SCIENCE REVIEWER

OPTICAL INSTRUMENTS - Depends on both the focal length and the

 Analysis generally involves the laws of reflection and diameter of the lens.
refraction: realm of Geometric optics.
 To explain certain phenomena, the wave of nature light Camera, f-numbers
must be used.  The f-number of a camera is the ratio of the
focal length of the lens to its diameter.
The Camera - f-number = f/D
 The single-lens photographic camera is an - The f-number is often given as a
optical instrument. description of the lens ‘’speed’’.
 Components - A lens with a low f-number is a ‘’fast’’
- Opaque, light-tight box lens.
- Converging lens
- Produces a real image.
- Film behind the lens
- Receives the image.

Digital Camera
 Image is formed on an electric device.
 CCD – Charged-coupled device. Controlling the Exposure
 CMOS - Complementary metal-oxide  The amount of light passing through the
semiconductor lens is controlled by an adjustable aperture,
shown in the photos.
 Both convert the image into digital form.
 The aperture sets the effective diameter D
 The image can be stored in the camera’s
of the lens.
memory.
 The light-gathering ability of a lens is
Camera Operation specified by its f-number, defined as
 Proper focusing leads to sharp images.
-The lens-to-film distance will depend on the
object distance and on the focal length of the  The light intensity on the detector is related
lens. to the lens’s f-number by
 The shutter is a mechanical device that is
opened for selected time intervals.
 Most cameras have an aperture of
adjustable diameter to further control the
intensity of the light reaching the film.
- With a small-diameter aperture, only light
from the central portion reaches the film,
and spherical aberration is minimized.

Camera, f-numbers, Cont.

Camera Operation, Intensity]
 Light intensity is a measure of the rate at
which energy is received by the film per unit
area of the image.
- The intensity of the light reaching the film is
proportional to the area of the lens.
 The brightness of the image formed on the
film depends on the light intensity.
 Increasing the setting from one f-number to
the next higher value decreases the area of
the aperture by a factor of 2.
 The lowest f-number setting on a camera
corresponds to the eperture wide open and
the maximum possible lens area in use
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Depth of Field
 The DOF is the distance you could move the
object toward or away from the camera
without having to re-focus:
The Eye
 The normal eye focuses light and produces
a sharp image.
 Essential parts of the eye
- Cornea - Light passes through its
transparent structure.
- Aqueous Humor – Clear liquid behind
the cornea.
The Eye – Parts, Cont.
 The pupil
- A variable aperture
- An opening in the iris
 The crystalline lens
 Most of the refraction takes place at the
outer surface of the eye.
- Where the cornea is covered with a film
of tears.
The Eyes – Parts, Final
 The iris is the colored proportion of the eye.
- It is a muscular diaphragm that controls
pupil size.
- The iris regulates the amount of light
entering the eye by dilating the pupil in
low light conditions and contracting the
pupil in high-light conditions.
- The f-number of the eye is from about
2.8 to 16.
The Eye – Operation
 The cornea-lens system focuses light onto
the back surface of the eye.
- This back surface is called the Retina.
- The retina contains receptors called
rods and cones.
- These structures send impulses via the
optic nerve to the brain.
- The brain converts these impulses into
our conscious view of the world.
The Eye – Operation, Cont.
 Rods and Cones
- Chemically adjust their sensitivity
according to the prevailing light
conditions
- The adjustment takes about 15
minutes.
- This phenomena is ‘’getting used to the
dark’’.
 Accommodation
- The eye focuses on an object by varying
the shape of the crystalline lens through
this process.
- An important component is the ciliary
muscle which is situated in a circle
around the rim of the lens.
- Thin filaments, called zonules, run from
this muscle to the edge of the lens.
The Eye - Focusing
 The eye can focus on distant. Object
- The ciliary muscle is relaxed.
- The zonules tighten.
- This causes the lens to flatten,
increasing its focal length.
- For an object at infinity, the focal length
of the eye is equal to the fixed distance
between lens and retina.
- This about 1.7 cm
The Eye – Focusing, Cont.
 The eye can focus on near objects.
- The ciliary muscle tense.
- This relaxes the zonules.
- The lens bulges a bit and the focal
length decreases.
- The image is focused on the retina.
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The Eye – Near and Far Points Correcting Farsightedness
 The near point is the closest distance for
which the lens can accommodate to focus
light on the retina.
- Typically, at age 10, this is about 18 cm.
- Average is about 25 cm.
- It increases with age, to 500 cm or more
at age 60.
 The far point of the eye represents the
largest distance for which the lens of the
relaxed eye can focus light on the retina.  A converging lens placed in front of the eye
- Normal vision has a far point of infinity. can correct the condition.
-  The lens refracts the incoming rays more
Conditions of the Eye toward the principle axis before entering
 Eyes may suffer a mismatch between the the eye.
focusing power of the lens-cornea system - This allows the rays to converge and focus
and the length of the eye. on the retina.
 Eyes may be
 Farsighted – Light rays reach the retina before
they converge to form an image.
 Nearsighted – Person can focus on nearby Nearsightedness
objects but not those far away

