Spherical Refracting Surfaces & Thin Lenses

Spherical Refracting Surfaces

A single spherical surface that refracts light can form an image. The object distance p, the image
distance i, and the radius of curvature r of the surface are related by
𝑛𝑛1 𝑛𝑛2 𝑛𝑛2 − 𝑛𝑛1
+ =
𝑝𝑝 𝑖𝑖 𝑟𝑟
where n1 is the index of refraction of the material where the object is located and n2 is the index
of refraction on the other side of the surface.
Sign Convention for refracting surfaces

• Objects on incident-light side – p is positive

• Images on refracted-light side – i is positive
• Center of curvature on refracted-light side – r is positive
• Parameters are negative if they don’t meet above criteria for being positive

• Refracted ray directed toward the central axis

– A real image will form on that axis
• Refracted ray directed away from the central axis
– CANNOT form a real image
– Backward extension of the ray can form a virtual image
• Real images
– Formed when object is relatively far from refracting surface
• Virtual images
– Formed when object is relatively near refracting surface
Thin Lenses
A lens is a transparent object with two refracting surfaces whose central axes coincide. In this
section, we will consider two types of lenses: a lens that causes light rays initially parallel to the
central axis to converge is called a converging lens (or convex lens). If, instead, it causes such rays
to diverge, the lens is a diverging lens (or concave lens).
A converging or convex lens can form a real image (if the object is outside the focal point) or a
virtual image (if the object is inside the focal point). A diverging or concave lens can form only a
virtual image.
Convex lens is a converging lens which converges light. Parallel light rays strike the lens
symmetrically will be converged to the principal focus of the lens. The separation between the
focus and the lens is focal length.

Concave lens is a diverging lens which diverges light. Parallel light rays strike the lens
symmetrically will be diverged from its principal focus.
 • The focal length f is positive for convex lenses and negative for concave lenses.
• The image distance i is positive for real images and negative for virtual images.

For an object in front of a lens, object distance p and image distance i are related to the lens’s
focal length f , index of refraction n, and radii of curvature r1 and r2 by (The Lensmaker’s Equation
- Thick Lenses)
1 1 1 1 1
+ = = (𝑛𝑛 − 1) � − �
𝑝𝑝 𝑖𝑖 𝑓𝑓 𝑟𝑟1 𝑟𝑟2

A lens, whether concave or convex, can be considered as a combination of blocks as shown below

The magnitude of the lateral magnification m of an object is the ratio of the image height h’ to
object height h,
ℎ′
|𝑚𝑚| =
ℎ

and is related to the object distance p and image distance i by

𝑖𝑖
|𝑚𝑚| =
𝑝𝑝

For a system of lenses with a common central axis, the image produced by the first lens acts as
the object for the second lens, and so on, and the overall magnification is the product of the
individual magnifications. If m < 0 the image is inverted, and if |m| > 1 the image is large than
the object.
Images
In geometric optics, an object is a "source" of light. The rules for image formation are all based
on the reflection and refraction angles for light rays passing through interfaces with different
index of refraction (n). Those rules are:

• A reflected ray leaves the surface at the same angle from which it arrives
• A refracted ray is bent toward the normal if entering a region of higher n, and away from
the normal if entering a region of lower n.

Real and Virtual images

1. A real image is formed at point I if rays leaving the object converge on I. A screen at I shows an
image of the object. Real image corresponds to a positive image distance I.
2. A virtual image is formed at I if rays leaving the object appear to diverge from i. A screen cannot
show an image of the object, but an observer looking toward I sees the object. Virtual image
corresponds to a negative image distance i.
Sign conventions
1. Object distance p is (always) positive if object O is on the same side of the incoming or incident
light.
2. Image distance i is positive if image I is on the same side as the outgoing or refracted light, in
which case the image is real and inverted; if i is negative, the image is on the side of the incoming
light, is virtual and upright.
3. Radius of curvature r is positive if the center of curvature C is on the side of the outgoing light.
4. Focal length f is positive ( f > 0) if the focus is real, so that the incident parallel rays converge;
f < 0 if parallel rays diverge from a virtual focus. Note: f and r always have the same sign; f = r/2.

