ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES - the vertical distance between

the tip and the crest and the wave’s

 Electromagnetic Radiation central axis.
- one of the many ways that
energy travels through space.  Wavelength
- the horizontal distance
FORMS OF between two consecutive troughs
ELECTROMAGNETIC or crests.
RADIATION
- heat from a burning fire
- light from the sun
- x-rays used by your
doctor
- energy used to cook food in
a microwave
 Waves
- disturbances in a particular
physical medium or a field, resulting  Wave’s Frequency
in a vibration or oscillation. - the number of full wavelengths
that pass by a given point in space
 Electromagnetic Waves every second.
- are distinct that they actually
consist of two waves oscillating - the SI unit is Hertz (Hz), which is
perpendicular to one another. equivalent to “per seconds” (1/s or
−1
s )
THE TWO WAVES
- Oscillating Magnetic
- wavelength and frequency are
Field
inversely proportional, that is the
- Oscillating Electric Field
shorter the wavelength, the higher
the frequency, and vice versa

c= 𐡢v
c- speed of light (constant: 3.00 x
10 m/s)

𐡢- the wavelength, also known

as the Greek lambda (m)

v or f- the frequency, also know

as the Greek nu (Hz)
 BASIC PROPERTIES OF WAVES:
AMPLITUDE, WAVELENGTH, AND
NOTE: All electromagnetic
FREQUENCY
radiation, regardless of wavelength
A wavelength has a trough (lowest point) and or frequency, travels at the speed of
a crest (highest point) light.

 Amplitude  Period
 - the length of time it takes for
one wavelength to pass by a given
point in space.
-the reciprocal of wave’s
frequency.
T=1/f
- the units of period are second
 Electromagnetic waves can be
classified and arranged according to
their various wavelengths/
frequencies; this classification is
known as ELECTROMAGNETIC
SPECTRUM.
 Electromagnetic Spectrum
- consists of all the types of
electromagnetic radiation that exist
in our universe.
 Visible Spectrum
-light that we can see with our
eyes.
-makes up only a small fraction
of the different types of radiation
that exist.
 Ultraviolet (UV) rays, x-rays, and
gamma rays
-these types of radiation are
harmful to living organisms; due to
their extremely high frequencies.
 QUANTIZATION OF ENERGY AND THE
DUAL NATURE OF LIGHT
 Christian Huygens
- Dutch physicist first
described the wave nature
of light as far back as the
late 17th century.
 Max Planck
- he began studying
blackbodies-bodies heated
until they began to glow in
1900.
- found that
electromagnetic radiation
emitted by blackbodies
could not be explained by
classical physics, which
postulated that matter
could absorb or emit any
quantity or electromagnetic
radiation.
 Photon
- is the elementary particle, or
quantum of light.
E= hv
WHERE: E- is the energy of the
photon absorbed or emitted
(Joules, J)
h- is Planck’s constant (
−34
6.626 x 10 J.s)
v- is frequency of the
photon (Hz)
SNELL’S LAW AND DISPERSION
OF LIGHT
 Refraction
- the bending of path of a light
wave as it passes across the
boundary separating two media
- caused by the change in speed
experienced by a wave when it
changes medium.
- depends on the media through
which the light rays are travelling.
 Snell’s Law
 - discovered by Willebrord Snell
in 1621
- gives the degree of refraction
and relation between the angle of
incidence, the angle of refraction
and refractive indices of a given pair
of media.
- predicts the degree of the bend.
It is also known as the Law of
Refraction
- defined as The ratio of the sine
of the angle of incidence to the sine
of the angle of refraction is a
constant, for the light of a given
color and for the given pair of
media
sin i
=¿
sin r
 Where i is the angle of incidence and
r is the angle of refraction.
This constant value is called the
refractive index of the second
medium with respect to the first.
 Snell’s law formula is derived from
Fermat’s principle. Fermat’s
principle states that “light travels in
the shortest path that takes the
least time”.
n1 sin θ1 = n2 sin θ2
 n1 and n2- are the two different
mediums that will impact the
refraction;
θ1- is the angle of incidence;
θ2 - is the angle of refraction.
 Phenomenon of Dispersion
- The velocity of light in a
material and the index of refraction
of the material,
depends on the wavelength of the
light.
 This phenomenon, the splitting of
light into its component colors, is
called dispersion of light. The band
of the color components of a light
beam is called spectrum.
 The index of refraction n of most
materials transparent to visible light
increases slightly as the wavelength
decreases. As the index n increases
 the speed of light
decreases,
 the wavelength of light in
the material decreases,
 the angle of refraction θt
decreases for a given ni sin
θi = nt sinθt , the light is
bent more.
 Snell's law combined with a
wavelength - dependent index of
refraction n explains the dispersive
properties of a prism.
  The sides of a prism are not parallel
and light changes direction when it
passes through it.
 Applications of Snell’s law has a wide
range of applications in physics
especially in the branch of optics. It is
used in optical apparatus such as
eyeglasses, contact lenses, cameras,
rainbows.
 There is an instrument called a
refracto-meter that uses Snell’s law to
calculate the refractive index of
liquids.
CONDITIONS FOR TOTAL INTERNAL
REFLECTION
 Total Internal Reflection
- The phenomenon which occurs
when the light rays travel from a more
optically denser medium to a less
optically denser medium.
 Reflection
- the bouncing back of light into the
same medium after striking a surface.
At a specific angle of incidence, the
incident ray of light is refracted in
such a way that it passes along the
surface of the water. This particular
angle of incidence is called the critical
angle (θ ). Here the angle of refraction
is 90 degrees. When the angle of
incidence (θ i ) is greater than the
critical angle (θ c ), the incident ray is
reflected back to the medium. We call
this phenomenon total internal
reflection.
 CONDITIONS FOR TOTAL INTERNAL
REFLECTION
1. The ray of light must travel from a more
denser medium into a less denser medium.
Examples: Glass to air, water to air
2. The angle of incidence in the denser
medium must be greater than the critical
angle for that pair of media. If the angle of
incidence is increased further, so that it is
greater than the critical angle, the light will be
totally internally reflected.
 EXAMPLES OF TOTAL INTERNAL
REFLECTION
 Optical Fiber
- revolutionized the speed
with which signals are
transferred, not only across
cities but across countries and
continents making
telecommunication one of the
fastest modes of information
transfer.
 Mirage
- It is an optical illusion
which is responsible for the
appearance of the water layer
at short distances in a desert
or on the road.
- occurs due to atmospheric
refraction.
 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ANGLES AND
INDICIES OF REFRACTION
 n2 sin r
=
n1 sin i

Critical angle, θ
n2
Sin θ =
n1
Where: r - is the angle of refraction
i - is the angle of incidence

 REFRACTIVE INDICES FOR VARIOUS

SUBSTANCES

Solids at 20º C n
Cubic zirconia 2.20
Diamond 2. 419
Fluorite 1.434
Fused quartz 1.458
Glass, crown 1.52
Glass, flint 1.66
Ice at 0º C 1.309
Polystyrene 1.49
Sodium chloride 1.544
Zircon 1.923
Liquids at 20 º C n
Benzene 1. 501
Carbon disulfide 1.628
Carbon tetrachloride 1.461
Ethyl alcohol 1.3 61
Glycerin 1.473
Water 1.333
Gases at 0º C, 1 atm n
Air 1.000 293
Carbon dioxide 1.000 450