Instruction Manual

and Experiment Guide

OPTICS SYSTEM 1

4864.10

N.B.:

• Pictures, images and descriptions in this manual may not exactly correspond with
the actual items supplied.
• It is also important to note that the experiments in this manual are, only, suggestions.
They are not meant to indicate the limitation of the equipment, which can be used in
wide range of experiments, depending on the educational requirement of the teacher.

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2
GENERAL DESCRIPTION:

The Optics kit 1 permits the study of many aspects of geometric optics, photometry, luminous intensity, focal
length of a lens and many other correlated subjects. The basic theory involves the kernel’s laws of physics
about it. In minutes students or instructors can set up many different experiments.

LIST OF EXPERIMENTS:

• Qualitative photometry
• Luminous intensity
• Shadow and penumbra
• Magnifier
• Lenses
• Mirrors
• Thin lens equation
• Focal length
• System of lenses
• Prism
• The eye
• Microscope
• Telescope

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4
 Index of related topics:
C
Concave mirror ................................................................................................................................31
convergent lens .........................................................................................................................19; 20
Convex mirror...................................................................................................................................33

D
divergent lens...................................................................................................................................26

F
focal length ...........................................................................................................................19; 20; 26

G
Gauss approximation................................................................................................................20; 26

H
Hyperopic eye ..................................................................................................................................35

I
inverse square law ............................................................................................................................7

J
Joly’s photometer ............................................................................................................................16

L
Lens power .......................................................................................................................................20
luminous intensity............................................................................................................................10

M
magnifier ...........................................................................................................................................14
magnifying power ............................................................................................................................14
Myopic eye .......................................................................................................................................35

P
photometry....................................................................................................................................7; 16
prism..................................................................................................................................................28

R
Ray tracing .......................................................................................................................................20
refraction index ................................................................................................................................28

S
Shadow .............................................................................................................................................11
Shadow and penumbra ..................................................................................................................13
system of lenses..............................................................................................................................26

5
 T
The compound microscope ...........................................................................................................39
The eye .............................................................................................................................................35
The telescope ..................................................................................................................................41
thin lens equation ......................................................................................................................20; 26

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 Experiment 1.
RELATED TOPICS:

• photometry
• inverse square law

The purpose of this experiment is to compare the illumination power of two different kinds of light sources.

THEORY:

There are two different approaches for the description and measure of the electromagnetic wave’s energy
propagation irradiated from luminous sources.

The radiometric approach (the physical one) is based on the full radiative power produced by a light source.

The photometric one (the psychophysical one) refers itself only to the portion of the radiative power that is
perceived from the human eye as light.

The spectrum of the radiative energy we call light is a narrow band from roughly 300 nm to 750 nm. The
shorter wavelengths (ultraviolet) and longer (infrared) are not perceived by the human eye.

As a consequence we have two units and magnitudes groups used during measurements. The symbols
used for the radiometric quantities are linked to the corresponding photometric quantities:

Radiometric Quantity symbol units units symbol Photometric Quantity

Radiant Energy Q J lm s Qv Luminous energy
Radiant Flux (power) P, Φ W lm Φv Luminous Flux
Irradiance E W/m2 lm/m2 = lx Ev Illuminance
Radiance L W/(m2sr) lm/(m2sr) Lv Luminance
Radiant Intensity I W/sr lm/sr Iv Luminous Intensity

Where J=joule, W=watt, lm=lumen, m=meter, s=second, sr=steradian

7
In 1979 the Conférence Générale des Poids et Mesures (CGPM) adopted the 1977 CIPM recommendation
for the redefinition of the candela. The new definition for the candela is a source of monochromatic radiation
at a frequency of 540 × 1012 Hz (about 555 nm) and with an intensity of 1/683 W/sr.

A point light source of radiant intensity I (measured in [W/sr] or Candela [cd] from the above definition) emits
a radiant flux φ (measured in [W] or Lumen [lm] from the table above) throughout a solid angle Ω (measured
in Steradian [sr]). Radiant intensity in a solid angle Ω is given by:

φ
I= (1)
Ω
and is measured in [W/sr] or [lm/sr].
If an area A [m2] is illuminated by a luminous flux φ, the irradiance E (measured in [W/m2] or [lm/ m2] also
called Lux [lx]) is:
φ IΩ I A I
E= = = = (2)
A A A r2 r2
since Ω = A/r2 as indicated by the following figure:

This equation describes the photometric law of distance. According to this, the irradiance E of a point light
source decreases in inverse proportion to the square of distance r for constant radiant intensity I.

ITEMS NEEDED:

• Lampholder single and quadruple

• Wooden rod (b)
• Screen (S)

PROCEDURE:

Place one lampholder (single or quadruple) on a clamp, and place another lampholder on the optical bench
slightly off-center.
In this way the rod b will cast two shadows on the screen S. Move the smaller candle until the two shadows
are of equal intensity.

