CHAPTER 2

GEOMETRICAL OPTICs
TOPIC I
 INTRODUCTION
 This chapter will discuss on
 Reflection
 Refraction
 Difference Between Reflection and
Refraction
 2.1 Geometrical Optics
 The branch of optics that focus on the creation of
image
 Used to find locations and sizes of images
formed by optical systems
 Geometrical optics, or ray optics, describes light
propagation in terms of rays.
 2.1.1 Rules Of Geometric Optics
 Light is a flow of photons with wavelengths
(light rays)
 Light rays travel in straight lines in free spaces
 Light rays do not interfere with each other as
they cross
 Light rays obey the laws of reflection and
refraction
 Light rays travel from the light sources to the
eye.
2.1.2 Types of Geometrical Optics

Reflection
Geometrical
Optics
Refraction
 2.2 Reflection
 Reflection is the change in direction of
a wavefront at an interface between two
different media so that the wavefront returns
into the medium from which it originated.
 Examples
 light,
 sound
 water waves
 2.2.1 Reflection of light
 The ray striking the surface (incoming ray)

 The ray reflected from the surface (outgoing

ray)
 2.2.2 Law of Reflection
 The incident ray, the reflected ray and the
normal all lie in the same plane
 The angle of incidence, i equals the angle of
reflection, r as shown in figure below

<r = <i
 Two light rays originating from point P on an object are reflected
by a flat mirror into the eye of an observer.
 The reflected rays are obtained by using the law of reflection.
 Extending these reflected rays backward, they seem to come from
point Q behind the mirror, which is where the virtual image is
located.
 Repeating this process for point P′ gives the image point Q′. The
image height is thus the same as the object height, the image is
upright, and the object distance do is the same as the image
distance di.
 The properties of image formed are
 Virtual
 Upright or erect
 Laterally reverse
 The object distance, u equals the image distance, v
 The same size where the linear magnification is
given by
 Example 1
1. A man stand two meters away from a plane
mirror. How far is it from the man to his
image?
2. if the flame on the candle is 2 cm tall, how tall
is the flame of the image?
3. An object is placed 100 cm from a plane
mirror. How far is the image from the
object? he flame of the image?
 Example 2
 Find the minimum vertical length of a plane
mirror for an observer of 2.0 m height standing
upright close to the mirror to see his whole
reflection.
 Example 3
 A rose in a vase is placed 0.250 m in front of a
plane mirror. Nagar looks into the mirror from
2.00 m in front of it. How far away from Nagar
is the image of the rose?
 Example 4
 Standing 2.00 m in front of a small vertical
mirror, you see the reflection of your belt
buckle, which is 0.70 m below your eyes.
a. What is the vertical location of the
mirror relative to the level of your eyes?
b. What is the angle do your eyes make with the
horizontal when you look at the buckle?
c. If you now move backward until you are 6.0 m
from the mirror, will you still see the buckle?
Explain?
 Example 5
 You are 1.80 m tall and stand 3.00 m from a
plane mirror that extends vertically upward
from the floor. On the floor 1.50 m in front of
the mirror is a small table, 0.80 high.
 What is the minimum height the mirror must
have for you to be able to seethe top of the
table in the mirror?
 Exercise 1
 A person whose eyes are 1.54 m above the floor stands
2.30 m in front of a vertical plane mirror whose bottom
edge is 40 cm above the floor as shown in figure below.

 Find x?
 2.3 Refraction
 Refraction is the change in direction of a wave
when it passes diagonally through the interface
between two media of different densities.
 It refers to the shift in direction and speed of
the beam of light or radio waves, because of the
change in transmission medium
 Example
 waves in deep water travel
faster than in shallow.
 2.3.1 Reflection of light
 The ray striking the surface (incoming ray)

 The ray refract from the surface (outgoing ray)

