From: boyd@apt0.sao.arizona.edu   
      
   Optical wrote:   
   > I was having this argument at work.   
   >   
   > Some claim that reading glasses work because they magnify small print.   
   > They claim that reading glasses sold at drug stores are labelled in   
   > terms of their "magnification power" or strength.   
   >   
   > I was arguing that the goal of reading glasses is not to magnify, but to   
   > move the focal point, and that they don't really perform any   
   > magnification.   
   >   
   > Who's right?   
   >   
   > Do many people use the term "magnification" incorrectly when talking   
   > about reading glasses?   
      
   Try this test.  Go to your local drug store and ask if they have any   
   binocular focal length reducers for sale.   They'll probably look a you   
   like you're nuts.  Then ask for magnifying glasses.   
      
   Saying a simple convex lens gives  magnification in a college level   
   optics course would usually not be appropriate, though there are cases   
   where it would. Consider a simple slide projector.   
      
   Part of life is learning the vernacular use of words and phrases. What's   
   important, making  yourself understood or using a scientific definition?   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)