Light

Light
 In this unit:

1) Properties of light
2) Reflection
3) Refraction
4) Colours
Part 1 – Properties of Light

 Light travels in straight lines:

Laser
  Light travels VERY FAST – around
300,000 kilometres per second.

At this speed it can

go around the world 8
times in one second.
 Light travels much faster than sound. For example:

1) Thunder and lightning

start at the same time,
but we will see the
lightning first.

2) When a starting pistol

is fired we see the
smoke first and then
hear the bang.
 We see things because they reflect
light into our eyes:

Homework
  Luminous and non-luminous objects

A luminous object is one that produces light.

A non-luminous object is one that reflects light.

Luminous objects Reflectors

  Shadows
Shadows are places where light is “blocked”:

Rays of light
 Properties of Light summary

1) Light travels in straight lines

2) Light travels much faster than sound
3) We see things because they reflect light into our
eyes
4) Shadows are formed when light is blocked by an
object
 Reflection… the bouncing of light from a surface

 Law of Reflection:
Angle of incidence = Angle
of reflection
/_i = /_r

 Incident ray-
Reflected ray-
Normal-
 Reflection contd...
 Reflection from a mirror:

Normal

Incident ray Reflected ray

Angle of Angle of
incidence reflection

Mirror
  The Law of Reflection

Angle of incidence = Angle of reflection

In other words, light gets reflected from a surface at

____ _____ angle it hits it.

The
same !!!
 Clear vs. Diffuse Reflection

 Smooth, shiny surfaces

have a clear reflection:

Rough, dull surfaces have

a diffuse reflection.

Diffuse reflection is when

light is scattered in
different directions
 Reflection…
from a plane mirror
 Nature of image:
 Upright
 Same size
 Virtual
 Same distance from the
mirror as object
 Laterally inverted

E A R
N
A small lamp is placed 5 cm in front of a plane mirror. Draw
an accurate scale diagram, and use it to calculate the
image of the lamp behind the mirror.
 Curved Mirrors
 Principal axis: a line passing through the center of the sphere (of
which the mirror is a part) and attaching to the mirror in the exact
center of the mirror
 Center of Curvature: The point in the center of the sphere from which
the mirror was sliced (C)
 Vertex : The point on the mirror's surface where the principal axis
meets the mirror (A) [Geometric Centre]
 Radius of Curvature : radius of the sphere from which the mirror was
cut. (R)
 Focal Point : Midway between the vertex and the center of curvature
(F)
 Focal Length: the distance from the mirror to the focal point . (f)
Curved Mirrors
 Reflection…
from a concave mirror
 Nature of image:
- Inverted/Upright
- Same /Smaller/ Bigger size
- Closer / further away/ at
same distance from the
mirror
- Real/Virtual
- Laterally inverted
 Reflection…
from a concave mirror
 The focal point is the point in space at which light
incident towards the mirror and traveling parallel to the
principal axis will meet after reflection. (converge)
Draw ray diagrams for the object- image relationship for a concave
mirror.
Keep three things in mind:
1. The incident ray passing through ‘C’ gets reflected back at the
same path because it hits the circle at 90∘
2. The incident ray passing through ‘F’ gets reflected parallel to the
principal axis
3. The incident ray parallel to the principal axis gets reflected and
passes through ‘F’ of the mirror.
http://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/refln/u13l3e.cfm
 Using mirrors
 Two examples:

2) A car headlight

1) A periscope
 Using Mirrors (contd…)
 Reflection & Mirrors
› Convex Mirror
 Curves outward
 Enlarges images.
› Use: Rear view mirrors, store
security…

CAUTION! Objects are closer than

they appear!
© 2000 Microsoft Clip Gallery
 Refraction

Refraction is when waves ____ __ or slow down due to

travelling in a different _________. A medium is
something that waves will travel through. When a pen is
placed in water it looks like this:

In this case the light rays are slowed down by the water
and are _____, causing the pen to look odd. The two
mediums in this example are ______ and _______.

Words – speed up, water, air, bent

What is refraction?

