Ray Optics

It deals with one particular direction of propagation of light energy called ray and the path followed by the ray
after an optical phenomenon such as reflection or refraction.
Light:-
0
It is an electromagnetic radiation that gives us the sensation of sight. It has wavelength in the range of 3800 A –
0
7800 A . It travels with different speeds in different optical mediums. Its speed is maximum in vacuum and is
equal to 3 x 108 m/s.

Reflection of light:-
It is defined as the process of turning back or bouncing back of light into the same medium after striking an
opaque object.

In this process of reflection, almost all the characteristics of light such as wavelength, speed, frequency etc
remain same because light is there in the same optical medium. Only its phase gets changed.

Laws of reflection:
Light follows two laws while undergoing reflection of all types at all surfaces called laws of reflection which are
as follows:

First law:
It states „The incident ray (AO), reflected ray (OB) and normal to the surface at the point of incidence
(ON), all lie in the same plane‟.

1
Second law:
It states „The angle of incidence (i) is always equal to the angle of reflection (r)‟. i.e., i  r

These laws of reflection hold good for all type of reflected surfaces, i.e. for plane surfaces as well as for curved
surfaces.
In the case of normal incidence, angle of incidence = 00, therefore, angle of reflection is also = 00
i.e., in case of normal incidence, light simply gets reversed and retraces its path

Reflection is of two types: (i) regular reflection and (ii) diffused (irregular) reflection.

Regular reflection: It is produced by smooth well-polished surfaces; in this case if the incident rays are parallel,
reflected rays are also parallel.

Diffused reflection: It is produced by rough surfaces having a number of projections and cavities; in this case if
the incident rays are parallel, reflected rays are not parallel.

Reflection at a plane reflecting surface:

2
Figure shows the reflection of light at a plane reflecting surface MM1. Light ray is travelling along AO originally
and it travels along OB after reflection. ON is the normal to the reflecting surface at the point of incidence O. The
ray AO is called incident ray, ray OB is called reflected ray and ON is called normal to the reflecting surface at
the point of incidence.
Angle made by the incident ray with normal (angle AON) is called angle of incidence (i) & Angle made by the
reflected ray with normal (angle NOB) is called angle of reflection (r).

And, the angle made by the incident ray with reflecting surface is called glancing angle (900 – i).

Mirror:-

It is defined as a piece of glass with its one side silvered and other one is polished. Its silvered side acts as its
reflecting surface. i.e., reflection takes place at its silvered side.

Mirrors are mainly of two types depending upon the shape of their reflecting surface;

(i) Plane mirror

(ii) Spherical mirror

3
Object:- it is defined as the point to which light rays belong before the optical phenomenon. If the light rays
actually come from a point before the optical phenomenon, then, that point is called real object. And If the light
rays don‟t actually come from a point although they appear to meet at that point before the optical phenomenon,
then, that point is called virtual object.

When an object is placed in front of the reflecting surface of a mirror, light rays coming from the object are
incident on the reflecting surface and get reflected, these reflecting light rays either meet or appear to meet at a
point called point of image.
i.e., the point to which light rays belong after the optical phenomenon is called Image.

If these rays actually meet after the reflection from the mirror then so formed image is called real image and if
these rays do not actually meet only appear to meet then so formed image is called virtual image.

Plane mirror:-
A mirror which has plane or flat reflecting surface is called plane mirror.
Its reflecting surface forms a part of a hollow glass sphere of infinite radius, i.e., radius of curvature of a plane
mirror is infinite.

In the case of plane mirror, image formed is always virtual for a real object; erect with respect to object, same
size, laterally inverted and at the same distance behind the mirror as that the object in front of the mirror.

Figure shows the ray diagram of the mage formation of an object AB due to reflection at a plane mirror MN. Let
A‟ B‟ be the virtual & erect image formed by the mirror.

4
Now, it is clear from the ray diagram and also according to the laws of reflection that  s BCO & B / CO are

congruent using the ASA property of congruent triangles as COB  COB /  90   , BCO  B / CO  900
and CO is the common side,
Then, we have, BO = B/O

Now,  s ABO & A/ B / O are also congruent using the ASA property of congruent triangles as

AOB  A/ OB/   , BAO  B / A/ O  900 and BO = B/O, then, we have,

AO = A/O & AB = A/B/

i.e., in case of a plane mirror,

Image formed is always virtual for a real object; erect with respect to the object, same size, laterally inverted and
at the same distance behind the mirror as that the object in front of the mirror.

Spherical mirror:-
It is a mirror whose reflecting surface forms a part of a hollow glass sphere of finite radius.

If the outer surface acts as a reflecting surface, then, the spherical mirror is called convex mirror. And if the inner
surface acts as reflecting surface, then, the spherical mirror is called Concave mirror.

5
Some important terms associated to spherical mirrors:-
(i) Center of curvature:-
Centre of curvature of a spherical mirror is defined as the center of a hollow glass sphere of which reflecting
surface of the mirror forms a part.

