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opticsVirtualvsRealimagePhysicsStackExchange
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VirtualvsRealimage
I'mdoingmagnificationandlensinclasscurrently,andIreallydon'tgetwhyvirtualandrealimagesarecalledwhattheyare.
Avirtualimageoccurstheobjectislessthanthefocallengthofthelensfromthelens,andarealimageoccurswhenanobjectisfurther
thanfocallength.
Bywhyvirtualandreal?What'sthedifference?Youcan'ttouchanimagenomatterwhatit'scalled,becauseit'sjustlight.
optics
geometricoptics
editedJan10'11at17:17
Malabarba
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askedJan9'11at20:23
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Jonathan.
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4 Goodconceptualquestion,actually.NoldorinJan9'11at21:57
Youcanusefollowingapptovisualizerealvsimegenaryimage.play.google.com/store/apps/details?
id=com.shakti.rayopticsShaktiMalikFeb21at6:25
3Answers
Youcanprojectarealimageontoascreenorwall,andeverybodyintheroomcanlookatit.A
virtualimagecanonlybeseenbylookingintotheopticsandcannotbeprojected.
Asaconcreteexample,youcanprojectaviewoftheothersideoftheroomusingaconvexlens,
andcannotdosowithaconcavelens.
I'llstealsomeimagefromWikipediatohelphere:
Firstconsiderthelineopticsofrealimages(fromhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_image):
Noticethatthelinesthatconvergetoformtheimagepointarealldrawnsolid.Thismeansthat
thereareactualrays,composedofphotonoriginatingatthesourceobjects.Ifyouputascreenin
thefocalplane,lightreflectedfromtheobjectwillconvergeonthescreenandyou'llgetaluminous
image(asinacinemaoraoverheadprojector).
Nextexaminethesituationforvirtualimages(fromhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_image):
http://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/2658/virtualvsrealimage
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12/3/2014
opticsVirtualvsRealimagePhysicsStackExchange
Noticeherethattheimageisformedbyaoneormoredashedlines(possiblywithsomesolid
lines).Thedashedlinesaredrawoffthebackofsolidlinesandrepresenttheapparentpathoflight
raysfromtheimagetotheopticalsurface,butnolightfromtheobjectevermovesalongthose
paths.Thislightenergyfromtheobjectisdispersed,notcollectedandcannotbeprojectedontoa
screen.Thereisstilla"image"there,becausethosedispersedraysallappeartobecomingfrom
theimage.Thus,asuitabledetector(likeyoureye)can"see"theimage,butitcannotbeprojected
ontoascreen.
editedJan17'11at14:43
answeredJan9'11at21:20
dmckee
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Thanksfortheanswer,ithelpsquiteabut,couldyoumaybeexpandonit,likewhyyoucan'tprojectavirtual
images? Jonathan. Jan9'11at22:32
Thisanswerdoesn'tmaketheimagecleartome.(Nopunintended!)NoldorinJan9'11at22:34
1 @Kit:BarelinkstooutsideresourcesarediscouragedbecauseStackExchangesitesaremeanttoberesources
thatstandontheirown,andalinkplustextdescribingthepicturesattheotherendisunreliablebecausethe
picturesmightchange.Thatsaid,linksaregoodforlicensereasons.Added.dmckee Jan17'11at14:42
1 @VineetMenon:Becauseyoureyecontainsalens,whichitselfsformsarealimageontheretina.
FrdricGrosshansJun13'12at17:45
1 @IamwhoIsayIamWhentherayspassthroughtherealimagetheyaredivergingagainanditisexactlythesame
asseeingavirtualimage.So,shortanswer:yes.dmckee May6at19:06
Forarealimage,raysfromasinglesourcepointconvergetoasinglepointontheothersideofthe
lens.Thismeansthatapointontheimageremainswelldefinedaftertheopticaltransformation
(refractionbylens).
Foravirtualimage,raysfromasinglesourcepointdivergeaftertheypassthroughthelens.This
meansthattheapointontheimageisnolongerwelldefinedaftertheopticaltransformation.
Realistically,whatyou'llseeonascreenplaceattheotherendofadiverging(concave)lensisa
largehazeofweaklight(sincetherayshavedivergedsogreatly).
Notethatconvex(converging)singlelensesalwaysproducerealimages,whileconcave(diverging)
singlelensesalwaysproducevirtualimages.Formirrorsit'sgenerallytheotherwayround(there
areexceptionsthough).Similarlyfordoublelenses,thingsarereversed(comparedtosingle
lenses).
editedJan10'11at18:16
answeredJan9'11at22:39
Noldorin
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http://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/2658/virtualvsrealimage
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opticsVirtualvsRealimagePhysicsStackExchange
Thatcreatesavirtualimageactually.IshouldclarifythatpointintheanswerIonlymeansinglelensesthere(not
doublelenseslikemagnifyingglasses).NoldorinJan9'11at23:56
1 Yougotthingsmixeduponthelastparagraph.Aconvexmirroralwaysproducesvirtualimages,butaconcave
mirrorcanproduceboth.Ithinkthesame(butreversed)happensforlenses.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curved_mirror
MalabarbaJan10'11at1:00
@Bruce:Readagain,Ithinkyou'llfindyougotthingsmuddled.Iquote:"Formirrorsit'spreciselytheotherway
round.".Pleasedon'tbesoquicktodownvote.NoldorinJan10'11at1:59
Operationally,onecandistinguishrealandvirtualimagesbyattachingasmallbutverypowerful
lightbulbtothesource.
Ifyouinsertyourhandneartherealimage,thehandwillgetburnedbecausethelightraysfromthe
sourceactuallyconvergeatthepointoftherealimage.Ifyoumanagetoinsertyourhandtothe
pointofthevirtualimage,yourhandwon'tburnbecausetherearenolightraysoverthere(and
sometimes,thereisawall).
Anordinaryflatmirrorcreatesavirtualimagebecausetherearenolightraysontheinternalsideof
themirror.
Theopticsinthehumaneyecreatesarealimagewheretheretinaislocatedandsensitivecells
actuallyreadtheinformationabouttheoriginalsource.Thesamemechanismworksindigital
cameras.
Realimagesmaybeproducedbyconverginglenses(eye,digitalcamera)andconcavemirrors.
Virtualimagesmaybeproducedbydiverginglensesandconvexmirrors,butalsobyconcave
mirrorsandconverginglensesifyouplacethesourcewithinthefocallength.
answeredJan14'11at1:02
LuboMotl
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IloveyoubroniceansweryoushouldbeawardedwithanobleprizeHelpIneedsomebody'shelpOct5'13at
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protectedbyQmechanic Mar13'13at16:15
Thankyouforyourinterestinthisquestion.Becauseithasattractedlowqualityanswers,postingan
answernowrequires10reputationonthissite.
Wouldyouliketoansweroneoftheseunansweredquestionsinstead?
http://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/2658/virtualvsrealimage
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