LIGHT AND
OPTICS
⮚ Something that makes vision possible
⮚ electromagnetic radiation of any wavelength that
travels in a vacuum with a speed of about 186,281 miles
(300,000 kilometers) per second
⮚ Light travels almost a million times faster than sound.
⮚ Luminous Objects — emit light from within
⮚ Illuminated Objects — reflect externally supplied light
The sun The stars
The moon Electric lights
Fires and flames
◼ Light travels in straight lines
◼ Light can be reflected.
◼ Light can bend.
◼ Light is a form of energy.
◼ Light can be refracted.
◼ Light travels almost unimaginably fast and far.
◼ Light carries energy and information.
◼ Light bounces and bends when it comes in contact
with objects.
◼ Light has color.
◼ Light has different intensities, it can be bright or dim.
When light strikes
objects, it behaves in
different ways
depending on the type of
material each object is
made of.
▪ Transparent materials, such as glass or
clear plastic, can transmit light, meaning
light travels straight through them.
▪ Translucent materials allow some, but not
all, light to pass through.
▪ Opaque materials do not allow any light to
pass through them.
▪ They absorb or reflect the light that hits
them.
▪ Pencils and other opaque objects are non-
luminous, meaning they don’t produce light.
▪ A light source is luminous; it produces light.
⮚ Refraction is the bending of light
⮚ When the light passes from one
medium to another.
Bending or change in
direction of a light beam
that occurs at the surface
of a substance or object.
Types of Reflection
▪ Regular reflection occurs when
light rays hit a smooth surface.
▪ Regular reflection produces a clear
image but your eyes must be in the
direct path of the reflected rays in order
to see the reflected image.
▪ When light rays strike a
rough or uneven surface,
diffuse reflection occurs.
◼ Concave Mirrors
▪ A concave mirror has a surface that curves inward like a bowl.
▪ However, when parallel light rays approach a curved surface and strike at different points
on the curve, each ray will reflect at a slightly different direction.
▪ These rays all head to a common point, called the focal point.
▪ As you can see from Figure 1, concave mirrors are good at collecting light and
bringing it to a single point.
Concave Mirrors
Concave mirrors
magnify objects in
focus. They're used
for shaving or
applying makeup
because they reflect
'real,' almost 3-
dimensional images.
◼ Convex mirrors
▪ A mirror with a surface curved
outward is called a convex mirror.
▪ As you might expect, it does the
opposite of a concave mirror.
▪ It spreads out the light rays.
▪ If you look in a convex mirror, it
appears as if the image is
originating from a smaller point
behind the mirror.
Convex Mirrors
Curves outward
Reduces images
Virtual images
Use: Rear view mirrors, store
security…
CAUTION! Objects are closer than they
appear!
Convex Mirror
⮚ 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.
◼ Light bends when it leaves water.
◼ When a light ray strikes a boundary where
two different substances meet (often referred
to as the interface) at an angle, it will change
direction.
Refraction
You are standing on the shore of a lake. You spot a tasty fish swimming some
distance below the lake surface. (a) If you want to spear the fish, should you aim
the spear (i) above, (ii) below, or (iii) directly at the apparent position of the fish?
(b) If instead you use a high-power laser to simultaneously kill and cook the fish,
should you aim the laser (i) above, (ii) below, or (iii) directly at the apparent
position of the fish?
(a) (ii) As shown in the figure, light rays coming from the fish bend away
from the normal when they pass from the water 1n=1.332 into the
air 1n=1.002. As a result, the fish appears to be higher in the water
than it actually is. Hence you should aim a spear below the
apparent position of the fish.
(b) (iii) If you use a laser beam, you should aim at the apparent position
of the fish: The beam of laser light takes the same path from you to
the fish as ordinary light takes from the fish to you (though in the
opposite direction).
Refraction…….
Light also goes through some things
glass, water, eyeball, air
The presence of material slows light’s progress
interactions with electrical properties of atoms
The “light slowing factor” is called the index of
refraction
glass has n = 1.52, meaning that light travels about 1.5
times slower in glass than in vacuum
water has n = 1.33
air has n = 1.00028
vacuum is n = 1.00000 (speed of light at full capacity)
Refraction…….
◼ A LENS is a piece of curved glass
or other transparent material.
◼ Concave Lenses
▪ A concave lens is thinner in the centre
than at the edges.
▪ As parallel rays pass through a concave Concave Lenses Are for the Nearsighted, Convex
for the Farsighted.
lens, they are refracted away from the
centre of the lens.
◼ Convex Lenses
▪ A convex lens curves outward and is
thicker in the middle than at the
edges.
▪ As parallel light rays travel through
a convex lens, they are refracted
toward the centre of the lens.
▪ So as light passes through a convex
lens, the rays move toward each other.
Refractive Index…
Ratio of the velocity of light in a material
compared to the speed of light in a vacuum.
The higher the RI, the lower the velocity of
light through the media.
REFRACTION example problems
1. What is the speed of light in
chloroform (n = 1.51)?
REFRACTION example problems
1. What is the speed of
light in
chloroform (n = 1.51)?
An optical device is any technology that uses light. An
optical device can be as simple as a mirror, or as
complex as the Hubble Space Telescope.
Microscopes
Hans and Zacharias Jansen of the Netherlands first built
a microscope in about 1595.
The first microscopes might have been very simple in
design, but they led to incredible discoveries.
Microscopes
• Up until then, people had no idea there were organisms so small you couldn’t see
them.
• The invention of the microscope led to a whole new branch of science:
microbiology.
• Microbiology is the study of micro-organisms.
• All microscopes allow you to see great detail by combining the power of at least two
lenses.
• Microscope designs have improved greatly, but they all use the same basic
principle.
Telescopes
▪Even though people used single lenses to get a
slightly closer look at the stars, it was the invention
of the telescope that revolutionized astronomy.
▪ The first telescope was made in the Netherlands
in the late 17th century.
▪ Telescopes both magnify and collect light.
Telescope
Types of Telescopes
Refracting Telescopes
Refracting telescopes have two lenses, one on each end of a long
tube.
The larger lens is the objective lens that gathers light and
focuses the rays toward the eyepiece, which in turn allows
you to see the object larger than it appears with the unaided
eye.
Reflecting Telescopes
Reflecting telescopes use a large circular mirror that curves
inward.
This curved surface gathers light extremely well. Another
mirror inside the telescope directs light to the eyepiece,
which leads to your eye.
Refracting telescope
Reflecting telescope
◼ Binoculars
▪ They are simply two short refracting telescopes
fixed together.
▪ Binoculars are not as powerful as telescopes but
they are much more convenient.
◼ Light Interactions
▪ Light tends to travel straight, but will bounce and
bend predictably when it strikes various
substances.
Binoculars
