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Immersion of a lens

(Science: physics) With nearly all high-power lenses, it is intended that the spaces between the condenser and the slide, and the specimen and the front lens of the objective be filled with an immersion liquid. Owing to the limitations imposed by the critical-angle phenomenon, numerical apertures are impossible exceeding 1.0 without immersion. In addition, immersion makes possible the use of the naturally aplanatic points of the front lens element of the objective.