Physics 102: Lecture 19

Lenses and your EYE

• Today’s Lecture will cover textbook
sections 23.9, 24.1, 3-4, 6
Ciliary Muscles

Physics 102: Lecture 19, Slide 1

 Review of Lenses
Preflight 18.8
Focal point determined by geometry and
Snell’s Law: n1 sin(θ1) = n2 sin(θ2)

P.A. n1<n2
F

Fat in middle = Converging

Thin in middle = Diverging
Larger n2/n1 = more bending, shorter focal
length.
n1 = n2 => No Bending, f = infinity
Lens in water has _________ focal
length!
Physics 102: Lecture 19, Slide 2
 Review: Converging Lens
Principal Rays
F Image
P.A.
Object F

1) Rays parallel to principal axis pass through focal

point.
2) Rays through center of lens are not refracted.
3) Rays through F emerge parallel to principal axis.
Image is real, inverted and enlarged
Assumptions:
• monochromatic light incident on a thin lens.
• rays19,are
Physics 102: Lecture Slideall
3 “near” the principal axis.
 Preflight 19.1
A converging lens is used to project a real image
onto a screen. A piece of black tape is then
placed over the upper half of the lens.

How much of the image appears on the screen?

Physics 102: Lecture 19, Slide 4
 Lens Equation
1 1 1 do

+ = F
do di f P.A. Image

Object F f

di
• do = distance object is from lens:
• Positive: object __________ lens
• Negative: object __________ lens

• di = distance image is from lens: 1 1 1

+ =
• Positive: ________ image (behind lens) 15 cm di 10 cm
• Negative: ________ image (in front of lens)
di =
• f = focal length lens:
• Positive: ___________ lens m=
• Negative: ___________ lens
Physics 102: Lecture 19, Slide 5
 Amazing Eye
• One of first organs to develop.
• 100 million Receptors 4 million
– 200,000 /mm2 2,500 /mm2
– Sensitive to single photon!
• Candle from 12 miles
Ciliary Muscles

Physics 102: Lecture 19, Slide 6

 ACT: Focusing and the Eye
Ciliary Muscles

Cornea n= 1.38
Lens n = 1.4
Vitreous n = 1.33

Which part of the eye does most of the light

bending?
1) Lens 2) Cornea 3) Retina 4) Cones

Physics 102: Lecture 19, Slide 7

 Eye (Relaxed)
25
mm

Determine the focal length of your eye when looking

at an object far away.

Object is far away: d o =

Want image at retina: di = f relaxed =

Physics 102: Lecture 19, Slide 8

 Eye (Tensed)
250 25
mm mm

Determine the focal length of your eye when looking

at an object up close (25 cm).

Object is up close: d o =

Want image at retina: di = f tense =

Physics 102: Lecture 19, Slide 9
 Preflight 19.3
A person with normal vision (near point at 26 cm)
is standing in front of a plane mirror.

What is the closest distance to the mirror where

the person can stand and still see himself in
focus?

1) 13 cm
2) 26 cm
3) 52 cm

Physics 102: Lecture 19, Slide 10

 Multiple Lenses
Image from lens 1 becomes object for lens
2 1 2

f1 f2

Complete the Rays!!

Physics 102: Lecture 19, Slide 11

 Multiple Lenses:
Magnification
do = 15 1 L = 42 cm 2 d = 8.6
i
cm cm

f1 f2
f1 = 10
cm f2 = 5 cm
di = 30 do=12 cm
cm

Net magnification:mnet = m1 m2
m1 =
mnet = m1m2 =
m2 =

Physics 102: Lecture 19, Slide 12

 Near Point, Far Point
• Eye’s lens changes shape (changes f )
– Object at any do can have image be at
retina (di = approx. 25 mm)
• Can only change shape so much
• “Near Point”
– Closest do where image can be at retina
– Normally, ~25 cm (if far-sighted then
further)
• “Far Point”
– Furthest do where image can be at retina
– Normally, infinity (if near-sighted then
closer)
Physics 102: Lecture 19, Slide 13
 If you are nearsighted...
(far point is too
close)
Too far for near-sighted eye to
focus

do
dfar
Near-sighted eye can focus on this!

Contacts form virtual image at

far point – becomes object for
eye. flens =
Want to have (virtual) image of distant
object, do = ∞, at the far point, di = -dfar.
Physics 102: Lecture 19, Slide 14
 Refractive Power of Lens

Diopter = 1/f
where f is focal length of lens in
meters.

Person with far point of 5 meters, would

need contacts with focal length –5 meters.

Doctor’s prescription reads:

1/(-5m) = –0.20 Diopters

Physics 102: Lecture 19, Slide 15

 If you are farsighted...
(near point is too far)
Too close for far-sighted eye to focus

do
dnear
Far-sighted eye can focus on this!

Want
Contacts the near
form virtual imagepoint
at to be at do.
near point – becomes object for
eye.

When object is at do, lens must flens =

create
Physics an
102: Lecture (virtual)
19, Slide 16 image at -dnear.
 Preflight 19.4
Two people who wear glasses are camping.
One of them is nearsighted and the other is
farsighted. Which person’s glasses will be
useful in starting a fire with the sun’s rays?

Physics 102: Lecture 19, Slide 17

 Angular Size
Preflight 19.6, 19.7
Both are same size, but nearer one looks bigger.

θ θ
θ θ

• Angular size tells you how large the image is

on your retina, and how big it appears to be.
• How small of font can you read?
Highwire Caramel Apples Rabbits Kindergarten Hello Arboretum Halloween Am azing

Physics 102: Lecture 19, Slide 18

 Unaided Eye
How big the object
object looks with unaided
h0 θ eye.

N
Bring object as close as possible (to near point N)
ho ho
tan(θ ) = θ≈
N N
**
If θ is small and expressed in radians.

Physics 102: Lecture 19, Slide 19

 Magnifying Glass
magnifying glass
virtual image

object
hi θ /
ho

do
di
Magnifying glass produces virtual image behind
object, allowing you to bring object to a closer
do: and larger θ’ / hi ho
θ = =
Compare to unaided eye:θ = h0 di do
: N
Ratio of the two angles is the angular magnification
M: θ′ ho do N
M= = =
Physics 102: Lecture 19, Slide 20 θ ho N do
 Angular Magnification
M=N/d o
magnifying
virtual image glass
object (N = near point
hi θ /
ho distance from eye.)

do
di
1 1 1 1 1 1
For thelens: + = ⇒ = −
do di f do f di

For max. magnification, need image at N,

so set di = -N:
N N
∴ M lies between and + 1 and the shorter
f f the
focal length, the greater the magnification
M. M=
Physics 102: Lecture 19, Slide 21
 See you next class!
• Read Sections 25.1, 3-4

Physics 102: Lecture 19, Slide 22