LIGHT

Compare the rival theories of light held by scientists

Back in the 17th century, two conflicting sets of information existed about light theory. One

set of scientists suggested that light is a wave while another group suggested that light is a

particle. Each theory had valid explanations and justified why light showed certain

phenomena. But no one theory could fully explain all the effects of light that were observed,

effects such as reflection, refraction, interference, diffraction and the photoelectric effect.

Where one theory fell short, the other theory was able to give an explanation. Instead of

continuing the fight like bitter rivals, the supporters of each theory began to accept the other

and a dual theory emerged and began to be accepted. Light is now accepted as both a wave

and a particle.

Light as a particle
Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton suggested that light was a stream of particles that travelled
in a straight line.  Using this theory it was easy to explain why light was able to reflect at
boundaries and why it refracted. It also explained how some metals absorbed light and lose
electrons as a result, an effect referred to as the photoelectric effect. The wave theory of
light could not explain the photoelectric effect. (You don’t need to know about the
photoelectric effect for your CSEC Physics exams).

Light as a wave
Christiaan Huygens and Thomas Young on the other hand proposed that light behaved more
like a wave. This theory also became widely accepted because it was able to explain some of
the effects that the particle theory could not explain. Like how interference patterns occurred
from a single source of light and also why light was able to travel around corners, spreading
through openings to fill a room (diffraction).

Conduct a Young’s double slit experiment to show that light is a wave

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UkkKM1IkKg
Rays of Light

Explain why the diffraction of light is not normally observed

Light waves have very small wavelengths compared to that of sound waves. Since it is
compulsory for the wavelength of a waves to be greater than the length of the opening before
diffraction can occur, it is then clear that light waves will only be diffracted by very small
openings while sounds waves suffers diffraction evening on wider openings. In the case of
light, we need sophisticated equipment to observe the effect of diffraction. Diffraction of
light can be best observed when a small slit is used. Then diffracted can be observed on a
screen.

Apply the principle that light travels in straight line

 Light travels in a straight line can be observed by keeping an object in the path of light. In an
atmosphere which is bit dusty, we can see light traveling in a straight line. Light emerging
from the torch, train and lamps always travel in a straight line.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pc8CINudWEU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hh4lregaYes
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. Reflection is
when light bounces off an object if the surface is smooth and shiny, like glass, water or
polished metal, the light will bounce off at the same angle as it hit the surface.
The laws of reflection state:

 the incident ray, the reflected ray, and the normal to the surface of the mirror all lie in
the same plane.
 the angle of reflection   is equal to the angle of incidence 
Both angles are measured with respect to the normal to the mirror.
 Figure 1: The law of reflection

Light Rays
A ray of light is a narrow beam of parallel light which can be represented by a line diagram with an
arrow to represent the direction it is traveling.
Types of Reflection

Mirrors
A plane mirror is a flat smooth reflecting surface by which regular reflection is used to form images

Describe the formation of images in a plane mirror

The image formed by a plane mirror is always

 virtual (meaning that the light rays do not actually come from the image)
 upright
 the same shape and size as the object it is reflecting.
 Object and image distances are equal. A virtual image is a copy of an object formed at the
location from which the light rays appear to come.
 The image is also laterally inverted, left and right are reversed.

Locate virtual image using:

 (a) ray plotting

Refraction
Refraction is the bending of light which occurs when it travels form one medium into another.
Examples of Refraction

(A)

B)
Explaining Refraction and its Laws

 The angle of incidence, i, is the angle between the normal and the incident ray. The angle of
refraction, r, is the angle between the normal and the refracted ray.
 When a light ray enters an optically dense medium, it bends towards the normal (the angle of
refraction is less than the angle of incidence, i > r).
 Hence when in light ray enters a less optically dense medium it bends away from the normal
(the angle of refraction is greater than the angle of incidence, i < r).
Laws of Refraction

1. The incident ray, the normal and the refracted ray all lie in the same plane.

2. Snell’s Law
The ratio of the sine of the angle of the incidence to the sine of the angle of refraction is
called the refractive index, n.

sin i
refractive index ( n )=
sin r

Applying Snell's Law

This also known as the Law of Refraction, is an equation that relates the angle of the incident light
and the angle of the transmitted light at the interface of two different mediums. Snell's Law can be
applied to all materials, in all phases of matter.
Examples :

1. 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)
 2. Light travels from air into an optical fibre with an index of refraction of 1.44. 
(a)  In which direction does the light bend? 
(b)  If the angle of incidence on the end of the fibre is 22 o, what is the angle of refraction
inside the fibre? 
(c)  Sketch the path of light as it changes media.

Answers

(a) Since the light is traveling from a region of lower refractive index to one with a higher
refractive index, it will bend toward the normal.

(b) We will identify air as medium 1 and the fiber as medium 2. 
Thus, n1 = 1.00, n2 = 1.44, and θ1 = 22o.  Snell's Law then becomes

n1 sin θ1= n2 sin θ2.

 (1.00) sin 22o = 1.44 sin θ2. 

sin θ2 = ¿ ) sin 22o 

sin θ2  = 0.260 

θ2 = sin-1 (0.260)

= 15o.

Critical Angle and Total Internal Reflection

Critical Angle

The critical angle, c, is the angle of incidence, i, in the optically denser medium for which
the angle of refraction, r, is 90o
In the diagram above the angle of incidence is equal to the critical angle and therefore
resulting in the angle of refraction to be 90o.

In all cases when calculating the critical angle of a material we use ‘snell’s law’
(n1  sin θ1=  n2 sin θ2) as well as we always leave a denser medium and travel to a less dense
medium. Therefore your critical angle in this case will always be θ1 which would have a
respective n1.
Example:
Calculate the critical angle for light travelling from glass n1=1.52 to water and n2=1.33?
n1 sin θ1= n2  sin θ2
replacing 1 with a ‘c’
n1 sin θc= n2 sin θ2
1.52 sin θc = 1.33 sin 90
1.33 sin 90
Sin θc = ( )
1.52
1.33 sin 90
θc =sin-1 ( )
1.52
θc =  61.04°
Total Internal Reflection
.
Total internal reflection is the phenomenon which occurs when a wave strikes a medium
boundary at an angle larger than a particular critical angle with respect to the normal to the
surface. Refraction does not occur and there is a complete reflection of a ray of light within a
medium such as water or glass.
Two important conditions for total internal reflection are: Angle of incidence (i) should be
greater than critical angle (ic). Ray should travel from denser medium to less dense medium.

As the angle of incidence increases and reaches the value of the critical angle the ray refracts
along the boundary at 90 degrees, continuing increasing above that critical angle the ray is
unable to refract any further and now reflects back into the medium which is water.
The phenomenon of total internal reflection of light is used in many optical instruments like
telescopes, microscopes, binoculars, spectroscopes, periscopes etc. The brilliance of a
diamond is due to total internal reflection. Optical fibre works on the principle of total
internal reflection. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lic3gCS_bKo

Describe how a prism may be used to produce a spectrum

When white light goes through a prism it causes light of different colours to be refracted differently
and to leave the prism at different angles, creating an effect similar to a rainbow. This can be used to
separate a beam of white light into its constituent spectrum of colours.
ROYGBIV.