Myopes And Virtual Images

[harry a saake]

:bbg: Darryl, wonderful post on ray tracing that i will be studying for some time. This reminded me of an old hotly debated subject years ago in the labs, which was basically a myope does not see anything where it is, but rather sees a virtual image. Your thoughts master.

[Darryl Meister]

Hi Harry,

Really, neither a myope nor a hyperope sees anything "where it is," in the sense that their lenses produce either minification or magnification -- which affects the apparent spatial location of objects. Although a minus lens produces a virtual image, it actually produces a real object for the eye. On the other hand, a plus lens produces a real image that becomes a virtual object for the eye. Ultimately, they both work about the same though. A minus lens adds divergence to the light incident upon the eye and minifies images. A plus lens add convergence to the light incident upon the eye and magnifies images.

Best regards,
Darryl