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A lens (n = 1.5) is placed in a liquid. To make it disappear, the value of n of the liquid should be ______.

Asked in GUJCET 2020 · Lens maker's formula and power

Answer: (2) n = 1.5

Step-by-step solution

Given: a lens of refractive index 1.5 immersed in a liquid.

Idea: we see a lens only because light bends at its surfaces; it disappears when it stops bending light at all, that is when its power is zero.

In a medium, 1/f = ((nₗₑₙₛ)/(n_liquid)-1)(1/(R₁)-1/(R₂)).

The radii cannot be zero, so the only way to get 1/f = 0 is (nₗₑₙₛ)/(n_liquid) = 1.

That means n_liquid = nₗₑₙₛ = 1.5: no refraction at either surface, nothing to mark the boundary, and the lens cannot be seen.

So the liquid must have n = 1.5.

Why the other options are wrong

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