Lens
[lenz] or [lɛnz]
Definition
(noun.) a transparent optical device used to converge or diverge transmitted light and to form images.
(noun.) electronic equipment that uses a magnetic or electric field in order to focus a beam of electrons.
(noun.) biconvex transparent body situated behind the iris in the eye; its role (along with the cornea) is to focuses light on the retina.
(noun.) (metaphor) a channel through which something can be seen or understood; 'the writer is the lens through which history can be seen'.
(noun.) genus of small erect or climbing herbs with pinnate leaves and small inconspicuous white flowers and small flattened pods: lentils.
Edited by ELLA--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) A piece of glass, or other transparent substance, ground with two opposite regular surfaces, either both curved, or one curved and the other plane, and commonly used, either singly or combined, in optical instruments, for changing the direction of rays of light, and thus magnifying objects, or otherwise modifying vision. In practice, the curved surfaces are usually spherical, though rarely cylindrical, or of some other figure.
Checked by Curtis
Definition
n. (optics) a piece of transparent substance with one or both sides convex or concave the object to refract rays of light really or apparently radiating from a point and make them deviate so as to pass or travel on as if they had passed through another point: the crystalline humour of the eye: a genus of leguminous plants:—pl. Lens′es.
Checker: Willa
Examples
- Move the lens so that its distance from the candle is increased, and then find the image on a piece of paper. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- The camera obscura consisted of a box with a lens at one end and a ground glass at the other, just like a modern camera. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- When we look at near objects, the muscles act in such a way that the lens bulges out, and becomes thick in the middle and of the right curvature to focus the near object upon the screen. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- The ray of light from A at the bottom of the object passes through the lens at an angle, and continues in a straight line until interrupted by the film or plate. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- The greater the refractive power of the lens, the greater the bending, and the nearer the principal focus to the lens. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- This he opened and made a very careful examination of the sill with his powerful magnifying lens. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
- Mother’s dress looks dark and baby’s dress white--just as the lens saw it. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- The ray _AC_, parallel to the principal axis, will pass through the lens and emerge as _DE_. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- That is quite settled, said he, rising and putting his lens in his pocket. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
- When a photographer takes a photograph of a person or a tree, he moves his camera until the image formed by the lens is of the desired size. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- When we look at an object several hundred feet away, the muscles change their pull on the lens and flatten it until it is of the proper curvature for the new distance. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- This lens was called the Collimating lens. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- By means of a lens, a watchmaker gets an enlarged image of the dust which clogs the wheels of his watch. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- Suppose we place an arrow, _A_, in front of a convex lens (Fig. 73). Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- Light from the object to be photographed passes through the lens, falls upon the screen, and forms an image there. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- This, rising above the water, and provided with reflecting lenses, enabled the steersman to discover the surface conditions and see any near vessel or other object. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- He noticed that by holding two of the lenses in a certain position he obtained a large and inverted view of whatever he looked at. Rupert S. Holland. Historic Inventions.
- By using combinations of two or more lenses of various kinds, it is possible to have an image of almost any desired size, and in practically any desired position. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- The inventions and improvements in optical instruments gave rise to great advances in the making of lenses, based on scientific principles, and not resting alone on hard work and experience. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- Many familiar illustrations of lenses, or curved refracting surfaces, and their work, are known to all of us. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- Another experimenter, Dumont, made use of a single large plate and a great number of lenses which were successively exposed. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
- Achromatic and other lenses were known, and the microscope, the telescope and spectacles. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- What is known as the modern refracting telescope is based upon a different combination of lenses than that used by Galileo. Rupert S. Holland. Historic Inventions.
- Such lenses are called convex or converging lenses. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- The various types of lenses are shown in Figure 71. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- The last three types, called concave lenses, scatter parallel rays so that they do not come to a focus, but diverge widely after passage through the lens. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- By a nice arrangement of mirror and lenses attached to a firearm the same object may be accomplished. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- Their lenses for telescopes and microscopes and photographic cameras, and glass and prisms, and for all chemical and other scientific work, have a worldwide reputation. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- The image, magnified by the lenses of the electric lamp, could thus be distinctly seen without being too brilliant to dazzle the eyes. Frederick C. Bakewell. Great Facts.
- Kepler studied Galileo’s instrument, and then designed one consisting of two convex lenses. Rupert S. Holland. Historic Inventions.
Checked by Lilith