28 Journal of the Oughtred Society

Magnifiers

Bob Koppany

Sometimes, it is not easy to look at a slide rule to try to get Typically, most lenses before the 1940s were made of
that fourth digit out of it. We interpolate, and interpret where glass. Plastic lenses did not show up until the 1950s. During
the hairline is. And, at times, we get cross-eyed because the World War II, plastic, being a long chain carbon molecule,
lines are so tiny and the area we are supposed to see is so was being rationed in many countries, as were all petroleum
small that it makes our head hurt. Admittedly, we know we products. Glass, which is long chain silicon molecules, was
need help. And, help has been given in the form of magnifi- plentiful in those days, although the machinery to grind and
ers, special lenses to make the objects appear larger to the polish the lenses typically used petroleum based lubrication.
viewer. All single curvature lenses have one point to which they
Many slide rules have magnifiers. Some magnifiers are focus. To the viewer, this is the only spot where the optical
placed directly on top of the cursor. Some are placed above image is sharpest. If the object to be magnified is in front of
the cursor. They can be of differing strengths. If we look at that point or behind that point, it is out of focus, and blurry.
slide rule magnifiers in detail, let us first review optics a bit. The amount of curvature for each surface determines the
Magnifiers are made of a single lens, or combination of power of the lens.
lenses. The lenses are typically made of glass and occasion- To determine the power of a lens, we have to divide the
ally of plastic. In optics there are either minimizing (diverg- lens into four components, its light bending or refractive
ing) or magnifying (converging) lenses. Minifying lenses power of the front service, refracting power of the back sur-
can be flat on one side and have a cavity on one side; and are face, the thickness of the lens, and the refractive index of the
called plano concave. Or, minimizing lenses have a concavity lens material. The refractive index of the lens material, or how
on both sides; and are called biconcave lenses. Surfaces that much the material bends light rays, has been determined for
are not straight are also called meniscus surfaces, just like various materials.
water in a glass seems to have the edges slightly higher than Refractive index was discovered by Dutch physicist
the center of the water. Magnifying lenses are flat on one Willebrord Snell (1591-1626). Glass, the primarily used mate-
side and bulging out on the other; and are called plano con- rial, has an index of 1.53. Air has an index of 1.00. Water has a
vex lenses. Or, they are bulging out on both sides; and are refractive index of 1.33. Plastic has a refractive index of 1.46,
called biconvex lenses. For this article on magnification, we Plexiglas 1.50, and flint glass used in the bottom of bifocal
will be exclusively referring to plano convex or biconvex lenses has a refractive index of 1.62. As the index number
lenses. increases, the material has the ability to bend light more.
These days, for optical glasses that people wear, the index
can vary up to 1.71 or so. After that number, the light bending
is so great that it breaks white light into spectra, or acts like a
prism. This is one of the many aberrations or distortions that
optical lenses have, called chromatic aberration. Distortions
can also include spherical aberration, coma, and flare. These
will not be discussed further here.
The equation for the lens power is
F (total lens power) = F1 + F2 - (t/n)(F1F2)
where F1 is the power of the front surface. F2 is the
power of the back surface. The index of refraction for the lens
material is n (no units). The thickness is the thickness of the
lens, given in meters typically. For a thin lens, the third term
in the equation approaches zero, so we get the power equal-
ing F1 + F2. Many lenses with which we will be dealing with
here can be considered thin lenses.
When we look through a lens, although the image we
see looks larger than the actual object on the slide rule is,
which is because what we see is an image of the object. This
is called the virtual image of the object. For slide rules, we will
always have this combination, where the object to be magni-
FIGURE 1. fied and its image are on one side of the lens, and the ob-
Minimizing lenses above and magnifying lenses below server is on the other side of the lens.
Volume 19, Number 2, Fall, 2010 29

