Optical power from thin lens radii and refractive indeces

Optical power of a thin lens can be calculated from the radii of its front and back surfaces and the refractive indices of the lens material and the medium.

Links:

1. Wikipedia, definition of optical power.

2. Wikipedia, formula for effective focal length.

optical_power

optical_power of the lens.

Symbol:

D

Latex:

\(D\)

Dimension:

1/length

lens_refractive_index

relative_refractive_index of the lens material.

Symbol:

n

Latex:

\(n\)

Dimension:

dimensionless

medium_refractive_index

relative_refractive_index of the surrounding medium.

Symbol:

n_0

Latex:

\(n_{0}\)

Dimension:

dimensionless

front_radius

radius of the front surface.

Symbol:

r_1

Latex:

\(r_{1}\)

Dimension:

length

back_radius

radius of the back surface.

Symbol:

r_2

Latex:

\(r_{2}\)

Dimension:

length

law

D = (n - n_0) * (1 / r_1 - 1 / r_2)

Latex:

\[D = \left(n - n_{0}\right) \left(\frac{1}{r_{1}} - \frac{1}{r_{2}}\right)\]