Question | Answer |
Lens | A piece of glass (or other transparent material) that can blend parrallel rays of light so that they cross, or appear to cross, at a single point. |
Converging Lens | A lens that is thickest in the middle, causing parrallel rays of light to converge to a focus. Also known as a convex lens. |
Convex Lens | A lens that is thickest in the middle, causing parallel rays of light to converge or focus. Also known as a converging lens. |
Diverging Lens | A lens that is thinnest in the middle and that causes parallel rays of light to diverge. Also known as a concave lens. |
Concave Lens | A lens that is thinnest in the middle and that causes parallel rays of light to diverge. Alos known as diverging lens. |
Principal Axis | The line joining the centers of curvature of the surfaces of a lens. |
Focal Point | For a converging lens, the point at which a beam of light parallel to the principal axis converges. For a diverging lens, the point from which such a beam appears to come. |
Focal Plane | A plane passing through focal point of a lens that is perpendicular to the principal axis.Converging lens,any incident parallel beam converges to a point somewhere on a focal plane.Diverging lens,such a beam comes from a point on a focal plane. |
Focal Length | The distance between the center of a lens and either focal point. |
Real Image | An image that is formed by converging light rays and that can be displayed on a screen. |
Virtual Image | An image formed through reflection or refraction that can be seen by an observer but cannot be projected on a screen because light from the object does not actually come to a focus. |
Ray Diagram | A diagram shpwing rays that can be drawn to determine the size and location of an image formed by a mirror or lens. |
Eyepiece | Lens of a telescope closest to the eye; enlarges the real image formed by the first lens. |
Objective Lens | In an optical device using compound lenses, the lens closest to the object observed. |
Cornea | The transparent covering over the eyeball. |
Iris | The colored part of the eye that surrounds the black opening through which light passes. The iris regulates the amount of light entering the eye. |
Pupil | The opening in the eyeball through which light passes. |
Retina | The layer of light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye. |
Farsighted | Term applied to a person who has trouble focusing on nearby objects because the eyeball is so short that images form behind the retina. |
Nearsighted | Term applied to a person who can clearly see nearby objects but not clearly see distant objects. The eyeball is elongated so that images focus in front of rather than on the retina. |
Astigmatism | A defect of the eye caused when the cornea is curved more in one direction than in another. |
Aberration | Distortion in an image produced by a lens. |
Fovea | The middle of the retina, which is responsible for our central sharpest vision. |
Blind Spot | The small, circular, optically insensitive region in the retina where fibers of the optic nerve emerge from the eyeball. |
Accommodation | The process by which the eye increases the degree to which the lens converges or diverges light. |