8
Measure the distances of the two lampholders from the screen. The ratio of the squares of these distances is
inversely proportional to the luminance of the two candles.
For example if D1= 60 cm and D2= 100 cm then

E1 D2 2 1002
= = 3 or E1 = 3E2
E2 D12 602

EXAMPLE OF EXPERIMENTAL DATA:

By using a datalogger and a light sensor it’s possible to observe directly equation (2). Place a single
lampholder at a certain distance from the light sensor on the optical bench and you can observe the following
experimental data:

this shows a good agreement with the inverse square law (not considering the natural light intensity
background)

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 Experiment 2.
RELATED TOPICS:

• luminous intensity

ITEMS NEEDED:

• Light source projector P

• Screen S
• (2 sheets of white paper or cardboard, 10x20 cm)

PROCEDURE:

Arrange the optical bench so that the light from the source hits a wall.
a) Hold 2 sheets of paper one on top of the other, at a distance of 25 cm from the light source P as
shown in the previous picture. The sheets appear equally illuminated.
b) Now attach one of the sheets of paper to the screen S with adhesive tape.
c) Place the screen prepared in this way at a distance of 1 meter from the first sheet of paper. The
screen is mounted as in the following figure; note that the two sheets of paper are illuminated with
very different intensities. The “luminous intensity” is defined as the amount of light received by a
unit area of a body's surface.

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 Experiment 3.
RELATED TOPICS:

• Shadow

The purpose of this experiment is to study the shadow produced by an object.

ITEMS NEEDED:

• Lampholder, single L
• Screen S
• Wooden rod b

THEORY:

Shadows are formed when an object blocks the path of light. The shadow is the space behind the object
where no light falls. Shadows have a similar shape to the object that produces them. We can get two types
of shadows.
A clear, distinct shadow is formed when the light source is smaller than the object so that all of the light is
blocked.

PROCEDURE:

Arrange the apparatus as shown in the preceding picture.

Turn the screen so that it is perpendicular to the base. Adjust the position of L so as to obtain a distinct
shadow of b on S. Study how the shadow is modified on the screen when the LS and bS distance is varied

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With a proper adjustment of the focal length of the light source, it is possible to project the shadows of
capillary tubes, vibrating strings, cut-out figures, etc.

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 Experiment 4.
RELATED TOPICS:

• Shadow and penumbra

The purpose of this experiment is to study shadow and penumbra with two light sources: shadow from a
point source

ITEMS NEEDED:

• Lampholder, quadruple L
• Screen S
• Wooden rod b

PROCEDURE:

Place the quadruple lampholder on the rider. Regulate the position of b by moving the rider. Two different
kind of shadows will appear on the screen.

Move the rod b towards the screen. The shadows produced by the quadruple lampholder will come together
and superimpose, forming a shadow and penumbra.

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 Experiment 5.
RELATED TOPICS:

• Magnifier
• Magnifying power

The purpose of this experiment is the use of a positive lens as a magnifier.

ITEMS NEEDED:

• Lens holder
• Biconvex lens with the shortest focal length as possible
• Millimetre graph paper or a squared piece of paper

PROCEDURE:

Use the lens as a magnifying glass. Objects that are closer than the focal point will appear as magnified by
the lens. Try this by holding the lens close to the lined piece of paper. Look at the paper through the lens and
notice that the squares appear much larger. Move the lens away from the paper until the image is still
focused but magnified as much as possible. Determine the magnifying power of the lens by counting how
many squares are contained in one magnified square (see picture). In the case of the preceding picture, the
magnifying power of the. lens is 4 times.
The definition of magnifying power is:

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M= (1)
f
where the focal length f of the lens is expressed in cm. That’s because the near point is about 25 cm. (The
near point is the closest point at which the human eye can still focus something. (i.e. it is the point where the
focal length in your eye is at a minimum. The process whereby the human eye focuses at various distances
is known as accommodation).

Look at the page of a book through the lens, moving the lens away from and towards the page.
The images of the letters change in size, and according to the distance of the lens from the page.

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Note that the images are clear only if the writing is in between the focal length of the lens and the lens itself:
the image will be virtual, enlarged, and right side up.

CONCLUSIONS:

Converging lenses are used for magnifying small objects. The object is placed between the lens and its focal
point. The image is virtual, and thus observable without a screen.

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 Experiment 6.
RELATED TOPICS:

• Joly’s photometer
• photometry

The purpose of this experiment is to make quantitative measurements of brightness by using a Joly’s
photometer.

ITEMS NEEDED:

• Lampholder single and quadruple

• Joly’s photometer

THEORY:

The total amount of light a source emits is called its luminosity. A light-bulb's luminosity is roughly
proportional to the number of watts it consumes. (This is not an exact relationship because light-bulbs are
not 100% efficient: in addition to light, they also give off lots of heat.) The amount of light we receive from a
source is called its brightness. Brightness is the amount of light per unit area. The brightness of a source
depends on how far away it is, while the luminosity of a source does not depend on distance.
To detect the brightness of a source we can make use of a photometer. A Joly’s photometer is a particular
kind of “null-photometer”.
This is a device for comparing the brightness of two light sources. It can't provide a direct measurement of
brightness, but it can tell you when two sources have the same brightness. The basic principles are
sketched in the following figure:

