A magnifying glass (called a hand lens in laboratory contexts) is a convex lens that is used to produce a magnified image of an object.

The lens is usually mounted in a frame with a handle (see image). A magnifying glass which uses a positive (convex) lens to make things look bigger by allowing the user to hold them closer to his eye. Magnifying glass: The maximum angular magnification (compared to the naked eye) of a magnifying glass depends on how the glass and the object are held, relative to the eye. If the lens is held at a distance from the object that its front focal point is on the object being viewed, the relaxed eye (focused to infinity) can view the image with angular magnification

Here,

is the focal length of the lens in centimeters. The constant 25 cm is an estimate of the

"near point" distance of the eyethe closest distance at which the healthy naked eye can focus. In this case the angular magnification is independent from the distance kept between the eye and the magnifying glass. If instead the lens is held very close to the eye and the object is placed closer to the lens than its focal point so that the observer focuses on the near point, a larger angular magnification can be obtained, approaching

A different interpretation of the working of the latter case is that the magnifying glass changes the diopter of the eye (making it myopic) so that the object can be placed closer to the eye resulting in a larger angular magnification.

angular magnification Point of view without the loop Point of view with a magnifying glass Normal visibility large object The focal point