Power of Lenses

Power of a lens is a measure of the convergence or divergence, which a lens introduces in the light falling on it. Clearly, a lens of shorter focal length bends the incident light more, while converging it in case of a convex lens and diverging it in case of a concave lens. The power P of a lens is defined as the tangent of the angle by which it converges or diverges a beam of light falling at unit distant from the optical centre

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The SI unit for power of a lens is dioptre (D).

1D = 1

The power of a lens of focal length of 1 metre is one dioptre. Power of a lens is positive for a converging lens and negative for a diverging lens. Thus, when an optician prescribes a corrective lens of power + 2.5 D, the required lens is a convex lens of focal length + 40 cm. A lens of power of – 4.0 D means a concave lens of focal length – 25 cm.