The photometer consists of paraffin wax blocks 1 and 2, separated by aluminium foil, called the photometer
head. The head is placed between two sources S1 and S2 and moved until the two blocks appear equally
bright. Then the intensities of the sources are in the inverse ratio of the squares of the distances D1 and D2,
measured (say) to the centers of the blocks. As long as the distances are large compared to the size of the
head, it does not matter where in the head distance is measured from

PROCEDURE:

The operation of a null-photometer is illustrated in the diagram below. To begin with, you orient the
photometer so that each side is pointing directly at one of the two light sources you want to compare; the
light must strike the slabs squarely and not at an angle. Thus one side is illuminated by one source and the
other side is illuminated by the other source. You then look at the slabs. If both sources have the same

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brightness, both halves of the sandwich will be equally bright. This is called a ‘null' reading (hence the term
null-photometer). If one source is brighter than the other, the corresponding side of the sandwich will be
brighter than the other side. Your eyes are pretty good at judging relative brightness; with a little care, you
can determine a null reading quite accurately.

A null-photometer in operation. (a) With more light (arrows) coming from

the left than from the right, the left half of the photometer's window is
brighter. (b) With equal amounts of light coming from both sides, the two
halves of the window have the same brightness.

In the case of the preceding picture we have

where the distance between the two lampholders and the Joly’s photometer is the same and is equal to 20
cm.
By reducing the distance between the single lampholder and the Joly’s photometer to 10 cm we have

and the following particular

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Let L be the luminosity of a source that emits light in all directions, and D be the distance from the source to
the point where we want to calculate the source's brightness. Then the brightness is
L
B=
4π ⋅ D 2
Here the denominator is just the area of a sphere of radius D. All that this formula says is that brightness is
the luminosity divided by the area which is illuminated. Because the area of a sphere increases as the
square of its radius, it's the square of D that appears in the denominator. That's why this is called the
inverse-square law; brightness is inversely proportional to the square of the distance.
By comparing the brightness of two sources Ba and Bb with a null photometer like Joly’s we can adjust the
distances Da and Db in such a way that Ba = Bb. So we have:
La L
2
= b2
Da Db
Db2 202
From our example we then have Lb = L = La = 4 La as it must be since we have a single
Da2 102
a

lampholder compared to a quadruple.

In this way we can obtain information on the luminosity of a light source or its distance. This is particularly
useful in astronomy for deriving the distance of a star since stars come in a range of luminosities, and we
can sometimes figure out the luminosity by measuring the star's colour.

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 Experiment 7.
RELATED TOPICS:

• focal length
• convergent lens

The purpose of this experiment is to find roughly the focal length of a converging lens.

ITEMS NEEDED:

• Lensholder
• Convergent lens
• Any object

PROCEDURE:

By observing an object through a lens (as in the picture), it is possible to get a rough estimate of the focal
length of a converging lens. Moving the lens away from the object, note the distance at which the object
starts to become blurred. This distance is the focal length of the lens.

Otherwise, it’s possible to obtain the focal length by observing the smallest spot of light, produced by a
converging lens when exposed to a parallel light beam (e.g. the sun), on a surface. The distance between
the lens and the surface is the focal length.

In the case shown in the picture the focal length is approximately 15 cm.

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 Experiment 8.
RELATED TOPICS:

• focal length
• convergent lens
• thin lens equation
• Gauss approximation
• Ray tracing
• Lens power

The purpose of this experiment is to find exactly the focal length of a convergent lens.

ITEMS NEEDED:

• Optical bench
• Projector
• Lensholder
• Convergent lens
• Screen
• Slide holder
• Slide with a small hole

THEORY:

As the lens vertex distance is much smaller then the curvature radii, we will extensively use the thin lens
equation (valid in the approximation of narrow angles between axis and rays, “Gauss approximation”)

1 1 1
+ = (1)
p q f
where p is the object distance, q is the image distance and f is the focal length (see below for sign
conventions). The proof may be stated as follows:

Consider a converging thin lens as indicated below

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Triangle O’OA and triangle I’IA are similar because both triangles have right angles and the vertical angles
are equal. For clarity, these two triangles are isolated below:

Since the triangles are similar, it immediately follows that

hi q
= (2)
h0 p
where h0 is O’O and hi is I’I.
There is another pair of similar triangles: triangle ABF is similar to I’IF and we isolate these two triangles
below

Since the triangles are similar we may write

hi q − f
= (3)
h0 f
Combining equation (2) and equation (3) yields equation (1).

Conventions:
• p is positive when the object is to the left of the lens
• q is positive when the image is to the right of the lens
• One may use the same equation (1). for both converging and diverging lenses provided one takes f
positive for converging lenses and negative for diverging lenses.
• Virtual side of the lens: The side of the lens from which the light comes.
• Real side of the lens: The side opposite the virtual side.

Magnification,

Magnification M, is defined as the ratio of the image size to the object size hi/ho. From equation (2)
magnification is also the ratio of the image distance to the object distance q/p . A negative sign is usually
assigned to the second ratio to account for the virtual image but it’s always easier to use the absolute value
of magnification and not be bothered by the negative sign in its formula.

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Ray Tracing:

There are three important, principle rays for lenses:

1. A ray leaving the object parallel to the optical axis, passes through the focal point on the image side.
2. A ray leaving the object and passing through the focal point will leave the lens parallel to the optical axis.
3. A ray passing through the center of the lens is undeflected.

