We call a spherical lens an association of two diopters in which one of them is necessarily spherical, while the other can be spherical or flat. We can also say that a spherical lens is a transparent body bounded by S surfaces.1 and S2 of a diopter, as shown in the figure above.
To facilitate our studies (didactically), let us assume that the lens is always immersed in a single homogeneous and transparent medium, unless some observation is made.
We can find lenses of different materials, such as glass or acrylic. These lenses are usually found in glasses, and the environment is the air. However, you can use a medium other than air.
Mind Map: Spherical Lenses
*To download the mind map in PDF, Click here!
Nomenclature
It is possible to distinguish six different types of lenses, taking into account their cross section. To an observer outside the lens, looking at each of its faces, they can be concave, convex, or flat. Remember: lenses have two faces combined, and one of them is spherical, necessarily.
The composition of the lens name is done as follows:
- first we put the name of the face with the largest radius of curvature;
- then the name of the one with the smallest radius of curvature;
- when the two faces have the same names, we use the prefix bi (biconvex, biconcave);
- when one of the faces is flat, its name comes first (flat-concave or plane-convex).
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By Domitiano Marques
Graduated in Physics
Mind Map by Rafael Helerbrock
Graduated in Physics
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
SILVA, Domitiano Correa Marques da. "Spherical lenses"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/fisica/lentes-esfericas.htm. Accessed on June 28, 2021.
Physics
Do you know what optical instruments are and what they are for? Optical instruments use flat, spherical lenses and mirrors to produce sharper, corrected, or magnified images of near or very distant objects. Check out some of the most important optical instruments, such as glasses, magnifying glasses and telescopes.
