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| Mathematical method for describing the eye |
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Numerous publications are devoted to the special conditions present in the human eye. In one theory he discussed the influence of the layers of the crystalline lens. In experiments he was able to show that the increase in the refracting power of the lens during accommodation is approximately 50% greater than the value obtained by pure calculation. He explained that this was due to the fact that the inner layers of the lens with a greater refracting power were subjected to greater curvature. For this problem which had not been examined in any detail until then, he developed a mathematical method for describing the eye. This led to the creation of a new and more exact model of the human eye, a milestone in ophthalmic science.
Gullstrand’s basic research work on the dioptric apparatus of the eye was published in 1911. The mean values which he obtained for the refracting power of the human eye provided a clearer understanding of the eye in its capacity as an optical instrument.
Gullstrand can also take credit for recognizing and treating the refraction of light as a three-dimensional problem, with all the consequences that this involved.
| A-A | Axis of the eye |
| S | Cornea vertex |
| F1 | Anterior focal point |
| F2 | Posterior focal point |
| H | Principal plane of the corneal system |
| H1 | Anterior principal point of the overall system |
| H2 | Posterior principal point of the overall system |
| H3 | Anterior principal point of the lens system |
| H4 | Posterior principal point of the lens system |
| N | Fovea |
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