Thin Lens Formula -- from Eric Weisstein's World of Physics

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Thin Lens Formula

(1)

For a thin lens, , and

(2)

which is known as the lens maker's formula or thin lens equation. For a thin lens, the focal length of the object equals the focal length of the image , so define

(3)

This yields the fundamental formula

(4)

where is the distance from the lens to the object and is the distance from the lens to the image. This equation is also known as the Gaussian lens formula, and was discovered by Edmund Halley Eric Weisstein's World of Biography in 1693 (Steinhaus 1983, p. 301).

References

Schroeder, D. J. Astronomical Optics, 2nd ed. San Diego: Academic Press, 1999.

Steinhaus, H. Mathematical Snapshots, 3rd ed. New York: Dover, pp. 93-94, 1999.