Power:
The shorter the focal length of a lens, the greater the deflection of incident rays. Optometrists, therefore,
work with the so called power of a lens, defined as
1
P=
f
where f is measured in meters.
The unit of P is called the dioptre ( m-1). For example, a divergent lens with f = -50 cm has a power P = -2
dioptres.

Here is a graphical summary of a converging lens:

PROCEDURE:

The focal length of a thin lens can be determined exactly by using equation (1). In order to do this:
• One must use a point light source placed on the optical axis at a distance p (>f) from the lens
• One must use the Gauss approximation
• One must keep on a screen, at a distance q from the lens, the real image of the light source
To measure p and q one must use an optical bench. A point light source can be approximated by
concentrating the light of a projector on a slide with a small hole. In that way the slide becomes the point
light source.

Let us assume a fixed distance s = p + q between the point source and the screen:

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The thin lens equation can be rewritten as
1 1 1
+ = or
p s− p f
p (s − p)
f = (4)
s
from which
s ± s 2 − 4s f
p1,2 = (5)
2
We have three cases:

1. s>4f. We have two distinct positions p of the lens for which we have a sharp image of the source on
the screen
2. s=4f. We have only one distinct position p of the lens for which we have a sharp image of the source
on the screen
3. s<4f. We have no positions p of the lens for which we have a sharp image of the source on the
screen
From the point of view of the experimental error theory the first case it’s highly preferable.
Let us fix an arbitrary origin O as in the following figure:

a is the abscissa of the punctiform light source, b and c are the two lens positions for which the image is
focused on the screen, d is the abscissa of the screen.
It follows that when the abscissa of the lens is b we have p1= b-a, q1 = d-b and when the abscissa of the
lens is c we have p2= c-a, q2 = d-c.

23
From the symmetry with respect to p and q of the thin lens equation and the existence of only two roots of
the equation (5) it must be p2= q1 and p1= q2 or d-c = b-a and d-b = c-a. Hence theoretically it suffice to take
a measure of b-a (=p) and d-a (=s) to deduce f from (4).
Anyway when we measure b-a it’s frequent to have a systematic error due to the fact that the position of the
lens into the lensholder cannot be determined with adequate precision.

If, for example, as in the preceding figure the median plane of the lens is displaced of ε with respect to the
lensholder axis, we have that
b−a = p +ε (6)
The systematic error ε can be eliminated by considering that
d −c = p −ε (7)
hence by summing (6) and (7) we have
b−a+d −c
p= (8)
2
and since s = d-a, from equation (4) we have that
1 ( d − a + b − c )( d − a − b + c )
f = (9)
4 d −a
For example, by using the same convergent lens of the preceding experiment we have a=0, b=20, c=58,
d=80 cm and by applying equation (9)we found f = 15.5 cm.
By subtracting (7) from (6) and taking the modulus we have
b−a−d +c
ε= (10)
2
that is a rough estimate of our systematic error. In our case it result ε = 1 cm.
From equation (9) it’s also possible to find that the relative error on the focal length is

and when the error in the position of the screen and the point source is Da=Dd=1 mm and the error in the
position of the lens is Db=Dc=20 mm we have that the relative error is nearly 7% so f = 15.5 ± 1 cm.

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 Experiment 9.
RELATED TOPICS:

• focal length
• divergent lens
• thin lens equation
• system of lenses
• Gauss approximation

The purpose of this experiment is to find the focal length of a diverging lens. This is possible with the use of
a system of lenses since it’s known that the diverging lens alone produces only virtual images.

ITEMS NEEDED:

• Optical bench
• Projector
• Lensholder
• Convergent lens
• Divergent lens
• Screen
• Slide holder
• Slide with a small hole

THEORY:

We’ll use nearly the same apparatus used in the preceding experiment to find the focal length of a diverging
lens.
In this case we have that that
1 1 1
= + (1)
f f1 f 2
The proof may be stated as follows:
Consider a system of two thin lenses touching each other. The image of the first lens is the object for the
next lens. This object may be virtual for the second lens.
So we have for the first lens that p1 = p, or
1 1 1
+ = (2)
p q1 f1
For the second lens p2 = -q1 and q2 = q or

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 1 1 1
+ = (3)
−q1 q f 2
By summing equation (2) and equation (3) we have equation (1).

PROCEDURE:

If the converging lens has a focal length such that the system of the converging plus diverging lenses is still
converging, it’s possible to recover the focal length of the system by applying the same method used in the
preceding experiment.
Then equation (1) gives
1 1 1
= +
f fc fd
or
f ⋅ fc
fd =
fc − f
For example, in the case of the previous picture, we have fc= +5 and f = 10. By applying the preceding
equation we recover a value of fd=-10.

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 Experiment 10.
RELATED TOPICS:

• prism
• refraction index

The purpose of this experiment is to find the refraction index of a glass prism.

