Try it on paper first. A hint, the key idea and the worked solution are here when you need them.
A ball lens is a glass sphere of refractive index and radius . It is used to focus light from a laser into an optical fibre. A beam of parallel light falls on it from the left. Find the position of the image formed by the first surface, measured from that surface. Use it as a virtual object for the second surface and find the final image distance from the back surface. Then find the distance from the centre of the ball to the focus.
For a spherical surface, and . The light comes from the left, for a real object, and when the centre of curvature is on the right, on the side of the outgoing light.
Have you tried it?
Work it out on paper first. It is fine to get stuck or make a mistake: that is how we learn. When you are ready, go through the solution one step at a time, and check each step against your own.
Given. , and parallel light.
Step 1. The first surface. The object is at infinity, so . We want , so .
Step 2. The object for the second surface. The back surface is from the front. The rays are heading for a point beyond it. This is a virtual object, so .
Step 3. The second surface. Light goes from glass to air: , and . . So .
Step 4. From the centre. The focus is behind the back surface, so it is from the centre.
Answer: , and .
Check. The general formula agrees.
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