Physics: Principles with Applications (7th Edition)

Published by Pearson
ISBN 10: 0-32162-592-7
ISBN 13: 978-0-32162-592-2

Chapter 25 - Optical Instruments - Questions - Page 739: 15

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Spherical aberrations are present in a simple lens, but the effects are greatly mitigated in the human eye. In the eye, light is bent at many interfaces before it reaches the retina (light moves from air to the cornea, then the aqueous humor, then to the lens, through vitreous humor). Each of the transparent materials has its own index of refraction n. Spherical aberrations are also reduced in the eye because the cornea is flatter and less dense near its rim than at the center. Light rays passing near the circumference are bent less strongly, reducing spherical aberrations. Chromatic aberrations are also present in a simple lens. This effect is minimized in the eye since the lens absorbs shorter blue and violet wavelengths, which is the region of the visible spectrum where dispersion and the resulting chromatic aberration would be the strongest. Another aberration present in a simple lens is that the focal plane may not be flat (sometimes called “curvature of field”). In the eye, the retina is curved, minimizing the effects of this aberration.
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