Physics

Chapter 4

Optics and Illumination

 What is Light?

• In the late 1600’s Newton explained many of the properties of light by

assuming it was made of particles.

• In 1678 Christian Huygens argued that light was a pulse traveling

through a medium, or as we would say, a wave.
In 1803 Thomas Young’s double slit experiment showed that, much like
water waves, light diffracts and produces an interference pattern.
Light must be
waves!

=2dsin
 (E.M) Electromagnetic waves : LIGHT AS WAVES
(E.M) waves : are oscillations of electric (E) and magnetic (B) fields
moving together and propagating through space carrying (E.M)
radiant energy .

c
=

LIGHT AS WAVES

Sodium vapor lamps are sometimes used for

public lighting. They give off a yellowish light
with wavelength of 589 nm. What is the
frequency of this radiation?

c
=

3.00108 m /s
=
58910−9 m

= 5.091014 s−1 = 5.091014 Hz

FREQUENCIES AND WAVELENGTHS OF LIGHT
• Since color is related to energy, there is a direct
relationship between color (energy) and frequency and an
inverse relationship between color (energy) and
wavelength.
ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVE SPEED

• All electromagnetic waves travel at the same speed in a

vacuum, the speed of light—3 × 108 m/s.
 SPECTRUM OF EM RADIATION
Group of (E.M) waves differed from each other by their frequencies , energies ,& wavelengths

The wave of highest frequency (f) , has highest energy (E) , and shortest wavelength (λ)
 DUAL PROPERTIES OF LIGHT:
(1) WAVES AND (2) PARTICLES
• Light is an electromagnetic radiation wave, e.g, Young’s double
slit experiment
• Light is also a particle-like packet of energy - photon
• Light particle is called photon
• The energy of photon is related to the wavelength of light
• Light has a dual personality; it behaves as a stream of
particle like photons, but each photon has wavelike
properties
 Dual properties of Light: Planck’s Law
• Planck’s law relates the energy of a photon to its
wavelength or frequency
• E = energy of a photon
• h = Planck’s constant
= 6.625 x 10–34 J s
• c = speed of light
• λ= wavelength of light
• Energy of photon is inversely proportional to
the wavelength of light
• Example: 633-nm red-light photon
E = 3.14 x 10–19 J
or E = 1.96 eV
eV: electron volt, a small energy unit = 1.602 x
10–19 J
 REFLECTION
Most things we see are thanks to reflections, since most objects don’t produce their own
visible light.
Much of the light incident on an object is absorbed but some is reflected. the
wavelengths of the reflected light determine the colors we see. When white light hits an
apple, for instance, primarily red wavelengths are reflected, while much of the others
are absorbed.
The law of reflection states that the angle of incidence is always equal to the angle of
reflection.
DIFFUSE REFLECTION
• Diffuse reflection is when light bounces off a non-smooth surface.
Each ray of light still obeys the law of reflection, but because the surface
is not smooth, the normal can point in a different for every ray.
• If many light rays strike a non-smooth surface, they could be reflected in
many different directions. This explains how we can see objects even
when it seems the light shining upon it should not reflect in the direction
of our eyes. It also helps to explain glare on wet roads: Water fills in and
smooths out the rough road surface so that the road becomes more like a
mirror.
 REFLECTION & REFRACTION
• At an interface between two media, both reflection and refraction can occur.
The angles of incidence, reflection, and refraction are all measured with respect
to the normal. The angles of incidence and reflection are always the same.
• If light speeds up upon entering a new medium, the angle of refraction, r, will
be greater than the angle of incidence, as depicted on the left. If the light slows
down in the new medium, r will be less than the angle of incidence, as shown
on the right.
 INDEX OF REFRACTION, N
The index of refraction of a substance is the ratio of the speed of light in a
vacuum to the speed of light in that substance:
𝐜
𝐧=
𝐯
n = Index of Refraction
c = Speed of light in vacuum
v = Speed of light in medium

Note that a large index of refraction

corresponds to a relatively slow
light speed in that medium.
SNELL’S LAW

Snell’s law states that a ray of light bends in

such a way that the ratio of the sine of the
angle of incidence to the sine of the angle of
refraction is constant. Mathematically,

ni sin i = nr sinr
Here ni is the index of refraction in the original
medium and nr is the index in the medium the
light enters.  i and r are the angles of
incidence and refraction, respectively.

Willebrord
Snell
REAL VS. VIRTUAL IMAGES
Real images are formed by mirrors or lenses when light rays
actually converge and pass through the image. Real images will be
located in front of the mirror forming them. A real image can be
projected onto a piece of paper or a screen. If photographic film
were placed here, a photo could be created.

Virtual images occur where light rays only appear to have

originated. For example, sometimes rays appear to be coming from
a point behind the mirror. Virtual images can’t be projected on
paper, screens, or film since the light rays do not really converge
there.
PLANE MIRROR

Rays emanating from an object at point P strike

the mirror and are reflected with equal angles of
incidence and reflection. After reflection, the rays
continue to spread. If we extend the rays backward
behind the mirror, they will intersect at point P’,
which is the image of point P.
CONCAVE MIRRORS
• Concave mirrors are approximately spherical and have a principal axis that
goes through the center, C, of the imagined sphere and ends at the point at the
center of the mirror, A. The principal axis is perpendicular to the surface of
the mirror at A.
• CA is the radius of the sphere, or the radius of
curvature of the mirror, R .
• Halfway between C and A is the focal point of
the mirror, F. This is the point where rays
parallel to the principal axis will converge when
reflected off the mirror.
• The length of FA is the focal length, f.
• The focal length is half of the radius of the
sphere (proven on next slide).
FOCUSING LIGHT WITH CONCAVE MIRRORS

Light rays parallel to the principal axis will be

reflected through the focus (disregarding spherical
aberration)

In reverse, light rays passing through the

focus will be reflected parallel to the
principal axis, as in a flood light.

Concave mirrors can form both real and virtual images, depending on
where the object is located.
CONVEX MIRRORS

• A convex mirror has the same basic

properties as a concave mirror but its
focus and center are located behind the
mirror.
• This means a convex mirror has a
negative focal length (used later in the
mirror equation).
• Light rays reflected from convex
mirrors always diverge, so only virtual
images will be formed.
MIRROR SIGN CONVENTION
f = focal length
1 1 1
di = image distance
f = di + do
do = object distance

+ for real image

di
- for virtual image

+ for concave mirrors

f
- for convex mirrors
MAGNIFICATION
hi
By definition, m =
ho
m = magnification
hi = image height (negative means inverted)
ho = object height

Magnification is simply the ratio of image height

to object height. A positive magnification means
an upright image.
LENSES
• Lenses are made of transparent Convex (Converging)
materials, like glass or plastic, that Lens
typically have an index of refraction
greater than that of air. Each of a lens’
two faces is part of a sphere and can be
convex or concave (or one face may be
flat).
• If a lens is thicker at the center than the Concave (Diverging)
edges, it is a convex, or converging, lens Lens
since parallel rays will be converged to
meet at the focus. A lens which is
thinner in the center than the edges is a
concave, or diverging, lens since rays
going through it will be spread out.
Focusing of light at focal point (F)
 Focal length (f)
Is the distance from the focal point of
the lens to its center .
(+f) indicates that lens converges light,
(-f) indicates that lens diverges light.

𝟏 𝟏 𝟏
= +
𝒇 𝒗 𝒖
v = distance between object and center
of lens
u = distance between image and center
of lens