Eye Conditions
 Normal vision occurs when light is focused
directly on the retina rather than in front
or behind it
 Nearsightedness: visual image is focused
in front of the retina
 Farsightedness: visual image is focused  Also called Myopia.
behind the retina  In axial myopia: the lens is too far from the
retina.
Farsightedness  In refractive myopia: The lens-cornea
system is too powerful.

Correcting Nearsightedness

 Also called Hyperopia.

 The image focuses behind the retina.
 Can usually see far away objects clearly, but
not nearby objects.
 A diverging lens can be used to correct the
condition.
 The lens refracts the rays away from the
principle axis before they enter the eye
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Simple Magnifier
 A simple magnifier consists of a single
converging lens.
 This device is used to increase the apparent
size of an object.
 The size of an image formed on the retina
depends on the angle subtended by the
eye.
The Size of a Magnified Image
 When an object is placed at the near point,
the angle subtended is maximum.
- The near point is about 25 cm.
 When the object is placed near the focal
point of a converging lens, the lens forms a
virtual, upright, and enlarged image.
Angular Magnification
 Angular magnification is defined as
 The angular magnification is at a maximum
when the image formed by the lens is at the
near point of the eye.
- q = - 25 cm
- Calculated by
Magnification by a Lens
 With a single lens, it is possible to achieve
angular magnification up to about 4 without
serious aberrations.
 With multiple lenses, magnifications of up
to about 20 can be achieved.
- The multiple lenses can correct for
aberrations.
Compound Microscope
 A compound microscope consists of two
lenses.
- Gives greater magnification.
- The objective lens has a short focal
length f <1 cm.
- The ocular lens (eyepiece) has a focal
length, f of a few cm.
Compound Microscope, Cont.
 The lenses are separated by a distance L.
- L is much greater than either focal
length.
 The approach to analysis is the same as for
any two lenses in a row.
- The image formed by the first lens
becomes the object for the second lens.
 The image seen the by the eye, I, is visual,
inverted and very much enlarged.
Magnifications of the Compound Microscope
 The lateral magnification of the microscope
is
 The angular magnification of the eyepiece
of the microscope is
 The overall magnification of the microscope
is the product of the individual
magnifications
Telescopes
 Two fundamental types of telescopes
- Refracting telescope uses a
combination of lenses to form an
image.
- Reflecting telescope uses a curved
mirror and a lens to form an image.
 Telescopes can be analyzed by considering
them to be two optical elements in a row.
- The image of the first element becomes
the object of the second element.
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Refracting Telescope
 The two lenses are arranged so that the
objective forms a real, inverted image of a
distant object.
 The image is near the focal point of the
eyepiece.
 The two lenses are separated by the
distance fO + fE which corresponds to the
length of the tube.
 The eyepiece forms an enlarged, inverted
image of the first image.
Angular Magnification of Telescope
 The angular magnification depends on the
focal lengths of the objective and eyepiece.
 Angular magnification is particularly
important for observing nearby objects.
- Very distant objects still appear as small
point of light.
Disadvantages of Refracting Telescopes
 Large diameters are needed to study distant
objects.
 Large lenses are difficult and expensive to
manufacture.
 The weight of large lenses leads to sagging
which produces aberrations.
Reflecting Telescope
 Helps overcome some of the disadvantages
of refracting telescope.
- Replaces the objective lens with a
mirror.
- The mirror is often parabolic to
overcome spherical aberrations.
 In addition, the light never passes through
glass.
- Except the eyepiece
- Reduced chromatic aberrations.
Reflecting Telescope, Newtonian Focus
 The incoming rays are reflected from the
mirror and converge toward point A.
- At A, a photographic plate or other
detector could be placed.
 A small flat mirror, M, reflects the light
toward an opening in the side and passes
into an eyepiece.
Examples of Telescopes
 Reflecting Telescopes
- Largest in the world are 10 m diameter
keck telescopes on Mauna Kea in
Hawaii.
- Largest single mirror in US is 5 m
diameter instrument on Mount Palomar
in California.
 Refracting Telescopes
- Largest in the world is Yerkes
Observatory in WIsconsin
- Has a 1 m diameter.
The Hubble Space Telescope
 D = 2.4-meter observe in the near UV,
visible, near IR spectra
 Enables us to see deep into space
The RadioAstron, ‘’biggest-ever’’ telescope
 A Russian orbital D = 10-meter parabolic
 Collecting data on clouds of water
molecules found in the discs of galaxies
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Resolution Barely Resolved (Left) and Not Resolved (Right)
 The ability of an optical system to
distinguish between closely spaced objects
is limited due to the wave nature of light.
 If two sources of light are close together,
they can be treated as non-coherent
sources.
 Because of diffraction, the images consist of
bright central regions flanked by weaker
bright and dark rings.