ITEMS NEEDED:

• Optical bench
• Projector
• Screen
• Slide holder
• Slide with a slit
• Prism table
• Equilateral prism glass

THEORY:

A prism is a wedge-shaped transparent body which causes incident light to be separated into its constituent
colours when it exits the prism. The separation by colour occurs because different colours (corresponding to
different wavelengths) of light travel at different speeds in the prism (although they travel at the same speed,
namely the speed of light, in a vacuum). As a result, refraction causes the wavefronts of different
wavelengths to be deflected by different angular amounts. Since "white" light is really a superposition of
many different wavelengths, the prism therefore has the effect of angularly separating the incident light by
colour.

27
The most common type of prism is a simple isosceles triangular wedge, illustrated above. In the above
figure, let the opening angle of the prism be α , let light be incident at an angle θi1 to the normal, and let it
emerge at an angle θt2 to the normal on the other side. Call the angular deflection of the ray from its original
path δ , and define some intermediate angles as shown above.
The angular deviation δ caused by a prism is then given by
δ = (θi1 − θt1 ) + (θt2 − θi2 )
From the geometry α = θt1 + θi2 , so δ = θi1 + θt2 − α . Let the medium surrounding the prism have index
of refraction = 1 (this is the index of refraction of air). Call the index of refraction of the prism n. Then from
Snell's law and the above figure, sin θt 2 = n ⋅ sin θ i 2 . It follows that δ can be expressed as a function of n, α
and θi1 . But since n depends on the wavelength, we have therefore found that the deviation is different for
different wavelengths.
There must be a minimum angular deviation δ otherwise the prism would be made of air. The minimum
deviation with respect to the incidence angle θi1 can be found by differentiating δ = θi1 + θt2 − α combined
with differentiation of the Snell’s law at each given interface.
The result is that the minimum deviation occurs when
θi1 = θt2
and therefore θt1 = θi2 or the light ray is parallel to the base. The index of refraction can therefore be found
by determining the minimum deviation angle δmin experimentally and using it to derive
⎡1 ⎤
sin ⎢ ⋅ (δ min + α ) ⎥
sin θi1 ⎣2 ⎦
n= = (1)
sin θt1 ⎛α ⎞
sin ⎜ ⎟
⎝2⎠

PROCEDURE:

The first observation is the separation in colours

28
After that it’s possible to measure the minimum deviation angle δmin by moving the prism table and
observing the minimum position of a particular colour in respect to the incident light.

An example of experimental data are a= 14 cm, b=10.5 from which δmin ≅ 37°and by applying equation (1)
we get that n ≅ 1.5 corresponding to a “crown” type glass.

29
 Experiment 11.
RELATED TOPICS:

• Concave mirror

Aim of the experiment is to find the focal length of a concave mirror.

ITEMS NEEDED:

• Optical bench
• Projector
• Screen
• Lens holder
• Concave mirror of different focal lengths

THEORY:

Ray tracing for a spherical mirror is very easy. The geometry for a concave mirror is shown below

and the formulas for finding the reflection angle i in terms of the ray height h, and for finding the point at
which a ray of angle i crosses the axis are given below. The distance from this point to the vertex V is x.
r⎛ 1 ⎞
Since x = r- CQ and CQ =r/(2·cosi) we get that x = ⎜2− ⎟ . For small h, we can set sin i = i and cos
2⎝ cos i ⎠
i = 0, so that h = r·i and x = r/2. Since x is independent of h in this approximation, the point at

R
f = (1)
2
is the focal point of the mirror.

30
By using a parallel ray beam coming from the projector (as shown in the previous picture) it’s easy to find the
focal length of a concave mirror.
The focus is found when the rays coming from the mirror are converging all in a single point.

This is the principle of the Newtonian telescope.

PROCEDURE:

Arrange the optical bench as shown in the picture with the perpendicular to the concave mirror slightly off
axis with respect to the optical bench. Try to find the correct distance from the concave mirror by moving the
screen

31
 Experiment 12.
RELATED TOPICS:

• Convex mirror

The purpose of this experiment is to find the focal length of a convex mirror.

ITEMS NEEDED:

• Optical bench
• Projector
• Screen
• 2 Lens holders
• Converging lens of known focal length
• Convex mirror of different focal lengths
• Object (e.g. a pen)

THEORY:

As with diverging lenses, convex mirrors give virtual images so it is necessary to study the mirror in
combination with a converging lens. Measure the focal length of the convex mirror by combining it with a
converging lens. Remember that the relationship between the focal length and the radius of curvature for a
R
spherical mirror is f = (see previous experiment).
2
Set the pointed object at twice the focal length of the lens. Next adjust the mirror’s position until the inverted
image’s position shows no parallax with the object.

By using the configuration shown below

32
it’s clear that the image is focused only when R +d = q1 or (since q1=2·f1 and R=2·f2)
d
f 2 = f1 − (1)
2
and since f1 is known the preceding formula gives us the focal length of the convex mirror.

33
 Experiment 13.
RELATED TOPICS:

• The eye
• Myopic eye
• Hyperopic eye

The purpose of this experiment is to show how to construct a model of an eye that suffers myopia or
hyperopia.