(ii) Radius of curvature:-

Radius of curvature of a spherical mirror is defined as the radius of a hollow glass sphere of which
reflecting surface of the mirror forms a part.

(iii) Pole:-
The mid point of the reflecting surface of a mirror is called its pole.

(iv) Principal axis:-

A straight line passing through the center of curvature and pole of a mirror is called its principal axis.

(v) Aperture:-
The effective diameter of the reflecting surface of the mirror is called its aperture.

(vi) Focus:-
It is a point lying on the principal axis of a mirror where the light rays which are initially parallel to principal
axis meet or appear to meet after the reflection from the mirror.

(vii) Focal length:-

6
 The distance between the pole and focus of a mirror is called its focal length.

Laws of sign conventions:-

i. All the distances along principal axis are measured from the pole of the mirror.

ii. Distances in the direction of incident ray are taken positively whereas in the direction opposite to the
incident ray are taken negative.

iii. Heights above the principal axis are taken positive and those below the principal axis are taken
negative.

Relation between the radius of curvature and focal length of a mirror:-

Figure shows the reflection of light at the reflecting surface of a concave mirror APB having center of curvature
C and focus F.

At M,
i   r
Then, in the triangle CMF, we have
MCF  CMF   , therefore, CF  FM
Since, the aperture of the mirror is small, therefore, FM =FP
Now,
PC= (PF+FC) = (PF+FM) = 2(PF)

7
According to the laws of sign conventions, we have,
–R=2(–f)
R
f=
2
Some standard cases of reflection of light at a spherical mirror:-
(i) For concave mirror:-

(a) If the incident ray is parallel to principal axis, then, it always passes through focus after the reflection from the
mirror.

(b) If the incident ray is passing through focus, then, it always becomes parallel to principal axis after the
reflection from the mirror.

(c) If the incident ray is passing through center of curvature, then, it gets reversed after the reflection from the
mirror.

(i) For convex mirror:-

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(a) If the incident ray is parallel to principal axis, then, it appears to pass through focus after the reflection from
the mirror.

(b) If the incident ray is in the line of focus, then, it always becomes parallel to principal axis after the reflection
from the mirror.

(c) If the incident ray is in the line of center of curvature, then, it gets reversed after the reflection from the mirror.

Ray diagrams using the spherical mirrors showing the image formation of an object for all its different
positions:-

(i) Concave mirror:

(a) Object is at infinity

In this case image is obtained at focus; it is real, inverted and diminished.

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 (b) Object is at beyond C
In this case image is obtained between C and F; it is real, inverted and diminished.

(c) Object is at C
In this case image is obtained at C; it is real, inverted and of same size.

(d) Object is between C and F

In this case image is obtained beyond C; it is real, inverted and enlarged.

(e) Object is at F
In this case image is obtained at infinity; it is real, inverted and highly enlarged.

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(f) Object is between F and P
In this case image is obtained behind the mirror; it is virtual, erect and enlarged.

(ii) Convex mirror

(a) Object is at infinity

In this case image is obtained at focus; it is virtual, erect and diminished.

(b) Object is at any point other than infinity

In this case image is obtained between P and F; it is virtual, erect and diminished.

11
Mirror Formula:-
Figure shows the ray diagram of the image formation of an object AB with the help of reflection at a
concave mirror of focal length F, pole P. Let A/B/ be the real and inverted image formed by the mirror.

It is clear from the figure that the triangles PAB and PA/B/ are similar by using AAA axiom.

A/ B / PA/
Then, we have,             (i )
AB PA

Also the triangles FA/B/ and FLM are similar by using AAA axiom, and then we have,

A/ B / FA/
            (ii )
LM FL

Since ABLM is a rectangle, therefore we have AB = LM, now, from equations (i) and (ii) we have,

PA/ FA/ PA/  PF

 
PA FL FL

Since, the aperture of the mirror is small, therefore, FL  FP, then, the above equation becomes;

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PA/ PA/  PF

PA FP
1 1 1
 
PA FP PA/
Now, according to the laws of sign conventions, we have;
PA = –u, PF = – f and PA/ = – v, then, we get
1 1 1
 
u f -v
1 1 1
 
u v f
This is called mirror formula.

Linear magnification:-
Linear magnification produced by a mirror is defined as the ratio of the size of image to the size of the object.

It is denoted by m and it tells us two things about the image formed by the mirror. Its numerical value represents
the size of image as compared to that of object and its sign represents the nature of image.
hi
m
h0
From the equation (i) of the above topic of mirror formula we have
A/ B / PA/

AB PA

Now, using the laws of sign conventions, we get,

 hi  v

 h u
hi v
m 
h u

Uses of spherical mirrors :-

Concave mirror:

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 (i) It is used in search lights, motor head lights and torches.
(ii) it is also used as shaving mirror and make up mirror, dentists mirror, reflecting type telescopes and in
solar cooker as reflector.
Convex mirror:
(i) Convex mirror is used as a rear mirror and as a reflector in street lighting process.