Rayleigh’s Criterion
 If the two sources are separated so that
their central maxima do not overlap, their
images are said to be resolved.
 The limiting condition for resolution is
Reyleigh’s Criterion. Resolution with Circular Apertures
- When the central maximum of one  The diffraction pattern of a circular aperture
image falls on the first minimum of consists of a central, circular bright region
another image, they images are said to surrounded by progressively fainter rings.
be just resolved.  The limiting angle of resolution depends on
- The images are just resolved, when the diameter, D. of the aperture.
their angular separation satisfies
Rayleigh’s criterion.

Just Resolved
 If viewed through a slit of width a, and
applying Rayleigh’s criterion, the limiting
angle of resolution is
 For the images to be resolved, the angle
subtended by the two sources at the slit
must be greater than 0
Resolving Power of a Diffraction Grating
 If λ1 and λ2 are nearly equal wavelengths
between which the grating spectrometer
can just barely distinguish, the resolving
power, R, of the grating is
 A grating with a high resolving power can
distinguish small differences in
wavelength.

Resolving Power of a Diffraction Grating,

Cont.
 The resolving power increases with other
number.
- R = Nm
- N is the number of lines illuminated.
- M is the order number
 All wavelengths are indistinguishable for the
zeroth order maximum.
- m = o so R = o
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Michelson Interferometer
 The Michelson Interferometer is an optical
instrument that has great scientific
importance.
 It splits a beam of light into two parts and
then recombines them to form an
interference pattern.
- It is used to make accurate length
measurements.

Michelson Interferometer; Schematic

 A beam of light provided by a
monochromatic source is split into two rays
by a partially silvered mirror M.
 one way is reflected to M1 and the other
transmitted to M2.
 after reflecting, the rays combined to form
an interference pattern.
 the glass plate ensures both rays travel the
same distance through glass.

Measurements with a Michelson

Interferometer
 The interference pattern for the two rays is
determined by the difference in their path
lengths.
 When M is moved a distance of λ/4,
successive light and dark fringes are
formed.
- this change in the fringe from light to
dark is called fringe shift.
 The wavelength can be measured by
counting the number of fringe shifts for
a measured displacement of M.
 If the wavelength is accurately known,
the mirror displacement can be
determined to within a fraction of the
wavelength.