achromatic lens
Quick Summary
An achromatic lens is a lens designed to correct for chromatic aberration. This aberration occurs because the refractive index of glass varies with the wavelength of light, causing different colors to focus at slightly different points.123
An achromatic lens is constructed by combining lenses made from different types of glass, typically a convex lens of crown glass and a concave lens of flint glass. This combination effectively brings different wavelengths of light to a common focal point, resulting in an image that is practically free of color distortion. This innovation, discovered by Chester Hall, was crucial for improving the quality of optical instruments like telescopes.12
Ask Britannica AI about this topic
Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.
biologyThe discovery of cells…solved until the invention of achromatic lenses, which were introduced about 1830. In 1878 a modern achromatic compound microscope was produced from the design of the German physicist Ernst Abbe. Abbe subsequently designed a substage illumination system, which, together with the introduction of a new substage condenser, paved the way…
Read More…solved until the invention of achromatic lenses, which were introduced about 1830. In 1878 a modern achromatic compound microscope was produced from the design of the German physicist Ernst Abbe. Abbe subsequently designed a substage illumination system, which, together with the introduction of a new substage condenser, paved the way…
Read More
motion-picture technologyPrincipal parts, to make the lens achromatic) and to focus portions of a beam coming from different portions of the lens, the center or the edges, at the same point on the film (i.e., anastigmatic). Both objectives require solution for as large a lens opening as possible, in order to capture…
Read More, to make the lens achromatic) and to focus portions of a beam coming from different portions of the lens, the center or the edges, at the same point on the film (i.e., anastigmatic). Both objectives require solution for as large a lens opening as possible, in order to capture…
Read More
history of photographyDevelopment of the daguerreotypePetzval produced an achromatic portrait lens that was about 20 times faster than the simple meniscus lens the Parisian opticians Charles Chevalier and N.M.P. Lerebours had made for Daguerre’s cameras. Meanwhile, Voigtländer reduced Daguerre’s clumsy wooden box to easily transportable proportions for the traveler. These valuable improvements were…
Read MorePetzval produced an achromatic portrait lens that was about 20 times faster than the simple meniscus lens the Parisian opticians Charles Chevalier and N.M.P. Lerebours had made for Daguerre’s cameras. Meanwhile, Voigtländer reduced Daguerre’s clumsy wooden box to easily transportable proportions for the traveler. These valuable improvements were…
Read More
- John Dollond
…proved otherwise, Dollond devised an achromatic lens made of flint and crown glasses for use in telescopes. The invention earned him the Copley Medal of the Royal Society in 1758, but the prior discovery by Chester Moor Hall of England in 1729 was later recognized.
Read More…proved otherwise, Dollond devised an achromatic lens made of flint and crown glasses for use in telescopes. The invention earned him the Copley Medal of the Royal Society in 1758, but the prior discovery by Chester Moor Hall of England in 1729 was later recognized.
Read More - Peter Dollond
…theoretical background, invented the triple achromatic lens still in wide use, made substantial improvements in the astronomical refracting telescope, and improved navigation instruments of his day. In 1765 he combined two convex lenses of crown glass with one double-concave lens of flint glass to make a triple achromatic lens that…
Read More…theoretical background, invented the triple achromatic lens still in wide use, made substantial improvements in the astronomical refracting telescope, and improved navigation instruments of his day. In 1765 he combined two convex lenses of crown glass with one double-concave lens of flint glass to make a triple achromatic lens that…
Read More