Light

- Light is a form of energy

- Our eyes detect light in a range of colors. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue,
indigo and violet.
- In a vacuum/air, light travels at a speed of 3.0 x 108 m s-1 .
Luminous objects
- Luminous objects are objects, which give off light of their own, such as lamps
and fire.
- Non-luminous objects are objects that do not give off their own light.

Learning points:
- For reflection
1) The incident ray, the reflected ray and the normal to the reflecting surface all
lie in the same plane.
2) The angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection.

Regular reflection
- Occurs at smooth surfaces like mirrors Characteristics:
and polished metals. a) Parallel light rays incident on
the surface are reflected in one
direction only. (I.e. All rays
have the same incident and
reflected angles.)
b) For such instances, the normal
at all points of incidence are
parallel.

Irregular reflection
- Occurs at rough surfaces like sandpaper.
Characteristics:
c) Parallel light rays incident on
the surface in all directions. The
incident and reflected angles of
each ray are different from the
others.
d) For such surfaces, the normal at
all points of incidence are not
parallel.
 Characteristics of the image formed by a plane mirror:
1) The image is of the same size as the object.
2) The image is laterally inverted.
3) The image is upright.
4) The image is virtual.
5) The distance of the object from the mirror is equal to the distance of the image
from the mirror.

Ray diagrams for plane mirrors:

Step 1: Image distance from mirror=object distance from

mirror.
Step 2: Draw the light rays from the image to the eyes.

Step 3: Draw the incident rays from the object to the points of
incidents.
Applications of Mirrors
1) Optical testing
2) Mirrors at blind corners. CONVEX MIRRORS
- Mirrors can be installed in shops to allow shopkeepers to keep an eye out for
shoplifters.
- Installed at blind corners to allow drivers to make a turn safely.
3) Instrument Scales
- By placing a mirror below the pointer of a scale, parallax error can be avoided
when taking readings.
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