LIGHT

Light – is an electromagnetic wave

produced by vibrating electric charges
Properties of Light
1. Reflection
2. Refraction
3. Diffraction
4. Interference
Reflection of Light
Law of Reflection – the angle of incident ray is equal to the angle of the
reflected ray
Refraction –the bending of light at the
boundary of two media
Incident & Refracted Rays Dispersion
Law of Refraction (Snell’s Law):
n1sinθ1= n2sinθ2 or v2sinθ1= v1sinθ2
Ray Diagram Values of n
Substance n
Diamond 2.419
Glass (crown) 1.52
Ice 1.309
Water 1.333
Air 1.000
1. An underwater scuba diver sees the sun at an
apparent angle of 45o from the vertical. What is the
actual direction of the sun?

2. A ray of light is incident on the surface of a block of

clear ice at an angle of 40o with the normal. Part of
the light is reflected and part is refracted. Find the
angle between the reflected and refracted light.
Total Internal Reflection-occurs when light
moves from one medium of higher n to
medium of lower n
Critical Angle (for n1>n2) Total Internal Reflection

sinθc= n2/n1
1. A plastic light pipe has n=1.53 . For total internal
reflection to occur , what is the minimum angle of
incidence if the pipe is in (a) air and (b) water?

2. A beam of light is incident from air on the surface of

a liquid. If the angle of incidence is 30.0o and the
angle of refraction is 22.0o, find the critical angle for
the liquid when surrounded by air.
Diffraction –the spreading out of light from its
initial line of travel when it passes through small
openings, and around edges
Interference –overlapping of two or
more light waves at a given point
Spherical Mirrors
Spherical mirror – has the shape of the segment of a
sphere

Types:
1. Concave mirror (converging)
2.Convex mirror (diverging)
Image Formation of Mirrors
mirror equation:
1/p + 1/q =1/f
p is object’s distance
q is image distance
f is focal length

magnification:
M = h’/h = -q/p
h’ is image height
h is object’s height
Sign Conventions for Mirrors
Quantity In Front In Back Upright Inverted
p + -
q + -
f + -
h’ + -
M + -
note: f is – for convex (diverging) mirror and + for

concave (converging) mirror

Sample Problems
1. A concave spherical mirror has a focal length of 10.0
cm. Locate the image and find the magnification for
an object distance of 25.0 cm. Determine whether the
image is real or virtual, inverted or upright, and larger
or smaller. Do the same for object distances of 10.0 cm
and 5.00 cm.
Image of concave mirror at diff. p’s
Between mirror and focal point (f):
behind mirror, virtual, erect, larger than object

At focal point:

No image

Between focal point and center of curvature (C):

beyond C, real, inverted, larger

At C :
At C, real, inverted, same size

Beyond C:
between f and C, real, inverted, smaller
2. An object 3.00 cm high is placed 20.00 cm from a
convex mirror with a focal length of magnitude 8.00
cm. Find :
a. the position of the image
b. the magnification of the mirror
c. the height of the image
Image of convex mirror
At any object position, image is virtual, upright, and
smaller in size
Image Formation of Lenses
1. Converging (convex) 2. Diverging (concave)
Thin Lens Equation : 1/p + 1/q = 1/f
Magnification: M = h’/h = -q/p

Sign Conventions for Thin Lenses

Quantity In Front In Back Upright Inverted
p + -
q - +
f - +
h’ + -
M + -
note: f is – for convex (diverging) mirror and + for

concave (converging) mirror

1. A converging lens of focal length 10.0 cm forms
image of an object situated at various distances. (a) If
the object is placed 30.0 cm from the lens, locate the
image , state whether it’s real or virtual, and find its
magnification (b) Repeat the problem when the object
is at 10.0 cm (c ) again when the object is 5.0 cm from
the lens.
Image of Convex Lens at Different p’s
 Between lens and focal point (f ):
behind lens, virtual, erect, larger than object
ex. Magnifying glass
 At focal point:
No image ex. Lighthouse
 Between focal point and center of curvature (C):
beyond C, real, inverted, larger ex. projector
 At C :
At C, real, inverted, same size ex. copier
 Beyond C:
between f and C, real, inverted, smaller ex. camera
At infinity :
At f , real, inverted, smaller ex. camera
2. A diverging lens of focal length 10.0 cm forms image
of an object situated at various distances. (a) If the
object is placed 30.0 cm from the lens, locate the
image , state whether it’s real or virtual, and find its
magnification (b) Repeat the problem when the object
is at 10.0 cm
(c ) again when the object is 5.0 cm from the lens.
Image of Concave Lens at Different p’s
At any object position, image is virtual, upright, and
smaller in size
The Eye
Vision Defects
Myopia (nearsightedness) Hyperopia (farsightedness)
Taking Care of the Eyes
1. Protect eyes form UV. Wear sun glasses when you are
in the sun.
2. Don’t smoke. Smoking increases the risk of macular
degeneration.
3. Wear protective gear for your eyes when working in
shops and laboratories.
4. Avoid being near to fireworks.
5. Rest your eyes when working on computers for long
hours. From time to time, look at something across the
room.
Laser
 Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of
Radiation (LASER or laser) is a mechanism for
emitting electromagnetic radiation, often visible light,
via the process of stimulated emission.
 The laser light is coherent and a narrow low divergent
beam.
Laser Generation
The first laser was created in 1961 by
Theodore Maiman . He used a rod of
synthetic ruby as the lasing medium. The
crystalline structure of ruby is similar to the
one of corundum, i.e. a crystal of aluminum
oxide (Al2O3), in which the small part of
atoms of aluminum (about 0,05 %) is
replaced with ions Cr +++. Ruby rod is
illuminated by intense impulse of light,
which is generated by helical xenon
discharge lamp . The ends of ruby rod are
highly polished and silvered to serve as laser
mirrors. The impulse of light creates the
inverse population of electrons in ruby rod
and due to the presence of mirrors the laser
generation is excited. The duration of the
laser impulse is a little bit shorter than the
pump impulse of the flash lamp.