OBJECTIVES

This module aims to:

Categorize lenses as to diverging and converging
Educate the reader about the difference between
convex and concave lenses
Explain the image formed by the two types of lenses

A lens is merely a carefully ground or molded piece
of transparent material that refracts light rays in such as
way as to form an image.

Lenses can be thought of as a series of tiny
refracting prisms, each of which refracts light to produce
their own image. When these prisms act together, they
produce a bright image focused at a point.










But before we proceed to
the main topic, let us have
some exercises first.
Good
luck!
1. Which of the following statement
is TRUE?
a. A lens that causes light to
converge has a positive power.
b. The lens that causes light to
diverge has a negative power.
c. The higher the positive power,
the more converging the lens is.
d. All of these are correct
Lenses
Lenses are smoothly curved
transparent materials usually made of
glass or plastic. It has one or two
curved surfaces which form a
common boundary between an
optically dense medium and a less
dense one.

continuation
There are a variety of types of lenses.
Lenses differ from one another in terms
of their shape and the materials from
which they are made. Our focus will be
upon lenses that are symmetrical across
their horizontal axis - known as
the principal axis. In this lesson, we will
categorize lenses as converging lenses and
diverging lenses.
continuation
A converging lens is a lens that
converges rays of light that are
traveling parallel to its principal axis.
Converging lenses can be identified by
their shape; they are relatively thick
across their middle and thin at their
upper and lower edges.

continuation
A diverging lens is a lens that
diverges rays of light that are traveling
parallel to its principal axis. Diverging
lenses can also be identified by their
shape; they are relatively thin across
their middle and thick at their upper
and lower edges.
TWO TYPES OF LENS
Converging
Lens
Diverging
Lens
F
F
f
f
Lenses
converging lens
bi-convex
has two convex surfaces
diverging lens
bi-concave
has two concave surfaces
Compare to Mirrors
Convex Concave
Note that this is opposite from mirrors, for which a convex surface
is diverging and a concave surface is converging. When in doubt,
trace some rays!
Converging Lens
The focal point of a curved
mirror was the image point of
a distant star
It is the same for a lens
The focal point of a
converging lens is where the
incoming rays from a distant
star all intersect.
A distant star is used to
guarantee that the incoming
rays are parallel
Focal point
Focal distance
Converging Lens
F F
Note that a lens has a focal point on both sides of the lens, as
compared to a mirror that only has one focal point
Converging Lens
F
Similarly to a spherical mirror, incoming parallel rays are
deflected through the focal point
Thin Lenses
Just as the ray tracing for mirrors is approximate
and only accurate for certain situations, the ray
tracing for lenses is accurate only for what are
called thin lenses
A lens is considered thin if the thickness of the
lens is much less than the distance from the lens
to the focal point.


F F
thickness of lens
distance to focal point
Thin Lenses: Vocabulary
The distance from the focal point to the lens is
called the focal length of the lens.





To distinguish between converging and diverging
lenses, f is defined as positive for converging
lenses and negative for diverging lenses. Well
come back to this.
F F
Focal length (f)
Ray Tracing for Converging Lenses
Light passes through a lens
There is a focal point on both sides of a lens
Converging Lens:
Ray #1:
Parallel to the axis
Refracts through F
Ray #2:
Through F
Refracts parallel to axis
Ray #3:
Through Center of
lens undeflected

Example: Camera
Example: Slide Projector
Example:
Magnifying
Glass
Results: Ray Tracing for Converging Lenses
(in each case, draw in the 3 rays for practice)
Object distance > 2f: Image is real, smaller, and inverted
F F 2F
Object between f and 2f: Image is real, larger, inverted
F F 2F
Object between f and mirror: Image virtual, larger, upright
F F 2F
Ray #1: Parallel to the axis on the left
Refracts as if it came from F on the left
Ray #2: Heads toward F on the right
Refracts parallel to the axis on the right
Ray #3: Through the center of the lens undeflected
Now, for Diverging lenses
For a Diverging Lens:
2
Example: Glasses to correct nearsightedness
Results: Ray Tracing for Diverging Lenses
(draw in the 3 rays for practice)
No matter where the object is:
Image is always virtual, smaller and upright
F F