Monday, April 15, 2013

What Is Magnification Factor

Magnification Factor is a microscopy term.


Magnification factor is the size of an image divided by the size of the object. It is a term used to describe radiographic, photographic, or microscopic images.


Function


Magnification factor is used to determine how large an object is in real life compared to the image of the object that was captured by a microscope, camera or other imaging device.


Uses


Determining the actual size of an object, such as a medically significant lesion on a radiographic image, can be essential in proper diagnosis of an illness, as well as determining which treatment strategy is the most appropriate.


Determination


The magnification factor of an image is determined using a mathematical calculation. For example, to determine the size of an object in a photograph when the distance to the object and the focal length (lens strength) are known, the object distance is multiplied by the vertical (or horizontal) image size and this number is then divided by focal length to determine the magnification factor.

Tags: size object, focal length, Magnification factor