Question for Practice:

Q1. An object is placed (i) 10cm, (ii) 5cm in front of a concave mirror of radius of curvature 15 cm. find the
position, nature and magnification of the image in each case.
Ans. [(i) = – 30 cm, (ii) = – 3, (ii) = +15 cm (iii) = 3]

Q2. If you sit in a parked car, you glance in the rear view mirror R=2 m and notice a jogger approaching. If the
jogger is running at a speed of 5 ms 1 , how fast is the image of the jogger moving when the jogger is (a) 39 m
(b) 29 m (c) 19 m (d) 9 m away?

Q3. An object 0.05 m high is placed at a distance of 0.5 m from a concave mirror of radius of curvature 0.2 m.
Find the position, nature and the size of the image formed.
Ans.[-12.5cm, real image, 1.25cm]

Q4. A square wire of side 3.0 cm is place 25 cm away from a concave mirror of focal length 10 cm. What is the
area enclosed by the image of the wire? (The centre of the wire is on the axis of the mirror, with its two sides
normal to the axis)
2
Ans. [4 cm ]

Q5. An object is kept in front of a concave mirror of focal length 15 cm. The image formed is three times the size
of the object. Calculate the two possible distances of the object from the mirror.
Ans. [(i) -20 cm. (ii) -10 cm]

Q6. When an object is placed at a distance of 60 cm from a convex spherical mirror, the magnification produced
is ½. Where the object should be placed to get a magnification of 1/3?
Ans.[– 120 cm]

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 Refraction of light:-
It is defined as process of bending of light ray from its straight line path when it travels from one
homogenous optical medium to another homogenous optical medium.
When a light ray travels from an optically rarer medium to an optically denser medium, it bends (gets deviated)
towards the normal.

And when it travels from optically denser medium to optically rarer it bends (gets deviated) away from the
normal.

In refraction of light, almost all characteristics of light such as velocity, intensity, wave length change but its
frequency remains the same.

Laws of Refraction:

There are two laws of refraction;

1. Incident ray, refracted ray and normal to the refracting surface at the point of incidence, all lie in the
same plane.

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 2. Ratio of sine of angle of incidence to sine of angle of refraction is equal to constant for a given pair of
mediums and is called refractive index of second medium (after refraction) with respect to first medium
(before refraction).
i.e.,

The constant is called refractive index of second medium with respect to first
medium (1  2 ) .

This law is also known as “Snell‟s law”.

sin i
 constant 1  2
sin r

Refractive index is fixed for a given pair of mediums; it signifies the amount of bending of light from its straight
line path when it enters from one medium to another medium. It has no unit and no dimensions because it is a
pure ratio.

According to Snell‟s law; Refractive index of second medium with respect to first medium is;

sin i v1 1
1
2   
sin r v 2  2

Where,

v1 = speed of light in first medium and v2 = speed of light in Second medium;

1 = wavelength of light in first medium and  2 = wavelength of light in second medium.

For a wave, we have

v = ʋ

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When light travels from rarer to denser, we have;

ir
 R
D  1
 VR >VD
 R  D

And when travels from denser to rarer, we have;

ir
 R
D  1
 VD  VR
 D  R

Principle of reversibility of light

It states “when a light ray (after a number of refractions and reflections) is reversed, it simply retraces
the same path in opposite direction.

Figure shows ray diagram showing the process of reversibility of light. Light ray OA after getting refracted at „A‟
goes along AB and then incident on a plane mirror M normally at B, due to its normal incidence, it gets reversed
and retraces its path in opposite direction.

17
Now, according to Snell‟s law at „A‟ (while going)

sin i R
  D              (1)
sin r

And, while returning at „A‟,

sin r D
  R              (2)
sin i

From equation (1) & (2), we obtain,

1
R D  .i.e.,
D
R
1
w g  g
w

Path followed by a light ray when passed through a glass slab

Figure shows path followed by a light ray „OA‟ when passed through a slab (glass) of thickness„t‟, it suffers
refraction twice before emerging out of the slab along BC.

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Now, according to Snell‟s law;

At A,

sin i 1
 2          (1)
sin r

And, at B,

sin r 2
 1          (2)
sin e

According to the principle of reversibility of light; we have,

1
1
2  2
1
Now, from eq n s (1) and (2),
 sin i  sin e
ie

i.e., in case of refraction through a slab, angle of incidence is always equal to angle of emergence.

 Incident ray is always parallel to emergent ray.

 Light does not deviate from its direction of propagation when passed through a slab but it gets laterally
displaced.
This lateral displacement is defined as the  distance between the incident ray produced and emergent ray.

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 In AMB,
AM
cos r 
AB
AM t
 AB              (3)
cos r cos r
Now, in ABL,
BL
sin(i  r ) 
AB
 BL  d  AB sin(i  r )
t
d  sin(i  r )
cos r

Path followed by a light ray when passed through a compound slab of two mediums:

Figure shows ray diagram showing the path followed by a light ray OA when passed through a compound slab
of two different mediums (water (2) and glass (3))

In this case light ray undergoes refraction thrice before emerging out of the slab.

