Difference Between Magnification & Resolution
- Magnification means enlarging an image a specified number of times and is measured in degrees of an angle from the eye. For example, a 2x lens makes a 1-inch line appear to be 2 inches in length. Resolution is defined as the amount of visible detail an image has. That 1-inch line may be doubled but if it's blurry at the ends or around the edges, then it doesn't have much resolution.
- Magnification of an objects with a magnifying glass or microscope makes the object's apparent size seem larger than actual. Even the small details are increased in size enough for the human eyes to resolve the details. In other words, magnification allows the eye to perform the resolution aspect so the details can be clearly seen. This happens primarily because the extraneous clutter in the eye's normal field of view (FOV) is removed by the magnification process. Generally speaking, greater magnification means greater resolution However, there is a point in the magnification process at which the resolving power of the lens ceases, and no matter how much the object is enlarged, the details get fuzzy or lost.
- Because magnifying lenses have a resolution limit, a different type of lens is needed to continue high resolutions at higher magnifications. Even using a microscope to magnify small objects, when the lenses reach their limit, resolution goes down the drain. The image becomes fuzzy or blurry around the edges. It's like moving in so close to the eye chart at the doctor's office that even the 20/20 line becomes blurry and out of focus. The eye --- and the microscope lens --- can't focus that close up.
- Telescopes resolve visual resolution of objects at great distance. The bigger and better the lenses, the closer the objects seem and the clearer the resolution. Magnifying glasses, like microscopes, enlarge small items. Due to the limited amount of magnification, most of the details can usually be seen with magnifying glass with no limitations in resolution. Microscopes, like telescopes, have primary and secondary lenses. Light passes through an object, then the primary and secondary lenses focus the light and image. Microscopists also know that using a light microscope adds more light to the object, which aids the human eye in perceiving and resolving details. When combined with resolution-enhancing lens arrangement, the microscope allows the human eye to see even the tiniest atoms.