ITEMS NEEDED:

• Optical bench
• Lampholder, quadruple
• Screen
• Lens holder
• Converging lens
• Diverging lens

THEORY:

The eye is a sophisticated, one-lens system for imaging visible light. Light passes through the cornea,
through the iris, into the anterior chamber that is filled with a water-based fluid called the aqueous humor,
through the lens, into another water-based fluid called the vitreous humor, and finally onto the retina. The iris
is an opaque aperture that limits the amount of light that enters the eye. The lens is a tough membrane that
is filled with long cells. The focal length (power) of the lens is changed when the ciliary muscle forces the
lens to change shape. This enables us to image objects at different distances

A person’s eyesight changes as he or she ages because the cells of the lens multiply, but the membrane
that surrounds them won’t allow any to escape. As the cells in the lens become more dense, the index of
refraction of the lens changes and the lens can’t be bent as well by the ciliary muscle.
The eye is a wonderful system, but it frequently suffers from one of two refractive errors: myopia
(nearsightedness) and hyperopia (farsightedness). In the case of myopia, the eye forms an images of distant

34
objects in front of the retina, which makes those objects appear out of focus. The eye is able to form images
on the retina for objects that are closer than the eye’s far point. Myopia can be corrected through the use of a
negative lens that will cause the light rays to diverge. The power of the lens is chosen by matching the lens’
focal point with the eye’s far point. This causes the light rays to diverge by the correct amount, so that the
images of distant objects coincide with the location of the retina.

In the case of hyperopia, light from distant objects is focused to a point behind the retina. In this case, the
eye can image rays that would naturally converge at a point behind the retina. The point at which the least
converging rays that the eye can still image come to a focus defines the far point of a hyperopic eye. A
positive lens, which has a focal length that coincides with the far point of the eye, can be used to correct
farsightedness.

PROCEDURE:

Let us suppose that the screen is the human “retina” and the converging lens is the “crystalline lens” (see the
following picture).

35
When the image is formed on the screen we get the normal behavior of the eye. If the situation is as follows
we get the myopic eye.

To correct the problem we have to put a negative lens in front of the eye.

36
Demonstration of the hyperopic eye is left as an exercise for the student.

37
 Experiment 14.
RELATED TOPICS:

• The compound microscope

The purpose of this experiment is to demonstrate how a compound microscope functions.

ITEMS NEEDED:

• Optical bench
• 2 Lensholder
• Screen
• Convergent lens of short focal length
• Convergent lens of big focal length
• Object

THEORY:

Suppose we desire a magnification factor of 1000. To obtain this with a simple magnifier would require a lens
whose focal length is 15 cm / 1000 = 0.015 mm (see experiment on the magnifier), which is less than the
diameter of a human hair.
The solution is a compound microscope, consisting of two lenses called the objective and the eyepiece,
arranged as shown in the figure below.

The objective lens, of focal length fo , acts as a kind of projection lens to create image y’ of object y which is
L
just over one focal distance from the lens. The magnification of this part of the microscope is mo ,
fo

38
where L + fe L is the length of the microscope tube. Then, the eyepiece (whose focal length is fe ) acts
25
like a simple magnifying lens on the image y’ to provide an additional magnification factor of me .
fe
The combined magnification is therefore

L ⋅ 25
m = mo ⋅ me (1)
fo ⋅ fe
Standard microscope eyepieces are marked with a magnification (e.g. 10x) which is calculated by the ratio of
25 cm (the nominal value of the near point distance) to the focal length fe . A 10x eyepiece therefore has a
focal length of 2.5 cm.

PROCEDURE:

The following picture, obtained with L=30, fe = 20 and fo= 5,

shows the image of a pen reversed and enlarged by a factor of 7.5 as given by equation (1)

39
 Experiment 15.
RELATED TOPICS:

• The telescope

The purpose of this experiment is to demonstrate how an astronomical telescope functions.

ITEMS NEEDED:

• Optical bench
• 2 Lensholder
• Screen
• Convergent lens of short focal length
• Convergent lens of big focal length

THEORY:

If we reverse the compound microscope of the preceding experiment we get the astronomical telescope. Of
course the image is upside down, but this kind of telescope can be advantageously used whenever it is not
necessary to observe the image right side up, as when observing the sky.

40
 APPENDIX
Basics of experimental error theory

We can say that everything we known about the physical world has an inherent uncertainty. In
particular, when we experimentally investigate something there is always an “experimental error”
and an “experimental precision”. Since one of the main features of experiments is their
reproducibility, it is very important to deal with this subject in order to be able to explain how good
our results are. This is possible with “experimental error theory”, a scientific approach to this
problem.

Let us consider the following example: find the density of a solid rubber cube.

o First trial (with very raw instrument). We can estimate that the mass of the cube is
nearly 50 g and the length of a side is nearly 6 cm. So the density would be:
M M
ρ= = 3 = 0,23148... . There are many questions: “Where can I stop with
V L
decimal digits to communicate my result?” “Is it better to have precision on the
mass measurement or on length measurement?” “How do we combine our
experimental error on the mass measurement with the experimental error on length
measurement?”
o Second trial (with more accurate instruments). By using an electronic balance and
a meter stick I find a mass of 60g and a side length of 5,4 cm. So the density would
be:
M M
ρ= = 3 = 0,381039475... . We still need to answer the questions posed above
V L
but we also have to answer a new question: “What makes this trial better than the
first one?”
o Third trial (with much more accurate instruments to measure the side length). If
we improve the accuracy of the length measurement, for example by using a vernier
caliper, the problem becomes more involved. This is due to the fact that we do not
get the same result if we make more than one measurement. Instead we have a set of
different measurements like (5,455 cm; 5,425 cm; 5,465 cm; …). So we are again
faced with the question: “Which one of the measurements (5,455 cm; 5,425 cm;
5,465 cm; …) do should I take?”