 2.3.2 Law of Refraction
 The incident ray, the refracted ray and the normal all
lie in the same plane
 Refractive index is the ratio of the angle of incidence to
the angle of refraction. It ascertains the speed of a ray
of light in the new medium
 For two given media
 Refractive index (index of refraction)
 Is defined as the constant ratio sin i/sin r for the two
given media
 The value of refractive index depends on the type of
medium and the colour of light
 It is dimensionless and its value grater that 1
 Consider the light ray travels from medium 1 into
medium 2, the refractive index can be denoted by
 The relationship between refractive index and the
wavelength of light.
 As light travels from one medium to another, its
wavelength, λ changes but its frequency, f remains constant.
 The wavelength changes because of different material
different material.
 The frequency remains constant because the number of
wave cycles arriving per unit time must equal the number
leaving per unit time so that the boundary surface cannot
create or destroy waves.
 By considering a light travels from medium 1 (n1) into
medium 2 (n2), the velocity of light in each medium is given
by
 Example 6
 A diver shines a flashlight upward from
beneath the water at a 42.5° angle to the
vertical. At what angle does the light leave the
water?
Solution
We find the angle of refraction in the water from

n1 sin 1  n2 sin  2 ;
1.33 sin 42.5    sin  2 , which gives  2  64.0.
 Example 7
 A fifty cent coin is at the bottom of a swimming
pool of depth 2.00 m. The refractive index of air
and water are 1.00 and 1.33 respectively. What
is the apparent depth of the coin?
 Example 8
 A light beam travels at 1.94 x 108 m s-1 in
quartz. The wavelength of the light in quartz is
355 nm.
 a. Find the index of refraction of quartz at this
wavelength.
 b. If this same light travels through air, what is
its wavelength there? (Given the speed of light
in vacuum, c = 3.00 x 108 m s-1)
 Exercise 2
 We wish to determine the depth of a swimming pool
filled with water by measuring the width (x = 5.50 m)
and then noting that the bottom edge of the pool is just
visible at an angle of 14.0° above the horizontal as
shown in figure below.

 Calculate the depth of the pool. (Given n water = 1.33

and n air = 1.00)
 = sin (90-14) / sin A
 = sin 76/ sin A
 sin A = sin 76 / 1.333
 A = 46.7 deg
 where A = angle reflected rays made with
vertical
 tan (90-A) = depth / 5.5
 tan 43.3 = depth /5.5
 depth = 5.18m
 2.4 Difference Between Reflection and
Refraction
The points presented below are substantial, so far as
the difference between reflection and refraction is
concerned:
 The reverting of light or sound waves in the same

medium, when it falls on the plane, is called

reflection. The shift in the direction of the radio
waves, when it enters medium with different
density, is known as refraction.
 In reflection, light ray falling on the plane returns to

the same medium. Conversely, in refraction, the ray

falling on the plane travels from one medium to
another.
 In reflection, the waves bounce off the surface.
On the contrary, in refraction, the waves pass
through the surface, that changes their speed
and direction.
 In reflection, the angle of incidence is same as
the angle of reflection. As against this, the
angle of incidence is not similar to the angle of
refraction.
 Reflection takes place in mirrors, while
refraction occurs in lenses.
Difference Between Reflection and
Refraction
 TUTORIAL
1. A light ray strikes a reflective plane surface at
an angle of 56° with the surface.
a) Find the angle of incidence.
b) Find the angle of reflection.
c) Find the angle made by the reflected ray
and the surface.
d) Find the angle made by the incident and
reflected rays.
2. A ray of light is reflected by two parallel
mirrors (1) and (2) at points A and B. The ray
makes an angle of 25° with the axis of the two
mirrors.
a) What is the angle of reflection at the point of
incidence A?

b) What is the angle of reflection at the point of

incidence B?
3. What is the index of refraction in a medium
where the speed of light is 1.5×108 m/s?
4. A ray of light is incident through glass, with
refractive index 1.52, on an interface
separating glass and water with refractive
index 1.32. What is the angle of refraction if
the angle of incidence of the ray in glass is 25
°?
5. What should be the angle of incidence of a
light ray incident through air on the boundary
separating air from water so that the angle of
refraction is 30 °?(refractive index of air is 1
and that of water is 1.32)