A ray tracing approach to thin lens analysis, based on a vector form of Snell’s law for paraxial rays, is proposed as an alternative to the usual approach in introductory physics courses. The ray tracing approach accommodates skew rays and thus provides a complete analysis.
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Suitable values for an initial discussion are and where i and j are unit vectors in the x and y directions, respectively. Then various other values of r, with different directions and magnitudes, should be investigated.
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© 2002 American Association of Physics Teachers.
2002
American Association of Physics Teachers
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