SPHERICAL REFLECTING SURFACES

A spherical mirror is a reflective segment of a sphere with a radius of curvature

R. It can be convex (outside surface of a sphere) or concave (inside surface).

Concave mirror
First we will consider a concave spherical mirror. The mirror has a radius R, and
the distance from the mirror to the object is p. We will draw the diagram with p
> R, but our results will hold true for any value of p. Draw two rays from the
object to the mirror: one ray passes through the mirror's center of curvature,
and therefore is perpendicular to the mirror at the incidence point and returns
directly back to the object. The other ray goes to the center of the mirror, and is
reflected symmetrically about the horizontal axis. The rays intersect, forming an
image a distance q from the mirror. The object has height h, the image has
height h'.

Figure 2.3 a concave spherical mirror

' '
h h h h
From similar triangles, = . Also from similar triangles, = . This gives
p−R R−q q p
us
'
h R−q q
= =
h p−R p

Put this over a common denominator

( R−q ) p=q ( p−R )

Rp+ Rq=2 qp

Divide by pqR
 1 1 2
+ =
p q R

Consider the behavior of this equation if the object is located very far away.
Then, all the rays come in parallel to the mirror's axis. The rays are all directed
to the point q, given by
1 1 2
lim + =
p→∞ p q R

1 2
=
q R
R
q= ≡ f
2
In terms of the focal length, our equation relating p, q and f is
1 1 1
+ =
p q f
Parallel rays are focused to a distance f = R / 2 from the mirror, known as the
focal
point. The ray diagram for parallel rays, as from a source at infinity, looks like
this:

Figure 2.4 focal point of a concave mirror

In reality, the rays don't all go exactly to the focal point, since the rays that are
far away from the axis reflect from points closer to the left than those that
come closer to the mirror's center. When an image is formed under some other
circumstances, we similarly find that the rays don't all exactly cross. The image
produced by a spherical mirror is thus somewhat blurry. This is known as
spherical aberration. If the mirror is parabolic, rather than spherical, this
problem is corrected, as a parabolic mirror has the property that all parallel rays
striking it are reflected to exactly the same point. For this reason, mirrors used
in optical instruments such as telescopes are parabolic. But for rays that come
in sufficiently close to the mirror's central axis, the performance of a spherical
mirror approaches that of a parabolic mirror. The quantity M = -h' / h = -q / p is
known as the magnification. Note that with our sign convention, both p and q
in the example above are positive, and M is negative. This means that the
image is inverted.
Example 1
Draw ray diagram, locate the image and determine magnification for an object
located a distance 3f away from a concave spherical mirror.
Solution
The case for p = 3f is somewhat similar to the one discussed above. Now that
we know about the focal point, we will draw different rays: one will reflect
through the center of the mirror, as before, but the other will start out parallel
to the mirror's axis and be reflected through the focal point, as discussed
above:

The image forms at a distance from the mirror q, which is given by,
1 1 1
+ =
p q f
1 1 1 p−f
= − =
q f p pf
p 3f 3
q= f= f= f
p−f 3 f −f 2
Thus, in this case, the distance of the image from the mirror is 3/2 = 1.5 times
the distance of the focal point, as shown in the diagram. The image is in front of
the mirror, and rays of light actually cross there, so it is a real image. The
magnification is given by
−q −f −f −1
M= = = =
p p−f 3 f −f 2
The image is therefore inverted, and half the size of the object. The location and
nature of the image and the magnification match up well with our ray diagram;
this is a useful check on the calculations.
Exercise
Draw ray diagrams, locate the images and determine magnifications for objects
located a distance f and 0.5f away from a concave spherical mirror.

Convex spherical mirrors

Convex spherical mirrors and concave spherical mirrors follow identical
mathematical equations, with one crucial distinction: the radius of curvature is
treated as negative for convex mirrors, as their center of curvature lies on the
opposite side of the mirror. This alteration results in the focal length being
negative, indicating that the focal point is also situated on the opposite side of
the mirror.
Expressed more thoroughly, the relationship between the radius of curvature
R
(R) and the focal length (f) is defined by ¿ . For convex mirrors, where R is
2
considered negative, this implies that the focal length is also negative.
To avoid repeating the geometry and derivation, let's illustrate this principle
through a couple of examples, demonstrating that the outcomes align with
expectations and established principles.

Exercise 2
Draw ray diagram, locate the image and determine magnification for an object
located a distance 2/f/ away from a convex spherical mirror.
Solution
The ray diagram looks like this (note the difference that the ray parallel to the
mirror's axis is now reflected directly away from the focal point):

From carefully drawing the diagram and tracing back the rays behind the
mirror, we expect an upright virtual image, smaller than the object and closer to
the surface of the mirror than the focal point. Writing the focal length as f = -|f |
so that it is understood to be negative, we get
1 1 −1
+ =
p q |f |
1 −1 1 − p+|f |
= − =
q |f | p p|f |
−p −2 |f | −2
q= |f |= |f |= |f |
p +|f | 2|f |+|f | 3
−2
− |f |
−q 3 1
M= = =
p 2|f | 3
Thus we indeed have an upright virtual image 1/3 the size of the object, located
a distance of 2/3|f | behind the surface of the mirror.
Exercise
Consider an object at a distance 1/2 |f | in front of a convex spherical mirror.
Draw ray diagrams, locate the images and determine magnifications for objects.

