🔍Convex lens vs Concave lens👓
Lenses bend light to form images. Whether they bring light together or spread it apart depends on their shape.
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🔍Convex lens
- ✓Thicker in the middle than at the edges
- ✓Converges parallel light rays to a focal point
- ✓Can form real, projectable images
- ✓Used in magnifying glasses and cameras
- ✓Corrects farsightedness in eyeglasses
👓Concave lens
- ✓Thinner in the middle than at the edges
- ✓Diverges parallel light rays outward
- ✓Always forms a smaller, virtual image
- ✓Used in peepholes and some optical instruments
- ✓Corrects nearsightedness in eyeglasses
Verdict
A convex lens gathers light to a focus and can magnify or project images; a concave lens spreads light and shrinks images. Eyeglasses use whichever shape corrects a given vision problem.
Frequently asked
Which lens magnifies?+
A convex lens magnifies, which is why magnifying glasses use a convex shape.
Which lens corrects nearsightedness?+
A concave lens, because it diverges light to move the focus point back onto the retina.
Can a concave lens form a real image?+
No. A concave lens alone always produces a smaller, upright, virtual image.
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