Therefore, the more we analyse the problem the more it gets involved. To search for a possible
solution we can start from the third trial and observe that, generally speaking, when we improve the
accuracy of an instrument we reach a point at which the experimental results are not unique but are
scattered around some value as illustrated in this graph:

41
If the number of measurements N is greater then about 30, the distribution of the experimental data
is bell-shaped and has a value X for which there is a maximum and around which the data are
scattered in a nearly symmetrical way. It is also possible to distinguish a value that determines an
interval around X into which a significant percentage of the measurements are placed. We need to
answer the questions: “Is X the best estimate of our measurement?”, “How much can we rely on
this value?” and “What percentage of the measurements are in the interval X-σ and X+σ ?”

To express these questions mathematically, we could try a prototype function that fits our data and
that expresses the probability to get a particular measurement value:
1

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

-3 -2 -1 1 2 3
this is the graphical representation of the function
2
f ( x) = e − x
If we want to centre the function around the value X we use the expression x-X in place of x, and if
we want to control the scattering of the measurements around X it’s possible to divide (x-X)2 by
2σ2.
The following figure shows f(x) with X=2 and σ=1;1.5;2
1 1 1

0.8 0.8 0.8

0.6 0.6 0.6

0.4 0.4 0.4

0.2 0.2 0.2

-2 2 4 6 8 10 -2 2 4 6 8 10 -2 2 4 6 8 10

42
Finally, if we want to control the area under the curve we have to multiply it by a normalization
factor Aσ that would depend on σ .
Therefore our prototype function is:
−
( x − X )2
f ( x ) = Aσ ⋅ e 2⋅σ 2
(1)
where X is the value for which we have the maximum and σ determines how the measurements are
scattered around X. This is called a “Gaussian function” or a “Normal function”, but the underlying
data represent a distribution (still called Gaussian) and not a function. It can be proved that the
Gaussian distribution is derivable from the binomial distribution assuming that the number of
measurements N Æ ∞ and σ remains constant.

The physical meaning of all this is that we do not describe a measurement with a single number but
rather with a set of values each one with its own probability to appear as an experimental datum.
This probability is governed by the “Gaussian distribution”. There is an analogy with quantum
mechanics (for example with the wave packet of a particle) where the interpretation is that if we
make a measure of the position of the particle then the probability to obtain a particular value is
governed by the Gaussian function and is never a well defined fixed value.

Let us determine the value of Aσ in (1). We must have a probability of 1 to get a measurement in
the range from -∞ to +∞ (that is, if we perform a measurement we are certain to get some kind of
result no matter how large or how small that result is):
+∞ 1
∫−∞ f ( x)dx = 1 ⇒ Aσ = 2π ⋅σ
To give an interpretation of σ we can ask what happens if we are only interested in the probability
of finding measurements in the range from X-σ to X+σ instead of the range from -∞ to +∞:
2
X +σ 1 +1 −
t

∫ X −σ
f ( x) dx = ⋅ ∫ e 2 dt
2π −1
0.68

so σ, also called then “standard deviation” (σ2 is called “variance”), is the amount of uncertainty we
have to allow for, in the most probable value X, if we want to claim a roughly 68% chance of
correctly predicting the result of any single measurement.

To determine X, also called the “mean value”, we consider a set of N measurements x1, x2, …, xN.
The probability to get a single result between xi and xi+dx is:

( x − xi )2
1 −
Pi = ⋅e 2⋅σ 2

σ 2π
so the probability to get all the results (viewed as independent events) is:
N

∑ ( x − xi )
2

1 − i=1
P = P1 × P2 × ... × PN α ⋅e 2⋅σ 2
σN
Since we are speaking about the probability P to get all the results and we can suppose to have
already done our experiment with a set of real results what should be the value of P?

43
If we accept the maximum likelihood principle we can make an analogy with entropy and say that P
is proportional to the entropy obtained from our experiment. The value X must be a point of
maximum entropy. By the second principle of thermodynamics we have to maximize P, otherwise
d ⎡N 2⎤
said X is the value of x that minimize the exponent: ⎢ ∑
dx ⎣ i =1
( x − xi ) ⎥ = 0 from which it results:
⎦
1 N
X= ∑ xi
N i =1
(2)

that is, the mean value X is the arithmetic mean and describes all the collected data since it is the
value for which the maximum entropy is obtained for our set of data.

