Q.Find an expression for the equivalent focal length for a system of two thin lenses in contact.
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Start your 14-day free trial to unlock the full solution →Applying the thin-lens formula twice in succession — once for each lens, using the first lens's image as the object for the second — leads to the combination rule 1/F = 1/f1 + 1/f2.
SETUP: Consider two thin lenses of focal lengths f1 and f2, placed coaxially in contact (so the separation between them is negligible). Let a point object O be placed on the common axis at a distance u from the combination.
STEP 1 — Refraction at the first lens: The first lens (focal length f1) would, acting alone, form an image I1 of O at a distance v1, given by the thin-lens formula:
1/v1 - 1/u = 1/f1. ... (i)
STEP 2 — This image acts as the object for the second lens: Since the lenses are in contact, the image I1 formed by the first lens becomes the object for the second lens (focal length f2). If the second lens alone forms the final image I at distance v from the combination:
1/v - 1/v1 = 1/f2. ... (ii)
STEP 3 — Add equations (i) and (ii): The 1/v1 terms cancel:
1/v - 1/u = 1/f1 + 1/f2.
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