Refraction is the bending of a wave

as it passes from one medium to
another. A wave travels at different
speeds in different things. When a
wave traveling a certain speed
moves into another medium, it will
either increase in speed or decrease
in speed, resulting in a change in
direction.
Index of Refraction Value depends on the optical Density
of the material:

n= speed of light in vacuum = sin i

speed of light in material sin r
Material Index of Refraction
Vacuum 1.0000 <--lowest optical density
Air 1.0003
Ice 1.31
Water 1.333
Ethyl Alcohol 1.36
Plexiglas 1.51
Crown Glass 1.52
Light Flint Glass 1.58
Dense Flint Glass 1.66
Zircon 1.923
Diamond 2.417
Rutile 2.907
Gallium phosphide 3.50 <--highest optical density
LENSES
 LENSES
 Principal axis: a line passing through the center of the sphere (of
which the lens is a part) and passing through the lens in the exact
center of the lens.
 Vertical axis: an imaginary line that bisects the symmetrical lens into
halves
 Focal Point : Point at which rays converge or diverging rays can be
traced back (F).Two such points on the two sides of the lens.
 Focal Length: the distance from the vertical axis to the focal point on
the principal axis. (f)
 2F point: the length of this point is the double that of f
 Lenses (Contd.)
 Convex Lenses
› Thicker in the center than edges.
› Lens that converges (brings together)
light rays.
› Forms real images and virtual images
depending on position of the object
 LIGHT & ITS USES: Lenses

Object Focal
 Convex Lenses Point
© 2000 D. L. Power

 Ray Tracing Lens

› Two rays usually define an image
 Ray #1: Light ray comes from top
of object; travels parallel to optic
axis; bends thru focal point.
 LIGHT & ITS USES: Lenses

Ray #1
 Convex Lenses
© 2000 D. L. Power

 Ray Tracing
Ray
› Two rays define an image#2
 Ray 2: Light ray comes from top
of object & travels through center
of lens.
 LIGHT & ITS USES: Lenses

© 2000 D. L. Power

 Concave Lenses –
› Lens that is thicker at the edges and
thinner in the center.
› Diverges light rays
› All images are upright and reduced.
Rules for refraction through a biconvex lens
Draw ray diagrams for the object- image relationship for a concave mirror.
Keep three things in mind:
1. Any incident ray traveling parallel to the principal axis of a converging lens
will refract through the lens and travel through the focal point on the opposite
side of the lens.
2. Any incident ray traveling through the focal point on the way to the lens will
refract through the lens and travel parallel to the principal axis.
3. An incident ray that passes through the center of the lens will in affect
continue in the same direction that it had when it entered the lens.
RAY DIAGRAMS FOR REFRACTION THROUGH A CONVEX LENS
Object beyond 2F
RAY DIAGRAMS FOR REFRACTION THROUGH A CONVEX LENS
Object at 2F Object between F and 2F
RAY DIAGRAMS FOR REFRACTION THROUGH A CONVEX LENS
 Using Lenses

 Refraction & Lenses

› Defect : Farsightedness

Image behind retina, difficulty in seeing

closer objects

› Fixed by using Convex Lens

 Curves outward

 Shortens image distance.

© 2000 Microsoft Clip Gallery

 Using Lenses

 Refraction & Lenses

› Defect : Nearsightedness

Image in front of retina, difficulty in

focussing far off objects

› Fixed by using Concave Lens

 Curves inward

 Increases image distance.

© 2000 Microsoft Clip Gallery

Total Internal Reflection
Total Internal Reflection
 Critical Angle:
value for the angle of incidence
that yields an angle of
refraction of 90-degrees.
all of the energy (the total
energy) carried by the incident
wave to the boundary stays
within the water (internal to the
original medium) and
undergoes reflection off the
boundary. When this happens,
total internal reflection occurs.
 Total Internal Reflection

Total internal reflection (TIR) is the phenomenon that

involves the reflection of all the incident light off the
boundary. TIR only takes place when both of the
following two conditions are met:
 the light is in the more dense medium and
approaching the less dense medium.
 the angle of incidence is greater than the so-called
critical angle.
 Total Internal Reflection- Uses

 Fibre Optics and Technology