LENSES We already know how light is refracted through a rectangular block of glass and through a prism.

Hence consider the following examples of refraction.

The rectangular glass block and the two prisms were arranged as above to look like a lens. This explains why rays parallel to the principal axis of a lens are brought to a focus after passing through the lens.

focal length F is called the FOCUS of the lens. The distance of F from the lens is called the FOCAL LENGTH.

To find the position of the image by a converging lens: The image is found by drawing TWO RAYS going through the lens. One ray passes through the centre of the lens. This just continues straight through the lens as shown below. Another ray is incident on the lens parallel to the principal axis of the lens. This passes through the focus F of the lens as shown below.

IF YOU KNOW HOW THE ABOVE TWO RAYS PASS THROUGH A LENS, THEN YOU KNOW HOW TO FIND THE POSITION OF THE IMAGE IN ANY PROBLEM WITH A CONVERGING LENS! Some examples: a)

Always put an arrow to show the direction of the light. THE IMAGE IS LOCATED AT THE POINT WHERE THE TWO RAYS INTERSECT EACH OTHER AFTER PASSING THROUGH THE LENS.

Note how the two rays are coming from the top of the object. Hence the point where the two rays intersect is the image of the TOP of the object. Properties of the image: i) inverted ii) real, i.e. the image is formed by the actual (real) intersection of light rays iii)approximately same size of the object b)

Properties of the image: i) inverted ii) real, i.e. the image is formed by the actual (real) intersection of light rays iii) smaller than object c)

Properties of the image:

i) inverted ii) real, i.e. the image is formed by the actual (real) intersection of light rays iii) larger than object MAGNIFICATION Sometimes a lens makes an image larger than the object and sometimes it makes it smaller or the same size. Magnification = size of the image / size of the object

Applications: The above three diagrams show how a lens can be used to project an image on a screen. This is used in an apparatus called a projector. When a projector is used to show slides, care must be taken to put the slide (the object) upside down. This is done because in the above diagrams the image is inverted. That is if a slide showing a person is put in the projector, the image shows the person upside down. Hence for the image of the person to be shown upright, the slide has to be put in the projector upside down. d)

Properties of the image: i) upright ii) virtual i.e. the image is not formed by the actual intersection of light rays iii) larger than object Note that in this case the two rays DO NOT intersect after passing through the lens. BUT THE EYE THINKS that they come from a point of intersection after being produced backwards along the dotted lines. This part of the rays are dotted because it is not real light (we call it virtual). Application: The above method is used whenever a magnifying glass is used. Here one wants the image to be upright. When using a magnifying glass, the lens is held very close to the object as in the above diagram.