Refraction in Biconcave
Refraction in Biconcave Lens
Now let's investigate the refraction of light by double concave lens. Suppose that several rays of light approach the lens; and suppose that these rays of light are travelling parallel to the principal axis. Upon reaching the front face of the lens, each ray of light will refract towards the normal to the surface. At this boundary, the light ray is passing from air into a more dense medium (usually plastic or glass). Since the light ray is passing from a medium in which it travels relatively fast (less optically dense) into a medium in which it travels relatively slow (more optically dense), it will bend towards the normal line. This is the FST principle of refraction. This is shown for two incident rays on the diagram below. Once the light ray refracts across the boundary and enters the lens, it travels in a straight line until it reaches the back face of the lens. At this boundary, each ray of light will refract away from the normal to the surface. Since the light ray is passing from a medium in which it travels relatively slow (more optically dense) to a medium in which it travels fast (less optically dense), it will bend away from the normal line. This is the SFA principle of refraction. These principles of refraction are identical to what was observed for the double convex lens above.
The above diagram shows the behavior of two incident rays approaching parallel to the principal axis of the double concave lens. Just like the double convex lens above, light bends towards the normal when entering and away from the normal when exiting the lens. Yet, because of the different shape of the double concave lens, these incident rays are not converged to a point upon refraction through the lens. Rather, these incident rays diverge upon refracting through the lens. For this reason, a double concave lens can never produce a real image. Double concave lenses produce images that are virtual. This will be discussed in more detail in the
Now let's investigate the refraction of light by double concave lens. Suppose that several rays of light approach the lens; and suppose that these rays of light are travelling parallel to the principal axis. Upon reaching the front face of the lens, each ray of light will refract towards the normal to the surface. At this boundary, the light ray is passing from air into a more dense medium (usually plastic or glass). Since the light ray is passing from a medium in which it travels relatively fast (less optically dense) into a medium in which it travels relatively slow (more optically dense), it will bend towards the normal line. This is the FST principle of refraction. This is shown for two incident rays on the diagram below. Once the light ray refracts across the boundary and enters the lens, it travels in a straight line until it reaches the back face of the lens. At this boundary, each ray of light will refract away from the normal to the surface. Since the light ray is passing from a medium in which it travels relatively slow (more optically dense) to a medium in which it travels fast (less optically dense), it will bend away from the normal line. This is the SFA principle of refraction. These principles of refraction are identical to what was observed for the double convex lens above.
The above diagram shows the behavior of two incident rays approaching parallel to the principal axis of the double concave lens. Just like the double convex lens above, light bends towards the normal when entering and away from the normal when exiting the lens. Yet, because of the different shape of the double concave lens, these incident rays are not converged to a point upon refraction through the lens. Rather, these incident rays diverge upon refracting through the lens. For this reason, a double concave lens can never produce a real image. Double concave lenses produce images that are virtual. This will be discussed in more detail in the