Now, according to Snell‟s law,

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 sin i 1
At „A‟,  2          (1)
sin r1

sin r1 2
At „B‟,  3          (2)
sin r2

sin r2 3
At „C‟  1
sin i

In case of a slab, angle of emergence is always equal to angle of incidence.

Multiplying eqns. (1), (2) & (4)

1  1 2  23  31
1
 2 3  1
 2  31
1
3 3 1
 2 3  ( 1  1 )
1
2 3


a
g
g  a


The above expression gives relative refractive index of one medium with respect to another medium in terms of
their absolute (with respect to vacuum or air) refractive index.

Real depth and apparent depth:

When an object placed in an optically denser medium is observed or seen/noticed from an optically rarer
medium, it is seen slightly raised due to refraction of light.

i.e., its actual depth in denser medium is more than its apparent depth when seen from a rarer medium.

Figure shows ray diagram of an object „o‟ placed in a denser medium (absolute refractive index µ) when seen
from a rarer medium (vacuum or air). Due to refraction of light, it is seen at I. Then,

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According to Snell‟s law at B,

sin i D 1
 R  R
sin r D
In OAB
AB
Sini 
OB
And In IAB
AB
Sinr 
IB

OB
Now R
D 
IB

Since, aperture of eye lens is very small, therefore we get;

OB  OA and IB  IA

Then,

OA Re al depth
R
D  
IA Apparent depth

We have,

R
D  1
 OA  IA

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 Re al depth OA
IA  Apparent depth  R
R
D D

IA is the equivalent length in rarer medium corresponding to OA length in denser medium.

Real height or apparent height

When we look at an object placed in optically rarer medium from an optically denser medium, it is always seen
higher than its actual height due to refraction of light.

Figure shows ray diagram of an object „O‟ placed in rarer medium when seen from the denser medium.

In this case, virtual image formed is higher than the actual height of object O due to refraction of light,

According to Snell‟s law at „B‟,

sin i R
 D
sin r

Now, in OAB and IAB

AB AB
sini  and sin r 
OB IB
IB
then, R  D 
OB

Since, aperture of eye lens is very small, therefore, OB  OA and IB  IA

Then, we get;

23
 IA Apparant height
R
D  
OA Re al height

IA is the equivalent length in denser medium corresponding to OA length in rarer medium.

Atmospheric refraction

When Sun is about to rise or set, i.e., sun is still below the horizon and near the surface of earth, air is little
denser than the air at altitude also with respect to outer space. Refractive index of air near the surface of earth is
1.00029 w.r. to outer space. Therefore, light rays travelling from sun towards earth travel through air, which is
becoming more and more optically denser towards earth. As a result of which, light rays keep on bending
towards normal. And to an observer O standing on the surface of earth, sun appears at s/, i.e., above the
horizon. This apparent shift in the direction of sun is only 0.50 and due to this, corresponding time difference
between actual sunrise and apparent sunrise and actual sunset and apparent sunset is about 2 minutes each.

Critical angle:-

When a light ray travels from a denser medium to a rarer medium, it gets deviated away from normal and as we
further increase angle of incidence in denser medium, angle of refraction in rarer medium also increases
accordingly.

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 i'  i
r' r

And, Angle of incidence in denser medium (µ), at which angle of refraction is rarer medium (1) becomes 900, is
called critical angle (C).

Its value is fixed for a given pair of mediums. It signifies maximum angle of incidence in denser medium
for a light ray to get refracted.

At this angle, according to Snell‟s law

sin C D
 g
sin 900
1 1
 sin C  D  g  
R
D 
1
 C  sin 1  


When,  is increased, critical angle (C) gets decreased

25
 air
diamond  2.4  max imum
 C  240  min imum

Application of Critical angle:-

Area of view circle for a fish on water surface (when fish is inside the water at depth „h‟ from the surface)

Fishes can see outside the lake only through a circle on water surface above them such that, angle of incident
inside water at a point on circumference of their view circle is equal to critical angle.

Let „x‟ be the radius of view circle with center at O for a fish at depth h from the surface and A be a point on its
circumference, then,

In FOA,
x
tan c 
h
 x  h tan c          (1)

Also, we have,

1 1
sin c  
a
 
1
 tan C 
2  1
h
Then, x 
2  1

Now, area of view circle of the fish is,

26
 A  X 2
h 2
A 2
(  1)

Total internal reflection (T I R)

When angle of incidence of a light ray in denser medium is further increased beyond critical angle, it
doesn‟t refract, in fact, it gets reflected back into the same denser medium.

This phenomenon is called “Total internal reflection”

i.e., Two essential conditions, for total internal reflection to take place, are as follows;

i. Light must travel from denser medium to rarer medium.

ii. Angle of incidence in denser medium should/must be greater than the critical angle.

Total internal reflection has a wide range of applications and it also leads to optical illusions like Mirage.