⎡ ∑ ( x − xi ) ⎤
N
2

d ⎢ 1 − 2⋅σ 2 ⎥
i =1

To determine σ we can proceed in the same way ⎢ ⋅e ⎥ = 0 from which:

dσ ⎢ σ N ⎥
⎢⎣ ⎥⎦
1 N
∑ ( x − xi )
2
σ= (3)
N i =1
But what should be use instead of x in equation (3)? If we use (2) then equation (3) is slightly self-
2
1 N ⎛1 ⎞
referential because σ = ∑ ⎜ ( x1 + ... + xi + ... + xN ) − xi ⎟ and the i-esim term appears two
N i =1 ⎝ N ⎠
times. It is possible to show that the correct value of the standard deviation is:

1 N
∑ ( X − xi )
2
σ= (4)
N − 1 i =1
Clearly σ is not defined for N=1 (we are assuming N greater of nearly 30, otherwise there are better
distributions to consider).

Suppose now we have a function Q of several variables Q = f ( a, b, c,...) and we want to know how
the experimental error on each variable contributes to Q.
We can say that by varying the variables, the quantity Q varies of:
∂Q ∂Q ∂Q
∆Q = ∆a + ∆b + ∆c + ...
∂a ∂b ∂c
and if we identify our uncertainty ∆x with the standard deviation σx we can say that:
∂Q ∂Q ∂Q
σQ = σa + σb + σ c + ... (5)
∂a ∂b ∂c
the modulus is due to the fact that errors could cancel each other and we want to consider the
maximum error.
We could do better, obtaining a smaller value, if the variables are normal and independent, by
1 N
∑ ( − Qi ) where Qi = f (ai , bi , ci ,...) is the i-esim value of Q by
2
starting from (4) σ Q =
N − 1 i =1
taking the i-esim value of each variable of our set of data, = f ( A, B, C ,...) is the mean value of Q
by taking the mean value of each variable of our set of data.

44
 2 2 2
⎛ ∂Q ∂Q ⎞ ⎛ ∂Q ⎞ ⎛ ∂Q ⎞
( − Qi ) = ( ∆Qi ) = ⎜ ∆ai + ∆bi + ... ⎟ ⎟ ( ∆ai ) + ⎜ ⎟ ( ∆bi ) + ...
2 2 2 2
Since ⎜ (by
⎝ ∂ai ∂bi ⎠ ⎝ ∂ai ⎠ ⎝ ∂bi ⎠
neglecting terms of higher order) we have:

2 2
⎛ ∂Q ⎞ 1 N
⎛ ∂Q ⎞ 1 N

∑=1 ( ∆ai ) + ⎜⎝ ∂b ⎟⎠ N − 1 ∑ ( ∆bi ) + ...

2 2
σQ = ⎜ ⎟
⎝ ∂a ⎠ 14
N − 14i244 3 i =1
1442443
σ a2 σ b2

or
2 2
⎛ ∂Q ⎞ 2 ⎛ ∂Q ⎞ 2
σQ = ⎜ ⎟ σa + ⎜ ⎟ σ b + ... (6)
⎝ ∂a ⎠ ⎝ ∂b ⎠
which is better of (5) since it’s always lower.
1 N
Suppose now that the function Q is just the arithmetic mean X =
N
∑x
i =1
i . By applying equation (6)

we get
2 2
⎛ ∂X ⎞ 2 ⎛ ∂X ⎞ 2
σX = ⎜ ⎟ σ x1 + ⎜ ⎟ σ x2 + ... (7)
⎝ ∂x1 ⎠ ⎝ ∂x2 ⎠
∂X ∂ ⎛1 N
⎞ 1
but =
∂xi ∂xi ⎜⎝ N
∑ x ⎟⎠ = N and σ
i =1
i x1 = σ x2 = ... = σ and so

σ
σX = (8)
N
which is called “standard deviation of the mean”. Analogously to the “standard deviation”, it tells
us how good is the mean value X and we can assume it as the amount of uncertainty we have to
allow for if we want to claim a roughly 68% chance of correctly predicting the result of any other
mean value it is possible to obtain.
σQ
It is also useful to speak about relative error instead of absolute error σ Q . The relative error can
Q
be expressed in percentage.

For example let us return to the problem of determine the density of a cube.
M
Now, the function Q is the density which is function of the mass M and the side length L: ρ = .
L3
60 g g
If M = 60 g and L = 54mm it’s easy to find that the mean value is ρ = 3 3
= 3,81 ⋅10−4 3
54 cm cm
By applying equation (5) we have that the relative error is:
σ ρ 1 ∂ρ 1 ∂ρ L3 1 L3 −3M 1 3
= σM + σL = σM + σL = σM + σL .
ρ ρ ∂M ρ ∂L M L 3
M L 4
M L
If we can suppose the precision of the mass measurement is σ M = 2 g and the precision of the
length measurement is σ L = 1mm we have:
σ ρ 2 3 ⋅1
= + 3,3% + 5, 6% = 8,9%
ρ 60 54
(this says it is more important to make a careful length measurement than a careful mass
measurement).
By applying equation (6) we get a better (lower) estimate of the density error:

45
 σρ σ M 2 9 ⋅σ L2 22 9 ⋅12
= + = + = 6,5% .
ρ M2 L2 602 542
This means that if we take another measurement of density there’s a probability of nearly 68% that
g
the new value will lie between (3,8 ± 0, 2) ⋅10−4 .
cm3
It is important to note that since the standard deviation on density is 0,2 x 10-4 g/cm3 we can stop at
the first decimal digit 3,8 x 10-4.

46