Faculty Of Medical laboratory sciences
First Year
semester1
Physics
Faculty Of Medicine
First Year
semester1
Physics &Math
Lecture 4
optics
Light and Optics
Light and Color
• Reflection and Refraction
• Mirrors, Lenses, and Images
Objectives
1. Describe the functions of convex and concave lenses, a
prism, and a flat mirror.
2. Describe how light rays form an image.
3. Calculate the angles of reflection and refraction for a single
light ray.
4. Draw the ray diagram for a lens and a mirror showing the
object and image.
5. Describe the difference between a real image and a virtual
image and give an example of each.
Vocabulary Terms
lens index of refraction magnifying glass
mirror focal point spherical
prism focal length reflection
optics optical axis diffraction
geometric optics light ray telescope
specular critical angle focus
reflection Snell’s law total internal
diffuse real image reflection
converging virtual image resolution
diverging refraction
focal plane
law of reflection fiber optics
thin lens formula
normal line dispersion
ray diagram
magnification
object
Reflection and Refraction
• Key Question:
How do we describe
the reflection and
refraction of light?
Reflection and Refraction
• The overall study of how light behaves is called optics.
• The branch of optics that focuses on the creation of images is
called geometric optics, because it is based on relationships
between angles and lines that describe light rays.
Reflection and Refraction
• A lens is an optical device
that is used to bend light in a
specific way.
• A converging lens bends
light so that the light rays
come together to a point.
• A diverging lens bends light
so it spreads light apart
instead of coming together.
Reflection and Refraction
• Mirrors reflect light and allow us to see ourselves.
• A prism is another optical device that can cause light to change
directions.
• A prism is a solid piece of glass with flat polished surfaces.
Reflection
• Images appear in
mirrors because of how
light is reflected by
mirrors.
• The incident ray follows
the light falling onto
the mirror.
• The reflected ray
follows the light
bouncing off the mirror.
Reflection
• In specular reflection each incident ray
bounces off in a single direction.
• A surface that is not shiny creates diffuse
reflection.
• In diffuse reflection, a single ray of light
scatters into many directions.
Law of Reflection
The incident ray
strikes the mirror.
The reflected ray
bounces off.
The angle of
incidence equals
the angle of
reflection.
Law of reflection
30o 30o
• A light ray is incident on a plane mirror with a
30 degree angle of incidence.
• Sketch the incident and reflected rays and
determine the angle of reflection.
Refraction
• Light rays may bend as they
cross a boundary from one
material to another, like
from air to water.
• This bending of light rays is
known as refraction.
• The light rays from the
straw are refracted (or
bent) when they cross from
water back into air before
reaching your eyes.
Refraction
When a ray of light crosses from one material to
another, the amount it bends depends on the
difference in index of refraction between the
two materials.
Index of refraction
The ability of a material to bend rays of
light is described by the index of
refraction (n).
Snell's law of refraction
• Snell’s law is the relationship between the
angles of incidence and refraction and the
index of refraction of both materials.
Angle of refraction
Angle of incidence
(degrees)
(degrees)
ni sin Qi = nr sin Qr
Index of
refraction of Index of
incident refraction of
material refractive
material
Calculate the angle of
refraction
• A ray of light
traveling through air
is incident on a
smooth surface of
water at an angle of
30° to the normal.
• Calculate the angle of
refraction for the ray
as it enters the water.
Dispersion and prisms
• When white light passes through a glass
prism, blue is bent more than red.
• Colors between blue and red are bent
proportional to their position in the spectrum.
Dispersion and prisms
• The variation in
refractive index with
color is called dispersion.
• A rainbow is an example
of dispersion in nature.
• Tiny rain droplets act as
prisms separating the
colors in the white light
rays from the sun.
Mirrors, Lenses, and
Images
Key Question:
How does a lens or
mirror form an
image?
Mirrors, Lenses, and Images
We see a world of images created on the retina
of the eye by the lens in the front of the eye.
Mirrors, Lenses, and Images
• Objects are real
physical things that
give off or reflect
light rays.
• Images are
“pictures” of objects
that are formed in
space where light
rays meet.
Mirrors, Lenses, and Images
• The most common image we see
• every day is our own reflection in a mirror.
• The image in a mirror is called a virtual image
because the light rays do not actually come
together.
The virtual image
in a flat mirror is
created by the eye
and brain.
Mirrors, Lenses, and Images
• Light rays that enter a converging lens
parallel to its axis bend to meet at a point called
the focal point.
• The distance from the center of the lens to the
focal point is called the focal length.
• The optical axis usually goes through the
center of the lens.
The image formed by a
lens
• A lens can form a virtual image just as
a mirror does.
• Rays from the same point on an object are bent
by the lens so that they appear to come from a
much larger object.
The image formed by a lens
• A converging lens can also form a real image.
• In a real image, light rays from the object
actually come back together.
Drawing ray diagrams
• A ray diagram is the best way to understand
what type of image is formed by a lens, and
whether the image is magnified or inverted.
• These three rays follow the rules for how light
rays are bent by the lens:
1. A light ray passing through the center of the
lens is not deflected at all (A).
2. A light ray parallel to the axis passes through
the far focal point (B).
3. A light ray passing through the near focal
point emerges parallel to the axis (C).