Application of Total internal reflection:-

(i) Brilliance of diamonds and other precious stones

Refractive index of diamond is around 2.4 and the critical angle for diamond-air interface is around 240 only. Due
to low critical angle, light rays entering into a diamond at its one face undergo multiple total internal reflections at
other faces (because diamonds are cut so as to have large number of faces) due to angle of incidence inside the

27
diamond is greater than critical angle at most of its surfaces It results circulation of light within the diamond when
then make it shines or brilliance.

(ii) Mirage

It is an optical illusion frequently observed in deserts and also at coal-tarred roads on hot days. An object such a
tree appears inverted to an observer who then gets the impression as if his inverted image were formed by a
pool of water in there. But as he reaches there he doesn‟t find any water. This phenomenon is known as
mirage.

Due to intense heat, surface of earth becomes quit hot and temperature of air near the surface of earth becomes
high.

And temperature of different layers of air decreases as one goes up. Therefore, optical density as well as
refractive index of air increases slightly on moving up for higher layers. Thus, light rays traveling from a point of
a tree pass through air of gradually decreasing refractive index and therefore (due to refraction) keep bending
more and more away from normal and accordingly increase angle of incidence goes on increasing. At a specific
layer, when the angle of incidence goes above the critical angle, it gets reflected and due to increasing refractive
index of air, reflected ray goes on bending more and more towards the normal. Ultimately, when it reaches the
eye of observer, it appears to be coming from the point I. Hence, the inverted image of the tree is obtained which
gives the impression of reflection from a pool of water.

Totally reflecting prisms

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An isosceles right-angled glass prism having angles 450 - 900 -450 is used to deviate a ray of light through an
angle of 900 or 1800. Such prisms deviate the ray of light either through 900 or 1800 due to the phenomenon of
total internal reflection, and are therefore, called totally reflecting prisms.

For glass (a  g  1.5) , the value of critical angle is about 420. When a ray of light is incident normally on its any

refracting surface, it enters into the prism straight (i.e., un deflected) and then incident on the other face of the
prism at the angle of incidence of 450. Since the value of the angle of incidence is greater than 420, the ray of
light undergoes total internal reflection as shown in the diagrams.

(iv) Optical fibres

Optical fibres are used to transmit light from one place to another along curved path in a more effective manner.
The optical fibre consists of thousands of strands of a very fine quality glass or quartz of refractive index of about
1.7 or so. The thickness of strand is about 10–6 cm. The strands are coated with a layer of some material of
lower refractive index (about 1.5). The ends of the strands are polished and clamped firmly after aligning them
carefully.

When light is incident at a small angle at one end, it gets refracted into the strands (or fibers) and gets incident
on the interface of the fibers and the coating. The angle of incidence being greater than the critical angle, the ray
of light undergoes total internal reflections. It suffers the internal reflections again and again, till the angle of
incidence remains greater that the critical angle for the fiber material w.r.t. coating.

29
 Question for Practice:

Q1. The apparent depth of an object at the bottom of tank filled with a liquid of refractive index 1.3 is 7.7 cm.
What is the actual depth of the liquid in the tank?

Ans. [10.01cm]

Q2. A mark is made on the bottom of a beaker and a microscope is focused on it. The microscope is raised
through 1.5 cm. To what height water must be poured into the beaker to bring the mark again into focus? Given
that  for water is 4/3.

Ans. [6.0 cm]

Q3. A traveling microscope is focused on a mark made on a paper. When a slab of 1.47 cm thickness is placed
on the mark, the microscope has to be raised through 0.49 cm to focus the mark again. Calculate the refractive
index of glass.

Ans. [1.5]

Q4. In Fig. a place mirror lies at a height h above the bottom of a beaker containing water (refractive index  )
up to a height t. Find the position of the imager of the bottom formed by the mirror.

t
Ans. [Image is formed behind the mirror at a distance = h  t  ]


30
Q5. Find the value of critical angle for a material of refractive index 3 .


Ans. [ 35.3 . ]

Q6. The critical angle of incidence in a glass slab placed in air is 45 . What will be the critical angle when it is
immersed in water of refractive index 1.33?

Q7. The refractive index of water is 4/3. Obtain the value of the semi vertical angle of the cone within which the
entire outside view would be confined for a fish under water. Draw an appropriate ray diagram.


Ans. [ 48.6 ]

Refraction at spherical refracting surfaces:-

A spherical refracting surface is one which forms a part of a sphere of finite radius.

Spherical refracting surfaces are mainly of two types depending upon their shape when seen from rarer medium;

i. Concave
ii. Convex

AB (diameter of refracting surface)  aperture, P  pole, C  center of curvature, R  radius of curvature.

CP  Principal axis.

2  Refractive index of the surface.

31
1  Refractive index of the surrounding.

Refraction at a concave refracting surface when object is placed in rarer medium:

Figure shows ray diagram showing formation of image of a point object „o‟ placed in rarer medium (of
refractive index 1 ) on the principal axis of a concave refracting surface APB of refractive index 2 having
center of curvature at C and radius of curvature R. Let I be virtual image formed due to refraction at concave
refracting surface.

