diverging lens
Noun
Meaning
a lens such that a parallel beam of light passing through it is caused to diverge or spread out
Source: WordNetSynonyms
Hypernyms
Examples
If the lens is biconcave or plano-concave, a collimated beam of light passing through the lens is diverged (spread); the lens is thus called a negative or diverging lens.
It confirms the intuitive expectations that the mirror circle acts like a diverging lens and a thin beam is more diluted the closer it is from the edge defined with respect to the incoming direction.
Lenses are characterized by their focal length : a converging lens has positive focal length, while a diverging lens has negative focal length.
Since Abbe numbers are positive, one of the focal lengths must be negative, i.e., a diverging lens, for the condition to be met.