2.4 Thin lenses  (Page 2/13)

As noted in the initial discussion of Snell’s law, the paths of light rays are exactly reversible. This means that the direction of the arrows could be reversed for all of the rays in [link] . For example, if a point-light source is placed at the focal point of a convex lens, as shown in [link] , parallel light rays emerge from the other side.

Ray tracing and thin lenses

Ray tracing is the technique of determining or following (tracing) the paths taken by light rays.

Ray tracing for thin lenses is very similar to the technique we used with spherical mirrors. As for mirrors, ray tracing    can accurately describe the operation of a lens. The rules for ray tracing for thin lenses are similar to those of spherical mirrors:

1. A ray entering a converging lens parallel to the optical axis passes through the focal point on the other side of the lens (ray 1 in part (a) of [link] ). A ray entering a diverging lens parallel to the optical axis exits along the line that passes through the focal point on the same side of the lens (ray 1 in part (b) of the figure).
2. A ray passing through the center of either a converging or a diverging lens is not deviated (ray 2 in parts (a) and (b)).
3. For a converging lens, a ray that passes through the focal point exits the lens parallel to the optical axis (ray 3 in part (a)). For a diverging lens, a ray that approaches along the line that passes through the focal point on the opposite side exits the lens parallel to the axis (ray 3 in part (b)).

Thin lenses work quite well for monochromatic light (i.e., light of a single wavelength). However, for light that contains several wavelengths (e.g., white light), the lenses work less well. The problem is that, as we learned in the previous chapter, the index of refraction of a material depends on the wavelength of light. This phenomenon is responsible for many colorful effects, such as rainbows. Unfortunately, this phenomenon also leads to aberrations in images formed by lenses. In particular, because the focal distance of the lens depends on the index of refraction, it also depends on the wavelength of the incident light. This means that light of different wavelengths will focus at different points, resulting is so-called “chromatic aberrations.” In particular, the edges of an image of a white object will become colored and blurred. Special lenses called doublets are capable of correcting chromatic aberrations . A doublet is formed by gluing together a converging lens and a diverging lens. The combined doublet lens produces significantly reduced chromatic aberrations.