Then, according to Snell‟s law at M,

sin i 2
 
sin r 1

Since, aperture of the refracting surface is very small, so

sini  i and sinr  r

i μ
Then, = 2
r μ1
μ1i=μ 2 r-            (1)

If, MCP   , MIP   and MOP  

32
 then,in MOC
i     (using ext.property)
 i  

And, in MIC
r    (using ext.property)
 r  

Now, eqn – (1) becomes;

1 (   )  2 (   )
 2   1  ( 2  1 )      (2)

Since, aperture of the refracting surface is very small, therefore,

   tan  ,   tan  and   tan 

Then, from eqn – (2), we have,

2 tan   1 tan   ( 2  1 ) tan 

ML ML  ML 
 2  1   2  1             (3)
IL OL  CL 

Since, aperture of the refracting surface is very small, therefore,

 IL  IP, OL  OP and CL  CP

Then, from eqn – (3), we have,

2 1    1 
   2 
IP OP  CP 

Now, according to the laws of sign conventions,

IP = –v, OP = –u and CP = –R

33
We obtain,

2 1   1 
  2       (4)
v u  R 

Refraction at a convex refracting surface when object is placed in rarer medium

(i) Real image

Figure shows ray diagram showing formation of image of a point object „o‟ placed in rarer medium of
refractive index 1 on the principal axis of a convex refracting surface APB of refractive index 2 having C
as its centre of curvature and R as its radius of curvature. Let I be real image formed due to refraction at the
convex refracting surface.

Then, according to Snell‟s law at M

sin i 2
 
sin r 1

Since, aperture of the refracting surface is very small, therefore;

sin i  i and sin r  r

i 
Then,  2
r 1
1i  2 r              (1)
If MOP   , MCP   and MIP  
Then, in MOC
i            (ext., prop.)

34
 And , in MIC
r   
 r   
Now, from eq n  (1)
1 (   )  2 (    )
 1  2  ( 2  1 )         (2)

Since, aperture of the refracting surface is very small, therefore,

   tan  ,   tan  and   tan 

Then, from eqn – (2), we have,

1 tan   2 tan   (2  1 ) tan 

ML ML  ML 
 1  2   2  1             (3)
OL IL  CL 

Since, aperture of the refracting surface is very small, therefore,

 IL  IP, OL  OP and CL  CP

Then, from eqn – (3), we have,

1 2    1 
   2 
OP IP  CP 

35
Now, according to the laws of sign conventions,

IP = v, OP = –u and CP= R

Then, from eqnn – (3)

2 1   1 
  2         (4)
v u  R 

In the same way we can find the equation of refraction on a convex refracting surface when object is in
rarer medium and virtual image is formed, which is given by;

2 1   1 
  2 
v u  R 

This clearly confirms that the final equation of refraction at a spherical refracting surface from rarer to
denser is same for both the types of refracting surfaces irrespective of the nature of image formed.

Similarly, we can find equation of refraction at a spherical refracting surface when object is placed in
denser medium, which is given by;

1 2   2 
  1 
v u  R 

This also clearly confirms that the final equation of refraction at a spherical refracting surface from
denser to rarer is same for both the types of refracting surfaces irrespective of the nature of image
formed.

Lenses:

Lens is a homogenous transparent medium bounded with two refracting surfaces out of which at least one is
spherical.

36
A lens has two centers of curvature, two radii of curvatures and two poles, one for each of its two refracting
surfaces.

In thin Lenses,

We measure all distances along the principal axis from the mid point of line joining poles of two refracting
surfaces of lens called its “Optical Center” (C).

Focus:-

Focus of a lens is a point lying on its principal axis, where light rays which are initially parallel to principal axis,
meet or appear to come from after retraction through the lens.

A lens has two focal points.

37
Focal length:-

Focal length of a lens is defined as distance between its focus and optical centre, i.e.,

Focal length (F) = CF

Basically, we have many types of lenses out of which two types of lens are frequently used.

(i) Convex lens

It is also known as “Converging lens”

(ii) Concave lens

It is also known as “Diverging lens”.

Lens Makers Formula

(i) For convex lens:

Figure shows ray diagram of the image formation of a point object „O‟ placed on the principal axis of a
convex lens (made up of two convex refracting surfaces AP1B and AP2B with C1 and C2 as centers of
curvature) due to the refraction through the lens. Let I be the final image formed by the lens.

For the refraction at M,

38
O is the object placed in rarer medium ( 1 ) and I1 be its image in denser medium ( 2 ) , then, for this refraction,


1

2

 2  1       (i)
u V1 R1

This equation is already according to laws of sign convention; therefore, there is no need to use them again.

