Which Index of Refraction is Better for Lenses?

[edmondng]

What does a higher index of refraction really mean? I know about speed wavelength etc but let's say you have 2 different material to choose and ignoring other variables, and focal length, diameter are all the same between both material, would you choose a lower index refraction or higher.

Thanks

 

[NoTime]

One thing is that the curvature of the lens will be different.
This may or may not be important to you.
For multi element lenses I think they use different materials to correct for chromatic aberration in the final result.
Other than that no idea.

 

[n0_3sc]

Depends on the application and what "material" we're talking about.
Eg. With lenses, they are graded index (which corrects for aberration) which on average has a low refractive index. Lenses that do not automatically correct for chromatic aberration may have a lower or higher index.

 

[Redbelly98]

A higher-index lens will require less curvature to give the same focal length as a lower-index lens. Spherical aberrations will be less severe owing to the reduced curvature.