Rules for locating images by drawing rays

1. A ray that is initially parallel to the central axis of the lens will pass through focal point F2.
2. A ray that initially passes through focal point F1 will emerge from the lens parallel to the central
axis.
3. A ray that is initially directed toward the center of the lens will emerge from the lens with no
change in its direction
The Power of a Lens
The power P of a lens is, by definition, the reciprocal of the focal length f of the lens
1
𝑃𝑃 =
𝑓𝑓

Two-Lens Systems
To calculate the image of a two-lens system, one simply calculates the position of the image for
the lens that light from the object hits first, and then uses that image as the object for the second
lens. In general, one has to be careful to recognize that for the first lens, the object distance and
the image distance are both measured relative to the plane of the first lens. Then, for the second
lens, the object distance and the image distance are measured relative to the plane of the second
lens. That means that, in general, the object distance for the second lens is not equal in value to
the image distance for the first lens.

Suppose for instance, that we have the image depicted above, formed by the first lens
Now suppose that we put a second lens in between the 1st lens and the image

Note that, for the second lens, we have an object to the right of the lens, but, the light associated
with that object approaches the object from the left! This can only happen when the object is
actually an image formed by another lens. In such a case, we call the object a virtual object. More
generally, when an object’s light approaches a lens from the side opposite that side to which the
object is, the object is considered to be a virtual object, and, the object distance, is, by
convention, negative.

Diagram of the entire two-lens system

Nodal points
The front and rear nodal points have the property that a ray aimed at one of them will be
refracted by the lens such that it appears to have come from the other, and with the same angle
with respect to the optical axis. (Angular magnification between nodal points is +1.) The nodal
points therefore do for angles what the principal planes do for transverse distance. If the medium
on both sides of the optical system is the same (e.g., air), then the front and rear nodal points
coincide with the front and rear principal points, respectively.

Principal Planes
The principal planes are two hypothetical planes in a lens system at which all the refraction can
be considered to happen. For a given set of lenses and separations, the principal planes are fixed
and do not depend upon the object position.
Chromatic aberration
In optics, chromatic aberration (CA), also called chromatic distortion and spherochromatism, is a
failure of a lens to focus all colors to the same point. It is caused by dispersion: the refractive
index of the lens elements varies with the wavelength of light. The refractive index of most
transparent materials decreases with increasing wavelength. Since the focal length of a lens
depends on the refractive index, this variation in refractive index affects focusing. Chromatic
aberration manifests itself as "fringes" of color along boundaries that separate dark and bright
parts of the image.
Compound Lenses
In contrast to a simple lens, which consists of only one optical element, a compound lens is an
array of simple lenses (elements) with a common axis. The use of multiple elements allows for
the correction of more optical aberrations, such as the chromatic aberration caused by the
wavelength-dependent index of refraction in glass, than is possible using a single lens. In many
cases these aberrations can be compensated for to a great extent by using a combination of
simple lenses with complementary aberrations.
The simplest case is where lenses are placed in contact: if the lenses of focal lengths f1 and f2 are
“thin”, the combined focal length f of the lenses is given by
1 1 1
= +
𝑓𝑓 𝑓𝑓1 𝑓𝑓2

Since 1/f is the power of a lens, it can be seen that the powers of thin lenses in contact are
additive.
If two thin lenses are separated in air by some distance d (where d is smaller than the focal length
of the first lens), the focal length for the combined system is given by
1 1 1 𝑑𝑑
= + −
𝑓𝑓 𝑓𝑓1 𝑓𝑓2 𝑓𝑓1 𝑓𝑓2

Back focal length

The distance from the second lens to the focal point of the combined lenses is called the back
focal length (BFL).
𝑓𝑓2 (𝑑𝑑 − 𝑓𝑓1 )
𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 =
𝑑𝑑 − (𝑓𝑓2 + 𝑓𝑓1 )

As d tends to zero, the value of the BFL tends to the value of f given for thin lenses in contact.
If the separation distance is equal to the sum of the focal lengths (d = f1+f2), the combined focal
length and BFL are infinite. This corresponds to a pair of lenses that transform a parallel
(collimated) beam into another collimated beam. This type of system is called an afocal system,
since it produces no net convergence or divergence of the beam.
Two lenses at this separation form the simplest type of optical telescope. Although the system
does not alter the divergence of a collimated beam, it does alter the width of the beam.