magnification

[mag-nuh-fi-key-shuh n] /ˌmæg nə fɪˈkeɪ ʃən/
noun
1.
the act of magnifying or the state of being magnified.
2.
the power to magnify.
Compare power (def 20a).
3.
a magnified image, drawing, copy, etc.
Origin
1615-25; < Late Latin magnificātiōn- (stem of magnificātiō). See magnify, -fication
Related forms
overmagnification, noun
Examples from the web for magnification
  • Another is the trade off between a telescope's field of view and its magnification.
  • Adaptive lenses change magnification without moving.
  • Note that lenses with larger diameters can be used, but they will provide a smaller magnification.
  • In some cases, the magnification compensates for the low light, though.
  • But he thinks that new commercial satellites will provide sufficient magnification.
  • Direct them to zoom in and read the accompanying text at each magnification level.
  • Repeated magnification of the borders plunges one into a bottomless phantasmagoria of baroque imagery.
  • The astronomers said that cosmic magnification gave them a new way to weigh the universe and to investigate its evolution.
  • magnification tools are useless and have to be activated over and over again for each page.
  • In principle one can zoom in for a closer look at any part of the set at any magnification.
British Dictionary definitions for magnification

magnification

/ˌmæɡnɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/
noun
1.
the act of magnifying or the state of being magnified
2.
the degree to which something is magnified
3.
a copy, photograph, drawing, etc, of something magnified
4.
a measure of the ability of a lens or other optical instrument to magnify, expressed as the ratio of the size of the image to that of the object
Word Origin and History for magnification
n.

early 15c., from Late Latin magnificationem (nominative magnificatio), noun of action from past participle stem of magnificare (see magnify).

magnification in Medicine

magnification mag·ni·fi·ca·tion (māg'nə-fĭ-kā'shən)
n.

  1. The act of magnifying or the state of being magnified.

  2. Something that has been magnified; an enlarged representation, image, or model.

  3. The ratio of the size of an image to the size of an object.

Encyclopedia Article for magnification

in optics, the size of an image relative to the size of the object creating it. Linear (sometimes called lateral or transverse) magnification refers to the ratio of image length to object length measured in planes that are perpendicular to the optical axis. A negative value of linear magnification denotes an inverted image. Longitudinal magnification denotes the factor by which an image increases in size, as measured along the optical axis. Angular magnification is equal to the ratio of the tangents of the angles subtended by an object and its image when measured from a given point in the instrument, as with magnifiers and binoculars.

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