Magnifiers are not only used for reading, but also in personal care and medicine. There are different types of magnifiers, which are used differently, depending on the area of application. They are primarily used to better detect possible changes or help to work more precisely by seeing in greater detail.
What is a magnifying glass?
The task of the magnifier is to make things more legible or recognizable. Thus, different types of magnifiers can be found, which are adapted to the respective areas of use. The German loupe term comes from the French word ‘loupe’. In the broadest sense, this is a magnifying glass that is used in a wide variety of areas. The task of the magnifying glass is to make things more legible or recognizable. Thus, different types of magnifiers can be found, which are adapted to the respective areas of use. A magnifying glass magnifies an object when it is within its focal length. Another term used for the magnifying glass is burning glass. This is related to the shape of a magnifying glass, which, when exposed to incident sunlight, can focus heat and ignite flammable materials such as paper. This is true of almost any type of magnifying glass, but is related to the diameter of the lens on the one hand and the ignition temperature of the burning material on the other. Since numerous cases have been documented where a decorative convex lens has set fire to shop window contents, magnifiers exposed to sunlight should always be fitted with protective covers. This also applies to commercially available magnifiers used privately in everyday life.
Shapes, types and types
There are magnifying glasses or magnifying glasses of various types and shapes in almost every household. As a rule, the convex lens has a frame, a frame or a handle. What kind of frame was installed, depends on the nature of its purpose and use. For example, for personal hygiene, you can find hand mirrors or those that can be set up. Most often, these mirrors can be rotated, so they can be used on both sides. One of the two sides often has a magnifying effect. In addition, there are magnifying glasses with light and those that can be hung around the neck so that you can work largely hands-free. In addition, there are more special designs such as tweezers with attached magnifiers, which also have LEDs built in in some cases. This serves to facilitate their use. In medicine, magnifying glasses or detailed magnifiers are used, among other things. This is particularly common among dermatologists, who have to take a closer look at skin lesions. But magnifying glasses are also used in dentistry. Medical loupes are usually more accurate than those used in everyday life, as the work often needs to be more detailed. Accordingly, the glasses are built into a wide variety of devices so that they can be used by medical professionals in different specialties.
Structure and operation
A magnifying glass magnifies objects that lie between the glass itself and the focal point of the magnifying glass; that is, objects beyond the viewer’s point of view. This area between the magnifier and its focal point is called the focal length. The effect is related to the different accommodation of the eye. This is what experts call the adjustment of the eye or its refractive power. It determines the sharp image of the object, which is thrown onto the retina. Thus, a magnifying glass regulates farsightedness, while it has no effect on nearsightedness. The construction of this virtually created image – the magnified image of the object – is done by the convex shape of the glass and two quasi-imaginary rays emanating from the object. The first ray passes through the center of the glass and is hardly refracted, while the parallel ray passes through the focal point of the lens. This refraction of the light is processed differently by the observer – namely in a straight line, not at the angle at which the refraction actually occurs. Although the object appears magnified, the point at which the eye focuses is apparently farther away. The amount of magnification can be calculated physically.
Medical and health benefits
In daily personal care, magnifiers serve several purposes. On the one hand, magnifying mirrors are used to better detect and remove blemishes on the face. The same is true for unwanted hairs.Thus, such a magnifying mirror can be helpful when plucking eyebrows or removing other disturbing hairs. Apart from that, it can help when applying makeup, as more precise work is possible with the help of a magnifying glass. For the same reason, said tweezers with a magnifying frame can be found in stores. On the one hand, they are used for plucking annoying hairs, but they can also help to remove small splinters that have slipped under the skin. In many cases, magnifiers are also used by people whose exact vision is no longer guaranteed with the help of glasses. Here, for example, reading magnifiers are to be thought of. Detailed magnifiers, which are used in the medical field, are mainly used by doctors to better perform detailed work. This is particularly the case with dentists, for example, when precise drilling is required. On the other hand, general practitioners use magnifying glasses to examine skin lesions more closely. This makes it easier to notice possible irregularities, spots or changes. This helps the physician to make a more precise diagnosis, since many things are too imprecise or difficult to see with the naked eye. Ophthalmologists also use magnifying glasses to examine the retina, for example. Thus, magnifying glasses can be found in every doctor’s office and are used in a wide variety of areas.
