction) inwards as light passes through it. A concave lens or diverging lens bends light (by refraction) outwards as light passes through it.

Chapter 15: Lenses

Convex lens
Focal length (f)
Optical centre (C)

Focal plane

Chapter 15: Lenses

Chapter 15: Lenses

Actions of both convex and concave lens on a beams of light:

Convex lens Concave lens

Real images are formed only by convex lens. When the image of a point object is viewed through a convex lens, the light rays coming from the object converge to a point after passing through the lens. A virtual image is formed when the light rays diverge from a point after passing through a lens. Virtual images can be formed by both concave and convex lenses.

Chapter 15: Lenses

Ray diagram
The object is represented by an arrow and is labelled with the letter O. The image of the object is also represented by an arrow. It is labelled with the letter I. The relative size between the arrows represent the magnification of the image.

Chapter 15: Lenses

1. The base of the object, O, is positioned on the principal axis.

2. Three light rays are drawn starting from the top of the object:
(a) Ray 1 is drawn horizontally until it meets the lens. This ray will emerge from the lens passing through the focal point F.

(b) Ray 2 is drawn directly towards the optical centre O. This ray will pass through without a change in direction.
(c) Ray 3 is drawn passing through the focal point F before it meets the lens. This ray will emerge from the lens horizontally.

C Principle axis image Focal length

Chapter 15: Lenses

Properties of the image produced are determined by the position of the object.
There are 6 possibilities,

6) Ata infinity 1) At a distance greater than 2f (two focal lengths) from the lens 5)At adistance distanceexactly less than fffrom the lensfrom 4) 2) 3) At between 2 f f from 1 from and the the 2 f lens away lens the lens

Ray diagrams shown are for convex lens. Can you draw the corresponding ray diagrams for a concave lens?

Chapter 15: Lenses

Image Formation in the Eye

1. When the human eye focuses on a point object, the lens behind the cornea changes its curvature to converge the rays to a point on the retina. 2. The light rays from the object is refracted at the cornea and then at the lens. 3. The image formed on the retina is converted into electrical signals to the brain.
Retina Cornea

Near object Lens

Chapter 15: Lenses

There is a limit to how much the eye can change the curvature of the lens. A normal person is able to focus on an object as close as 20 to 25 cm from the eye. A person with long-sightedness is unable to focus objects close to the eye because the rays do not converge on the retina as shown.
Retina Cornea

Near object Lens

Image does not form on the retina

Chapter 15: Lenses

People with long-sightedness are prescribed spectacles with converging lenses (convex lenses) so that a sharp image is able to form on the retina.

Retina

Cornea

Convex lens

Near object Lens

Chapter 15: Lenses

Chapter 15: Lenses

Magnifying Glass

Chapter 15: Lenses

A magnifying glass makes use of a single convex lens to produce an enlarged and upright image.
The enlarged image lies on the same side of the object.

Convex lens

*Note that an enlarged and upright image is formed only if the object is placed within the focal length of the convex lens.

Chapter 15: Lenses

Camera
A camera uses lenses to produce a real but diminished image of an object on a light-sensitive film.

The camera controls the amount of light that is exposed to the film. Images of objects of various distances are focused onto the film by adjusting the distance between the lens and the film.
Film roll Lens Image formed on film is real but inverted Light rays from the top of object Object Light rays from the base of object

Chapter 15: Lenses

Slide Projector
A slide projector is designed to produce a real and enlarged image of a slide on a screen. The projection lens rests on an adjustable mount so that the image on the screen can be focussed by adjusting the distance between the projection lens and the slide.

Concave mirror

Condenser lens

Projection lens Enlarged image of slide

Lamp Slide Screen

Chapter 15: Lenses

Telescope
A simple telescope uses two lenses to magnify the image of a distant object. The eye piece determines the degree of magnification.
Light rays coming from infinity

Eye piece

Objective lens

Fig. 19.36

Ray diagram of a telescope

Chapter 15: Lenses