After attempting the exercises, we will notice that unlike for the concave mirror,
the character of the image for a convex mirror does not change much
depending on the distance of the object. The image always remains upright,
virtual, closer to the mirror than the focal point, and smaller than the object.
This was not the case for the convex mirror, where the type of image depended
on whether the object was closer or farther than the focal point.
The plane mirror is a special case of either the convex mirror or the concave
mirror, with R taken to infinity. This gives
1 1
+ =0
p q
q=− p
M =1
The image formed by a flat mirror is thus virtual, located at the same distance
from the mirror as the object, upright, and the same size as the object, as we
expect. Our discussion on reflecting surfaces can be summarized by filling
entries into the table below

Mirror Object Image Image Image sgn(f) sgn(M)

Type Location Locatio Type Orientati sgn(R)
n on
Plane Anywher Opposit Virtual Not NA +
e e Inverted
Concav Inside f Opposit Virtual Not + +
e e Inverted
Concav Outside f Same Real Inverted + -
e
Convex Anywher Opposit Virtual Not - +
e e Inverted

2.4 Refracting curved surfaces

When light is incident on a curved surface with radius of curvature R, it will
be refracted to form an image. The ray diagram looks something like this:
The lower ray from the object is directed towards the center of the sphere; it is
perpendicular to the surface where it is incident on it, so it is not refracted and
continues on in a straight line. The upper ray strikes the sphere at an angle
θ1and is refracted to an angle θ2 according to Snell's law: n1 sin θ1=n 2 sin θ2

2.4.1 Refraction by a thin lens

A thin lens consists of a pair of curved surfaces, which change the direction of
travel of light based on where on the surface light enters the lens. The lens acts
in much the same way as a mirror, except that light passes through the lens
rather than being reflected from it. As with the spherical surface, since light
moves through the lens, possibly creating a real image on the other side, p is
positive in the direction from which light is incident, while q is positive in the
direction where light emerges. So, if the object and the image are on opposite
sides of the lens, p and q are both positive. A perfect lens focuses parallel rays
of light towards its focal point (if it is convergent) or directly away from its focal
point (if it is divergent), as shown in the following diagrams:

If the two sides of the lens have radii of curvature R1 and R2, the focal length of
the lens is determined by the lens maker's equation:
 1
f
=
(
nL
nM )(
−1
1
−
1
R1 R 2)
Here, nLis the index of refraction of the lens while nMis the index of refraction of
the medium in which the lens is to be used (1.00 for air or vacuum). The focal
length is considered positive if the lens is convergent; this means that the rays
will be focused to a point on the opposite side of the object. It is negative if the
lens is divergent; this means that the rays will diverge from the focal point on
the same side as the object. For an ideal thin lens, the focal length describes all
its optical properties.
Once we have calculated it, we don't need to know anything else about the lens
unless we are interested in studying imperfections such as aberration.

Example
Suppose we have a converging lens with a focal length of f=10 cm and an
object is placed 20 cm away from the lens. Find the image distance and
determine whether the image is real or virtual, upright or inverted.
Solution
1 1 1
+ =
p q f
1 1 1
= −
q f p
Substituting the values

1 1 1
= −
q 10 −20
1 3
=
q 20

q=6.67 cm
Since the image distance q is positive, the image is formed on the same side as
the object, which means it's a virtual image. Also, since the image distance is
positive, the image is upright.

Example
A lens has a convex front side with a radius of curvature of 45 centimeters, and
a concave back side with a radius of curvature of 30 centimeters. It is made
from a material with an index of refraction of 1.62. What is its focal length? Is it
convergent or divergent?
Solution

f
= (
1 1.62
1.00
−1 )(1
−
1
45 cm 30 cm )
=−0.00689 cm−1
f =−145 cm
The lens is therefore divergent, with a focal length of -145cm. We could have
predicted that it would be divergent, since its divergent (back) side has a
smaller radius of curvature than the front, and is therefore more curved and
stronger than the front.

The object distance p, image distance q and focal length f are related by the
same equation as for the mirrors:
1 1 1
+ =
p q f
The only thing that is different are the sign conventions for f and q, and the fact
that the light travels through the lens rather than being reflected from it. It is
very important to note that q is positive when the image is on the opposite side
from the object, not the same side as for mirrors. This is because with
refraction, rays pass through the surface rather than being reflected, so real
images form on the opposite side.

Exercises
1. Draw a ray diagram for an object located 25 cm in front of a convergent
lens with a focal length of 60 cm. Where is the image, and what is the
magnification?
2. Do the same for a convergent lens with a focal length of 60cm, but with
the object located 100cm away.
3. An object is placed 60 cm away from a divergent lens with a focal length
of -30 cm. Locate the image, and find the magnification.