Physics - Light

NOTES AND STUFFS

 Overview
 Reflection
 Laws of reflection
 Diffused and regular reflection
 Ray diagrams
 Refraction
 Laws of refraction
 Refractive index
 Total Internal Reflection
 Critical angle
 Lenses
 Converging lenses
 Diverging lenses
 Constructing ray diagrams
 What is light?
 Light is a form of energy that enables us to see!
 Our eyes detect light in a range of 7 colours from red to
violet which forms a spectrum.
 Light travels at 3.0 x 108 metre per second. It can reach
the Earth from the Sun in 8 minutes.
 The study of the physics of light is known as optics.
 Light
 The Rectilinear Propagation of Light states that light
travels in straight lines.
 Light cannot bend around corners and can only travel
straight.
 The path in which light travels is known as a light ray.
Arrows are added to indicate the direction of the light ray.
 A beam of light forms a bundle of light rays.
 There are 3 types of beams:
 Parallel (light rays are straight)
 Converging (light rays converge at a point)
 Diverging (light rays diverge from a point)
 Luminous objects
 Luminous objects are objects that give out light. Some
examples include the sun, TV, light bulb.
 Objects that do not give out light are non - luminous
objects.
 We can see them as that object reflect light from a
luminous object nearby into our eyes.
 Reflection of light
Laws of reflection

• The incident ray, reflected ray, and the normal all lie in the same plane
• The angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection
 Important terms
 Incident Ray: Light ray hitting the reflecting surface.
 Reflected Ray: Light ray reflected from the reflecting
surface.
 Normal: The perpendicular to the reflecting surface at
the point of incidence.
 Angle of incidence (i): The angle between the incident
ray and the normal.
 Angle of reflection (r): The angle between the
reflected ray and the normal.
 Reflection of light
Regular and Diffused reflection
Regular reflection
• refers to the reflection of rays coming from a smooth plane surface
• All incident rays have parallel reflected rays
Diffused (irregular) reflection
• Occurs from reflection of rays coming from rough surfaces
• The reflected rays come out in different directions
• But the laws of reflection are obeyed at each point on the rough surface
 Reflection of light
Ray diagrams

An image is formed when an object is placed in front of a plane mirror.

Properties of image formed in plane

mirror:
• Same size as the object
• Laterally inverted
• Upright
• Virtual
• As far behind the mirror as the object is in
front

Note: Virtual image cannot be formed on a screen, unlike a real image

 Reflection of light
Ray diagrams
VIDEO: How to draw ray diagram
 Refraction of light
Laws of refraction
Refraction refers to the bending of light when it passes from an optically less dense medium to
an optically denser medium or vice versa.

Laws of refraction:
• The incident ray, refracted ray and the normal are all
in the same plane.
• The ratio of the sine of the angle of incidence to the
sine of the angle of refraction is always a constant.
Applications of mirrors
 Optical Testing (Mirrors can make letters appear further
away, saving space)
 Blind corners (for drivers)
 Periscopes
 Refraction
 Phenomena Due to Refraction of
Light
 The apparent Depth – A swimming
pool looks shallower than it really is.
 A straight object placed in water
looks bent at the surfaces.
Refraction of light
Laws of refraction

• The incident ray forms the angle of

incidence

• The refracted ray forms the angle

of refraction with the normal

• Refraction is due to the change in

speed of light when it travels from
one medium to another
 Refraction of light
3 situations of refraction
1. From less dense to 3. Light ray enters another
denser medium: speed of medium perpendicularly to
light becomes slower the boundary: no deviation
of the ray even when there is
change in speed of light.

2. From denser to less dense

medium: speed of light
becomes faster
 Refraction of light
Refractive Index
 Snell's Law:
 where n is a constant, also known as the refractive index of a medium, but refers particularly to
light ray traveling from vacuum (or air) to that medium.
 The refractive index of a medium can also be defined as the ratio of the speed of light in a
vacuum (or air) to the speed of light in that medium.

speed of light in vacuum (or air)
h=
speed of light in medium

 Refractive index of a medium must be equal to or greater than ONE

   Minimum value is ONE, which is the refractive index of vacuum (or air)

 The greater the refractive index, the slower the speed of light in that medium

Note: the speed of light is fastest in vacuum or air

 Refraction of light
Refractive Index
 Refractive Index, n, for some materials and their critical angles

Material Refractive       Index (n)        Critical angle (c)

Water                              1.33                  48.8°
Glass                               1.50                  41.8°
Diamond                         2.42                 24.4°

Example:

If the critical angle for a material is 42°. What is its refractive index?

n = 1 / sinC
  = 1 / sin 42°
  = 1.49
Principle of Reversibility of
Light
 States that light will follow exactly the same path if its
direction of travel is reversed
 Therefore,
Refraction
Q&A

Q: What happens when light

passes from a transparent
medium into air?

A: When light passes from a

transparent medium into air, it
bends away from the normal.
It is refracted.
 Refraction of light
Critical Angle
Critical angle: the angle of incidence in the optically denser medium for which its
angle of refraction in the less dense medium is 90°
 Refraction
Q&A
Q: Why does the angle of refraction
become 90° and not more? What do
we call the angle of incidence at this
limit?

A: This is the limit the light ray can be

refracted in air because the angle in air
cannot be larger than 90°. The angle of
incidence in the denser medium at this
limit is called the critical angle, c.

Q: What happens when the angle of incidence is more than the critical angle?

