MP Board · Class 10 · Science · Light – Reflection and RefractionWhat type of lens is a diverging lens and why is it called so?

A diverging lens is a concave lens, which is thinner at its central middle region and thicker at its circular outer edges. It is called a diverging lens because when a parallel beam of light rays falls upon its surface, the rays refract through it and spread outward or diverge away from each other. Instead of meeting at a single real focal point, the refracted rays appear to diverge from a virtual focus situated on the same side as the incoming light source, creating virtual and diminished images.