Now, for refraction at N,

I1 is the virtual object in denser medium (2 ) and I is its real image, then for this refraction,

2 1 ( 1  2 )
              (2)
V1 v R2

On adding equation (1) and (2), we have

39
 1 1 ( 2  1 ) ( 1  2 )
   
u v R1 R2
1 1 1 1 
 1     ( 2  1 )   
v u  R1 R2 
1 1   1 1 
      2  1  
 v u   1  R1 R2 
1 1 1 1 
     (   1)           (3)
v u  R1 R2 

2
Where,    refractive index of the material of lens with respect to surroundings.
1

RHS of the above equation is fixed for a given lens in a given surroundings for all possible values of „u‟ and
corresponding values of „v‟. We know, when the object is at “Infinity”, its image is formed at “Focus”, i.e.

u 
vF

Then, from equation – (3)

1 1   1 1 
   2  1  
F    1  R1 R 2 
1   2  1 1 
   1        (4)
F  1  R1 R 2 

Equation –(4) gives the lens maker‟s formula.

Lens Formula

(i) For Convex lens:-

Figure shows ray diagram of the image formation of an object AB, placed on the principal axis of a convex lens
of local length „F‟ due to the refraction through lens. Let A/B/ be the real image formed by the lens.

40
It is clear from the ray diagram that Triangles CAB and CA/B/ are similar (by AAA prop.)

Then, we have;

A / B/ CA /
          (1)
AB CA

Also s FCM and FA/ B/ are similar (by AAA property)

Then, we have;

A / B/ FA /
        (2)
MC CF

Since, ABMC is a rectangle, therefore,

AB=MC

Then, from equations (1) & (2)

CA / FA /

CA CF
CA /
CA /  CF
 
CA CF
1 CA /  CF
 
CA  CA /  (CF)
1 1 1
  
CA CF CA /
41
Now, according to the laws of sign convention,

CA  u
CA /   v
CF   F
1 1 1
  
u F v
1 1 1
  
v u F

Linear Magnification

Linear magnification produced by a lens is defined as ratio of height of image formed by the lens to the height of
object.

It is denoted by „m‟

hi
m=
ho

Where,

h i = Size of image,

h o = size of object

From the equation (1) of lens formula, we have,

A / B/ CA /

AB CA

According to the laws of sign convention,

h i  v h v
  i 
 h o u ho u

42
 Magnification produced by a lens,

hi v
m 
ho u

From the term magnification we get two informations about the image,

(i) Its size in comparison to the size of object. This we get from the numerical value of magnification
i.e.,

If m  1  Image is magnified

m  1  Image is of same size as that of object.

m  1  Image is diminished

(ii) Its nature (real or virtual). This we get from the sign of magnification,
i.e.,

If m = – ve

 Image is “Real”

And if m = +ve

 Image is “Virtual”

Power of a lens

Power of a lens is defined as ability of lens to converge or diverge a parallel beam of light rays. And,

Power of a lens is given by reciprocal of its focal length in meter, i.e.

1
P
F(m)

43
 or

100
P
F(cm)

Its SI unit is diopter (D) and its dimensional formula is [L-1]

If F = 1m, then,

 P= 1D

Power of lens is said to be one diopter if its focal length is one meter.

For Convex lenses,

F = + ve  P = + ve

For Concave lenses,

F = - ve  P = - ve

Combination of two thin lenses

When two thin lenses are brought in contact so that they have common principal axis,

Then, power of combination is given by,

P = P1 + P2

If „F‟ be the focal length of the combination, then,

44
 1 1 1
 
F F1 F2

If (P1 + P2) = +ve  F = +ve

 Combination acts as a converging lens

And, if (P1 + P2) = –ve  F = –ve

 Combination acts as a diverging lens

Question for Practice:

Q8. Light from a point source in air falls on a convex spherical glass surface (   1.5, radius of curvature =
20cm). The distance of light source from the glass surface is 100 cm. At what position is the image formed ?

Ans. [ +100 cm]

Q9. A mark placed on the surface of a glass sphere is viewed through glass from an oppositely directed position.
If the diameter of the sphere is 20 cm; find the position of the image. Refractive index of glass is 1.5.

Q10. A glass sphere of radius 5 102 m has a small bubble 2 102 m from its centre. The bubble is viewed
along a diameter of the sphere, from the side on which it lies. How far from the surface will it appear. Refractive
index of glass in 1.5.

Ans. [-2.5 cm]

4
Q11. An empty spherical flask of diameter 15 cm is place in water of refractive index . A parallel beam of light
3
strikes the flask. Where does it get focused, when observed from within the flask?

Ans. [ -22.5 cm]

Q12. A sunshine recorder globe of 30 cm diameter is made of glass of refractive index   1.5 . A ray enters the
globe parallel to the axis. Find the position from the centre of the sphere where the ray crosses the axis.

Ans. [+22.5 cm]

45
Q13. A parallel beam falls on a solid glass sphere at normal incidence. Prove that the distance of the image from
R (2   )
the outer edge in terms of refractive index  and radius R of sphere is
2(   1)

Q14. The radius of curvature of each face of biconcave lens, made of glass of refractive index 1.5 is 30 cm.
Calculate the focal length of the lens in air.

