visual perception Visual perception is the ability to interpret the surrounding environment through photopic vision (daytime vision), color vision, scotopic vision (night vision), and mesopic vision (twilight vision), using light in the visible spectrum reflecte ...

, the far point is the farthest point at which an object can be placed (along the

optical axis An optical axis is a line along which there is some degree of rotational symmetry in an optical system such as a camera lens, microscope or telescopic sight. The optical axis is an imaginary line that defines the path along which light propagat ...

of the eye) for its image to be focused on the

retina The retina (from la, rete "net") is the innermost, light-sensitive layer of tissue of the eye of most vertebrates and some molluscs. The optics of the eye create a focused two-dimensional image of the visual world on the retina, which then ...

within the eye's accommodation. It is sometimes described as the farthest point from the eye at which images are clear. The other limit of eye's accommodation is the

near point In visual perception, the near point is the closest point at which an object can be placed and still form a focused image on the retina, within the eye's accommodation range. The other limit to the eye's accommodation range is the far point. A ...

. For an unaccommodated emmetropic eye, the far point is at infinity, but for the sake of practicality, infinity is considered to be because the accommodation change from 6 m to infinity is negligible. See

visual acuity Visual acuity (VA) commonly refers to the clarity of vision, but technically rates an examinee's ability to recognize small details with precision. Visual acuity is dependent on optical and neural factors, i.e. (1) the sharpness of the retinal ...

Snellen chart A Snellen chart is an eye chart that can be used to measure visual acuity. Snellen charts are named after the Dutch ophthalmologist Herman Snellen, who developed the chart in 1862. Many ophthalmologists and vision scientists now use an improved ...

for details about 6/6 (m) or 20/20 (ft) vision. For an unaccommodated myopic eye, the far point is closer than 6 m. It depends upon the

refractive error Refractive error, also known as refraction error, is a problem with focus (optics), focusing light accurately on the retina due to the shape of the human eye, eye and or cornea. The most common types of refractive error are myopia, near-sightedne ...

of the person's eye. For an unaccommodated hypermetropic eye, incident light must be converging before entering the eye so as to focus on the retina. In this case (the hypermetropic eye) the focus point is behind the retina in virtual space, rather than on the retina screen. Sometimes far point is given in

diopter A dioptre (British spelling) or diopter (American spelling) is a unit of measurement with dimension of reciprocal length, equivalent to one reciprocal metre, 1 dioptre = 1 m−1. It is normally used to express the optical power of a lens or cur ...

s, the inverse of the distance in meters (see Simple myopia). For example, an individual who can see clearly out to 50 cm would have a far point of

\frac = 2\ \text

Vision correction

corrective lens A corrective lens is a lens (i.e. a transmissive optical device) that is typically worn in front of the eye to improve daily vision. The most common use is to treat refractive errors: myopia, hypermetropia, astigmatism, and presbyopia. Glass ...

can be used to correct

myopia Near-sightedness, also known as myopia and short-sightedness, is an eye disease where light focuses in front of, instead of on, the retina. As a result, distant objects appear blurry while close objects appear normal. Other symptoms may include ...

by imaging an object at infinity onto a

virtual image In optics, an ''image'' is defined as the collection of focus points of light rays coming from an object. A '' real image'' is the collection of focus points made by converging rays, while a virtual image is the collection of focus points ma ...

at the patient's far point. According to the

thin lens formula A lens is a transmissive optical device which focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements'') ...

the required

optical power In optics, optical power (also referred to as dioptric power, refractive power, focusing power, or convergence power) is the degree to which a lens, mirror, or other optical system converges or diverges light. It is equal to the reciprocal of the ...

P \approx \frac-\frac = -\frac

, where is the distance to the patient's far point. is negative, because a diverging lens is required. This calculation can be improved by taking into account the distance between the

spectacle lens A corrective lens is a lens (i.e. a transmissive optical device) that is typically worn in front of the eye to improve daily vision. The most common use is to treat refractive errors: myopia, hypermetropia, astigmatism, and presbyopia. Glass ...

and the human eye, which is usually about 1.5 cm:

P = -\frac

. For example, if a person has , then the optical power needed is where one

is the

reciprocal Reciprocal may refer to: In mathematics * Multiplicative inverse, in mathematics, the number 1/''x'', which multiplied by ''x'' gives the product 1, also known as a ''reciprocal'' * Reciprocal polynomial, a polynomial obtained from another pol ...

of one meter.

References

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