What is short-sightedness? State the two causes of short-sightedness (or myopia). With the help of ray diagrams, show:
(i) the eye-defect short-sightedness.
(ii) correction of short-sightedness by using a lens.
Solution
Short-sightedness, or near-sightedness, is an eye defect because of which a person cannot see distant objects clearly but has normal near vision. Short-sightedness occurs because of the high converging power of the eye lens (images are formed in front of the retina) and because the eyeball is too long (images are formed in front of the retina).
(i) and (ii) The following diagram illustrates short-sightedness and how concave lenses can correct the defect by diverging the light rays entering the eye to form clear images of distant objects on the retina.