FIGURE 2.
Ray tracing showing a virtual image

The power of the front surface is one divided by the

focus distance from the center of the lens in centimeters. The
unit of lens power is called the diopter, and is represented by
a small superscript triangle (Δ), or a delta symbol in scientific
notation. One diopter is defined as the power of a lens to FIGURE 3.
bend light one centimeter at a distance of one meter. An optical lensometer
For magnification, four diopters will make the object ap-
pear to the viewer the same size it is, or a one times magnifica- 3) A piece of graph paper can be slipped in between the
tion. This is called a 1X magnifier. Eight diopters will give a slide rule body and the cursor. The process is similar. The
200% magnification to the viewer, or a 2X magnifier. Twelve reader looks at size of the graph paper square under the mag-
diopters will give a 300% magnification to the viewer, or a 3X nifier and the size of the square immediately next to the mag-
magnification. This author knows no slide rule magnifier in nifier and then divides to get the power of the magnifier.
his limited knowledge that will give above a 3X magnification, 4) For a single lens above the magnifier, the reader can
but would be interested to know if such exceptions occur. As measure the distance from the center of the lens to the slide
an aside, in the real world outside of slide rules, if one has a rule body in centimeters. The reader then divides 100 by the
handheld magnifying glass to see medicine bottle print or for distance and that is the dioptric power of the lens. Then, the
electronic assembly, they are typically less than 2X power. reader can divide that by four to get the actual magnification
There may be magnifying lenses that go up to a 12X power, of the lens.
but there are design constraints with such lenses to minimize Let us look at some of the magnifiers on slide rules:
distortion and aberrations.
As lens power increases, the size of the lenses must de-
crease to avoid aberrations. It should not be overlooked that
in such magnifiers, the amount of light on the object to be
viewed becomes a more important consideration.
How can we measure magnification in the differing slide
rules? There are four methods:
1) The most accurate method is to use a lensometer, which
measures the power of the lens to within an eighth of a di-
opter. This method is called neutralization of the lens.
2) The reader can take a ruler and put it over the top of the
magnifier and measure the thickness between slide rule divi-
sions. Then, not moving the ruler, the reader can then look at
a division to the immediate right or left of the magnifier and
measure that. Dividing the measured portion next to the mag-
nifier by the measured portion under the magnifier gives you
the magnification.
FIGURE 4.
The RotaRule
30 Journal of the Oughtred Society

The RotaRule lens. This is perhaps the strongest lens on For the next slide rule, the K&E 4091-3 log log duplex
a slide rule. The lens is a 12 diopter lens, or 3X magnification. decitrig slide rule, we have to introduce a new term, astigma-
It was noted that the actual RotaRule lens holder moved up tism. That is where one side of a lens essentially has two
and down. Perhaps the designer of the RotaRule did not know focus points. Think of a glass rod, that is sliced longitudinally
what lens he was going to put in it when it was in concept through the diameter. What you end up with is a lens with a
form? When the RotaRule slide was measured, it would ex- flat part, and a radial part. This is essentially three lenses. The
tend from about a 15.3 diopter lens (3.82X) to a 10 diopter lens flat side has no power as it has no curvature. The rounded
(2.5X) in length, or from 6.5cm to about 10 cm distance from side portion has two sections to that we need to look at. The
the lens to the slide rule body. flat part of the rounded side goes up and down on the slide
rule and has no power. There is no curvature to it, and it is
essentially the second lens. The rounded side has power and
is the third lens. The reader may ask what is the advantage to
this? The advantage is that we are looking at a partial magni-
fication of the object. In this case, there is no magnification
from up to down. So, there is no vertical magnification. That is
why horizontal lines on a slide rule with this sort of combina-
tion do not seem to move. However, the rounded side magni-
fies the object from left to right only.

FIGURE 5.
The RotaRule magnifier.

FIGURE 7.
The K&E 4091-3 magnifier.

For the K&E magnifier, it is an astigmatic lens. The power

of the curved side is about a 25 diopter lens through a len-
someter. Although this would typically be a 6.25X magnifier
when we divide by four and focus at about 4cm from the slide
rule body, it is only 2X because the lens must be considered a
thick lens. If one take a rough index of refraction to be 1.53,
the reader can arrive at the thickness of the lens using the
lens formula stated earlier. The lens has approximately a 10mm
distance to the body of the slide rule. Working this in reverse,
we can also measure the thickness of this lens and knowing
the powers, derive the index of refraction for the magnifier.

FIGURE 6.
A Tavernier Gravet long rule magnifier.
Volume 19, Number 2, Fall, 2010 31

Perhaps the Faber Castell magnifier mounted to the Faber

Castell 369 pocket slide rule is the most complex. It is two
lenses, separated by a small air gap of approximately 1 mm.
The magnifier is labeled D.R.P. No. 222297. Each lens is a
plano convex lens, when combined they are called a doublet.
Additionally, the curved side of each lens is an astigmatic
surface. The lower of the two lenses is approximately 34mm
FIGURE 8. above the slide rule body. Under a lensometer, both lenses
The Post 1444 slide rule have a power of approximately 16.75 diopters. Like the K&E
and Hemmi rules, it only magnifies in one direction.

FIGURE 8B.
The Post 1444 Magnifier.

The Sun Hemmi magnifier on the #1444 Post slide rule is

also an astigmatic lens, but it is located on the cursor. It is a
plano convex lens. However, it is only about a 1.5X magnifier.
The magnification of the rounded side is approximately 5.00
diopters. It too must be considered a thick lens and not a thin FIGURE 10.
lens as the RotaRule magnifier is, even though the lens is Detail of the Faber Castell magnifier doublet
directly above that of the slide rule body surface.
Magnifiers help make the slide rule an even more won-
derful instrument. They show the care, thought, design, and
implementation to make slide rules the technological marvels
they are.

Bob Koppany worked as an engineer at Jet Propulsion Labo-

ratory and currently is an optometrist. His interests include
FIGURE 9. Frank Lloyd Wright, writing, and graphic design.
The Faber Castell Magnifier