Ans. [-30 cm]

Q15. The radius of curvature of the faces of a double convex lens are 10 cm and 15 cm. If focal length is 12 cm,
what is the refractive index of glass ?

Ans. [1.5]

Q16. A convex lens of focal length 0.2 m and made of glass (  1.50) is immersed in water (  1.33). Find
the change in the focal length of the lens.

Ans. [0.60 m]

Q17. If the refractive index from air to glass is 3/2 and that from air to water is 4/3, find the ratio of focal lengths
of a glass lens in water and in air.

Ans. [4:1]

Q18. A double convex lens has a focal length of 25 cm in air. When it is dipped into a liquid of refractive index
4/3, its focal length is increased to 100 cm. Find the refractive index of the lens material.

Ans. [1.5]

Q19. An equiconvex lens of focal length 15 cm is cut into two equal halves as shown in Fig. 9.80. What is the
focal length of each half ?

Ans. [30 cm]

Q20. A converging lens has a focal length of 20 cm in air. It is made of a material of refractive index 1.6. If it is
immersed in a liquid of refractive index 1.3, what will be its new focal length?

Ans.[52 cm]

Q21. A lens of refractive index  becomes a lens of focal length f / when immersed in a liquid of refractive
index  / . If the focal length of the lens in air is f , prove that

46
  / (   1)
f /= f
(   / )

Q22. A lens forms a real image of an object. The distance of the object to the lens is 4 cm and the distance of
the image from the lens is v cm. The given graph shows the variation of v with u . (i) What is the nature of the
lens ? (ii) Using this graph, find the focal length of this lens.

Ans. [+10 cm]

Q23. A needle placed 45 cm from a lens forms an image on a screen placed 90 cm on the other side of the
lens,. Identify the type of the lens and determine its focal length. What is the size of image if the size of the
needle is 5.0 cm ?

Ans. [ -10 cm]

Q24. A double convex lens made of glass of refractive index 1.5 has its both surface of equal radii of curvature
of 20 cm each. An object of 5 cm height is place at a distance of 10 cm from the lens. Find the position, nature
and size of the image.

Ans. [10 cm]

Q25. An illuminated object and a screen are place 90 cm apart. What is the focal length and nature of the lens
required to produce a clear image on the screen, twice the sice of the object ?

Ans. [20 cm]

Q26. Where should an object be placed from a converging lens of focal length 20 cm, so as to obtain a real
image of magnification 2 ?

Ans. [30 cm]

47
Q27. Where should an object be placed from a converging lens of focal length 10 cm, so as to obtain a virtual
image of magnification 2 ?

Ans. [5 cm]

Q28. The image of a needle placed 45 cm from a lens is formed on a screen placed 90 cm on the other side of
the lens. Find the displacement of the image, if the object is moved by 5.0 cm away from the lens.

Ans. [15, towards the lens]

Q29. A source of light and a screen are placed 902 cm apart. Where should a convex lens of 20 cm focal length
be placed in order to form a real image of the source on the screen ?

Ans. [60 cm or 30 cm from the source]

Q30. A concave lens is placed in the path of convergent rays. The rays are focused on the axis 15 cm behind
the lens. Where would these rays have focused in the absence of the lens ? Focal length of the lens is 30 cm.

Ans. [At a distance of 10 cm behind the lens]

Q31 The radius of curvature of each surface of a convex lens of refractive index 1.5 is 40 cm. Calculate its
power.

Ans.[2.5 D]

Q32. A convex lens is made of glass of refractive index 1.5. If the radius of curvature of the each of the two
surfaces is 20 cm, find the ratio of the powers of the lens, when placed in air to its power, when immersed in a
liquid of refractive index 1.25.

Ans. [ 5D, 2D, 5:2]

Q33. (i) If f = +0.5 m, what is the power of the lens?

(ii) The radius of curvature of the faces of a double convex lens are 10 cm and 15 cm. It s focal length is 12 cm.
What is the refractive index of glass ?

(iii) A convex lens has 20 cm focal length in air. What is focal length in water ? (Refractive index of air-water =
1.33, refractive index for air-glass = 1.5]

Ans. [ (i) +2D, (ii) 1.5, (iii) +78.2]

Q34. Two thin lenses of focal lengths +10cm and -5 cm are kept in contact. What is the

(i) focal length and

(ii) power of the combination ?

48
 Ans. [ (i) -10 cm (ii) -10 D]

Q35. A converging lens of focal length 50 cm is placed coaxially in contact with another lens of unknown focal
length. If the combination behaves like a diverging lens of focal length 50 cm, find the power and nature of the
second lens.

Ans. [ -0.25 m, -4D]

Q36. Two lenses of powers +15 D and -5D are in contact with each other forming a combination lens.

(a) What is the focal length of this combination?

(b) An object of size 3 cm from this combination of lenses. Calculate the position and size of the image
formed.

Ans. [10 cm, -1.5 cm]

Q37. Two thin lenses of focal lengths 15 cm and 30 cm respectively are kept in contact with each other. What
is the power of the combined system?

Ans. [+ 10 D]

49