BASIC PHYSICS (2)

GEOMETRIC OPTICS

RENNY INDRAWATI
2016
A RAY OF LIGHT IS AN EXTREMELY
NARROW BEAM OF LIGHT.
All visible objects emit or reflect light
rays in all directions.
Our eyes detect light rays.
We think we see objects.

We really see images.

Images are formed when
light rays converge.

converge = come together

 When light rays go straight into our eyes,
we see an image in the same spot as the object.

object
&
image
MIRRORS

It is possible to
see images
when
converging image
light rays reflect
off of mirrors.

object
 REFLECTION AND REFRACTION
• Mirror reflects light.

mirror
• Transparent medium refracts light.

glass
REFLECTION
 LAW OF REFLECTION
Reflection is when light normal
changes direction by
bouncing off a surface.

When light is reflected off

a mirror, it hits the mirror at
the same angle (θi, the reflected incident
incidence angle) as it ray ray
reflects off the mirror (θr,
the reflection angle). θr θi
The normal is an
imaginary line which lies at
right angles to the mirror
where the ray hits it. Mirror

θi = θr
 DIFFUSE REFLECTION

Glare on wet roads: Water fills in and smoothes out the rough road
surface so that the road becomes more like a mirror.
 SPEED OF LIGHT & REFRACTION
As you have already learned, light is extremely fast, about
3  108 m/s in a vacuum. Light, however, is slowed down by the presence
of matter. The extent to which this occurs depends on what the light is
traveling through. Light travels at about 3/4 of its vacuum speed (0.75 c )
in water and about 2/3 its vacuum speed (0.67 c ) in glass. The reason
for this slowing is because when light strikes an atom it must interact with
its electron cloud. If light travels from one medium to another, and if the
speeds in these media differ, then light is subject to refraction (a changing
of direction at the interface).
 REFLECTION & REFRACTION
At an interface between two media, both reflection and refraction can
occur. The angles of incidence, reflection, and refraction are all measured
with respect to the normal. The angles of incidence and reflection are
always the same. If light speeds up upon entering a new medium, the
angle of refraction, r , will be greater than the angle of incidence, as
depicted on the left. If the light slows down in the new medium, r will be
less than the angle of incidence, as shown on the right.

GLASS AIR

AIR
r WATER
normal

normal
r
REFRACTION
Refraction is what makes objects half-submerged in water look odd.
 INDEX OF REFRACTION, N
The index of refraction of a substance is the ratio of the
speed in light in a vacuum to the speed of light in that
substance:
c
n=
v
n = Index of refraction
c = Speed of light in vacuum
v = Speed of light in medium

Note that a large index of

refraction corresponds to a
relatively slow light speed in
that medium.
 i
SNELL’S LAW ni
nr
r

Snell’s law states that a ray of light bends in

such a way that the ratio of the sine of the
angle of incidence to the sine of the angle of
refraction is constant. Mathematically,
ni sin i = nr sinr
Here ni is the index of refraction in the original
medium and nr is the index in the medium the
light enters.  i and r are the angles of
incidence and refraction, respectively. Willebrord
Snell
 REFRACTION PROBLEM #1
Goal: Find the angular displacement of the ray after having
passed through the prism. Hints:
1. Find the first angle of
refraction using Snell’s law.
19.4712º
Air, n1 = 1 2. Find angle α. (Hint: Use
30°
Geometry skills.)
79.4712º

Horizontal ray, 3. Find the second angle of

α incidence.
parallel to
base  10.5288º
4. Find the second angle of
Glass, n2 = 1.5
refraction, , using Snell’s
Law 15.9º
 REFRACTION PROBLEM #2 - EXERCISE
Goal: Find the angular displacement of the ray after having
passed through the prism.

Air, n1 = 1
The triangle is isosceles.
Incident ray is horizontal,
parallel to the base.

Glass, n2 = 1.5
 BREWSTER ANGLE
The Brewster angle is the angle of incidence
the produces reflected and refracted rays that
are perpendicular.
From Snell, n1 sinb = n2 sin.
Sir David Brewster
n2  α = b since  +  = 90º,
 and b +  = 90º.

n1 β =  since  +  = 90º,
b b
and  +  = 90º. Thus,
n1 sinb = n2 sin = n2 sin = n2 cosb

tanb = n2 / n1
CRITICAL ANGLE
nr
The incident angle that causes the ni
refracted ray to skim right along the c
boundary of a substance is known
as the critical angle, c. The critical
angle is the angle of incidence that From Snell,
produces an angle of refraction of n1 sinc = n2 sin 90
90º. If the angle of incidence
Since sin 90 = 1, we
exceeds the critical angle, the ray
is completely reflected and does have n1 sinc = n2 and
not enter the new medium. A the critical angle is
critical angle only exists when light
is attempting to penetrate a n
c = -1 r
medium of higher optical density sin ni
than it is currently traveling in.
CRITICAL ANGLE SAMPLE PROBLEM
Calculate the critical angle for the diamond-air boundary.
Refer to the Index of Refraction chart for the information.

air c = sin-1 (nr / ni)

diamond = sin-1 (1 / 2.42)

c
= 24.4
Any light shone on this
boundary beyond this angle
will be reflected back into the
diamond.
TOTAL INTERNAL REFLECTION
Total internal reflection occurs when light attempts to pass
from a more optically dense medium to a less optically dense
medium at an angle greater than the critical angle. When this
occurs there is no refraction, only reflection.

n1 n2 > n1
n2   > c

Total internal reflection can be used for practical applications

like fiber optics.
TOTAL INTERNAL REFLECTION
TOTAL INTERNAL REFLECTION
 TOTAL INTERNAL REFLECTION (1)
• When the incident angle is larger than the critical angle, total internal reflection
will occur (at the interface).

AIR

water
 TOTAL INTERNAL REFLECTION (2)
• When the incident angle is larger than the critical angle, total internal reflection
will occur (at the interface).

AIR

water
 TOTAL INTERNAL REFLECTION (3)
• View under water!!

AIR

water
TOTAL INTERNAL REFLECTION (4)

sky Yousee
see
You
You see the sky here
waves
water
total waves
internal
through refraction
reflection
here here
waves
• Fish-eye view
total internal
reflection here
total internal
reflection here
 • Can you explain the fish-eye view by drawing light rays?

water
 FISH EYE VIEW (1)

Central hole, shows the

squeezed view of the sky

totally internally
reflected ray

water
 FISH EYE VIEW (2)

• When a diver or fish looks upward under water, part of the water surface
looks like a mirror, except the central hole.
• So, the light entering the water from above the surface is squeezed into a cone
2C
of angle 2C

What is C ?

critical angle

C is
water
REVISIT THE FISH EYE VIEW

sky(refraction here)

total internal
reflection here
A fisheye lens is an ultra wide-angle lens that
produces strong visual distortion intended to
create a wide panoramic or hemispherical image.
BENDING LIGHT?

John Tyndall (1820-1893)

GUIDING LIGHT

BENDING LIGHT!