A: When the angle of incidence is greater than the critical angle, all the light
undergoes reflection.
 Refraction
Q&A

Q: What happens when light rays

pass from a less dense medium
into a denser medium?

A: Light rays will refract towards the

normal when passing through from a
less dense medium into a denser
medium, for example from air to
glass.
 Refraction
Q&A

Q: What happens when light

rays pass from a denser
medium into a less dense
medium?

A: Light rays will refract away

from the normal when passing
through from a denser medium
into a less dense medium, for
example, glass to air.
 Refraction
Q&A

Q: What happens when the incident light

rays enter medium at the normal?

A: When light ray is incident

normally on a glass block, the
refracted ray is unbent.
 Refraction of light
Critical Angle
How to calculate the critical angle C given the refractive index of a medium?

Equations: 1
h=
sinC
1
sinC =
h
1 -1
C =sin ( )
n
Critical Angle is the angle of incidence in the optically denser medium
where the angle of refraction in the less dense medium = 90°.
 Refraction of light
Total Internal Reflection

Definition
When light travels from an optically denser medium to an optically
less dense medium and the angle of incidence is greater than the
critical angle, there is NO refracted ray, all the light is reflected back
into the optically denser medium.
 Refraction of light
Total Internal Reflection
• Diagram A: Angle of incidence greater than critical angle  no refracted ray but
strong reflected ray  light is totally reflected

• Diagram B: Angle of incidence smaller then critical angle  there is strong

refracted ray

• Diagram C: critical angle  the strong refracted ray is at 90°

 Refraction of light
Total Internal Reflection
Total internal reflection occurs when:
 The rays are traveling from an optically denser medium towards a less
dense medium.
 The angle of incidence is greater than the critical angle
 Refraction of light
Total Internal Reflection
Applications
B. Bicycle reflectors
 Use prism as a reflector so
A. Periscope that they reflect the light from
car headlights

C. Optical fibres
 Thin and flexible. When light enters it, it is totally
reflected many times until it comes out at the other end.
 Lenses
Converging Lenses
Converging/Convex lens: A lens which is thicker at the centre than at the edges

Light rays are converged to a point

after passing through a converging
lens
 Lenses
Converging Lenses

Ray Diagram
 Lenses
Diverging Lenses
Diverging/Concave: A lens which is thinner at the centre than at the edges.
 Lenses
Diverging Lenses

Principal axis: a line passing through the optical centre and perpendicular to the
plane of the lens.
 Lenses
Constructing ray diagrams for convex lens

3 Rules:

1. Rays parallel to the principal axis are refracted

through ‘F’

2. Rays passing through ‘F’ are refracted parallel

to the principal axis

3. Rays passing through ‘C’ are undeviated

Note: Any 2 of the rules are enough for locating the image.
The intersection of the refracted rays gives the position of the image.
 Lenses
Constructing ray diagrams for convex lens

Formation of a real image by a convex lens

 Lenses
Constructing ray diagrams for convex lens

Formation of a virtual image by a convex lens

 Lenses
Constructing ray diagrams for convex lens
Steps
1. Draw a horizontal line to represent the principal axis
2. Draw a straight vertical line with arrowheads to represent the lens
3. Where distances are given, choose scales for the object’s size and position
4. The object O represented by an arrow standing upright on principal axis
5. Mark the position of focal point F on each side of the lens to scale
6. Starting from the top of the object, use at least 2 of the construction rules to draw
the rays
7. The position of the top of the image is where the refracted rays cross
8. Use the scales to measure the position and size of the image
9. Say whether the image is:
 Real or Virtual
 Upright or Inverted
 Same size or Magnified or Diminished
 Lenses
Constructing ray diagrams for convex lens

Tips
 Use solid lines for real light rays
 Remember to put arrowheads to indicate direction
 Use dotted lines for extended light rays (virtual light rays) and don’t
add arrowhead
 Use solid lines for real images and dotted lines for virtual images
 Lenses
Constructing ray diagrams for convex lens
O between F and C
Nature of image
-Virtual
-Upright
-Magnified
-On same side of lens as O and further away
Egs. Magnifying glass, spectacles for long-sightedness
O at F
Nature of image
-At infinity
Egs. Produces a parallel beam of light as in spotlight with
lamp at O.
..
O between F and 2F
Nature of image
-Real
-Inverted
-Magnified
-On opposite side of lens to O, beyond 2F
Egs. Projector, microscope, objective lens
 Lenses
Constructing ray diagrams for convex lens
O At 2F
Nature of image
-Real
-Inverted
-On opposite side of lens to O, at 2F
-Same size as O
-On same side of lens as O and further away
Egs. Camera making equal size copies
O at infinity
Nature of image
-Real
-Inverted
-Diminished
-On opposite side of lens to O, at F
-Egs. Objective lens of a microscope
O beyond 2F
Nature of image
-Real
-Inverted
-Diminished
-On opposite side of lens to O, between F and 2F
-Egs. Camera, eyes

• When angle of • When angle of incidence =
incidence < Critical Critical Angle: Travels
Angle: Normal perpendicular to the surface
• As i is made bigger, the
Refraction
refracted ray gets closer and
• There is still a faint closer to the surface of the
reflected ray back into glass.
the glass. • Can be found by taking
Recall
• When angle of incidence
> Critical Angle: Total
Internal Reflection.
• No light is being refracted
through the glass-to-air
boundary.
• Light is totally reflected
back into the glass block.
The End!!!