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Chapter 31: Problem 15

Do you want a long or short focal length for a telescope's objective lens? What about a microscope's?

Short Answer

Expert verified
For a telescope's objective lens, a longer focal length is preferred to enlarge the apparent angular size of distant objects. For a microscope, a shorter focal length is preferred to provide a wider field of view catering the microscopy of larger portions of small objects.

Step by step solution

01

Understanding the working of a Telescope

A telescope is designed for observing distant objects like stars and planets. In a telescope, the objective lens (or mirror in a reflecting telescope) collects light from a distant object and brings this to a focus. The purpose of a telescope is to enlarge the apparent angular size of distant objects, and a longer focal length accomplishes this to a greater degree, so telescopes should ideally have a long focal length.
02

Understanding the working of a Microscope

A microscope works on the same basic principle as a telescope, but it is used to observe very small, close objects. For this purpose, we want a wider field of view to capture more of the object. Thus, a shorter focal length is desired because it provides a wider field of view allowing the microscopy of larger portions of small objects. So, a microscope should ideally have a short focal length.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

Give at least three reasons why reflecting telescopes are superior to refractors.

What's the meaning of a negative object distance? A negative focal length?

A candle is on the axis of a 15 -cm-focal-length concave mirror, \(36 \mathrm{cm}\) from the mirror. (a) Where is its image? (b) How do the image and object sizes compare? (c) Is the image real or virtual?

A lens with 50 -cm focal length produces a real image the same size as the object. How far from the lens are image and object?

An object and its lens-produced real image are \(2.4 \mathrm{m}\) apart. If the lens has 55 -cm focal length, what are the possible values for the object distance and magnification?
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