Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Mar;42(2):410-413.
doi: 10.1111/opo.12924. Epub 2021 Dec 4.

Technical notes on prism-dioptre and Prentice's rule

Affiliations

Technical notes on prism-dioptre and Prentice's rule

Sidney J Faria-E-Sousa. Ophthalmic Physiol Opt. 2022 Mar.

Abstract

Purpose: To show an alternative interpretation for prism-dioptre and access Prentice's rule accuracy.

Methods: Algebraic calculation.

Results: The prism-dioptre can be expressed as a percentage of the distance between the prism and the plane of prismatic dislocation. Prentice's rule is an imprecise mathematical expression prone to expressive errors.

Conclusions: The prism-dioptre seems to be more informative when interpreted as a percentage. Prentice's rule is more effective as a pedagogical approach for introducing the concept of spherical lenses' prismatic image dislocation rather than a method for calculating its actual value.

Keywords: Prentice's rule; non-paraxial rays; prism-dioptre; spherical aberration.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

REFERENCES

    1. Prentice CF. A metric system of numbering and measuring prisms. Arch Ophthalmol 1890;19:128-35.
    1. Townsend-Smith T. Spherical aberration in thin lenses. In: Burgess GK, editor. Department of Commerce Scientific Papers of the Bureau of Standards. Vol. 18. Washington: Washington Government Printing Office; 1923. p. 559-64.
    1. Taylor DH. Spherical aberration of thin lens or element. In: Taylor DH, editor. A system of applied optics. Sec. IV. London: McMillan and Co., Limited; 1906; p. 55-63.
    1. Carpena P, Coronado AV. On the focal point of a lens: beyond the paraxial approximation. Eur J Phys 2006;27:231-41.
    1. Faria-e-Sousa SJ. Sagitta of ophthalmic lenses. Ophthalmic Physiol Opt 2020;40:828-9.

LinkOut - more resources