Geometrical Optics

Light

• Light is the portion of electromagnetic radiation that is visible to the human eye, responsible for

the sense of sight.

• Visible light has a wavelength in a range from about 380 or 400 nanometers to about 760 or 780
nm.
• In this lesson reflection and rarefaction of light will be discussed.

Properties of light

• Intensity

• Propagation direction

• Frequency or wavelength

• Speed - 300,000,000 meters per second

• 300,000 kilometers per second) in vacuum

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 • Light, which exists in tiny "packets" called photons, exhibits properties of both waves and

particles.

• Light travels in a straight line.

Luminous objects and Non luminous objects

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Luminous objects

• Objects capable producing light on their own is known as luminous objects.

Eg: Sun, Lamps, Stars

Observing a luminous object

• When a ray of light enters into a human eye makes the object visible.

Observing a non-luminous object

• Non luminous objects can be identified by the light coming from luminous objects bounce off

(reflection) the surface of the non-luminous object.

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A light ray

• A light ray is represented by a straight line with an arrow head marked on it.

• The arrow head is essential to indicate the direction of the light ray.

Beams of light

• A bundle of rays is known as a beam.

• There are three types of light beams.

Parallel light beam Diverging Light Beam Converging Light Beam

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Reflection

• Reflection is the change in direction of a light ray and it returns into the medium from which it

originated.

Reflection in plane mirrors

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• Reflection by the plane mirrors can be demonstrated practically as shown below.

• Keep a plane mirror on a board.

• Let a laser beam fall onto the mirror as shown below.

• Fix ‘A’ and ‘B’ pins on the path of the laser beam. Then fix ‘C’ and ‘D’ pins in a such a way

that all A,B,C and D fall in the same line. (same alignment).

• Mark the points using a pencil.

B P
C

Pins (marks) Pins (marks)

1
2 3
4

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 • Draw a normal to the point P.

• Measure angle of incidence and angle of refraction using a protractor.

• Construct a ray diagram as shown below.

The incoming ray---------------------------------------- incident ray

Outgoing ray----------------------------------------------- reflected ray

The line perpendicular to the mirror surface---------- normal

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Incident Ray

• A light ray coming from a luminous object is known as an incident ray.

Incident Ray

Reflected Ray

• A light ray which bounces off from a surface is known as reflected ray.

Reflected Ray

Surface

Point of Incident
Normal

• A line drawn perpendicular to a given surface is known as a normal

Surface
Normal
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 • Following are also considered as normal even-though they are pointed to various directions.

Note the surface is curve.

Normal

Normal
90 0 90 0

Reflection laws

If the reflecting surface is very smooth, the reflection of light that occurs is called specular or regular

reflection. The laws of reflection are as follows:

1. The incident ray, the reflected ray and the normal to the reflection surface at the point of the

incidence lie in the same plane.

Angle of Incidence } Angle of reflection

2. The angle which the incident ray makes with the normal is equal to the angle which the reflected

ray makes to the same normal.

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 Types of Reflection

Reflection of light is either

• Specular (mirror-like)-- regular reflection

• Diffuse -- retaining the energy, but losing the image

Both these reflection methods depend on the nature of the surface.

Regular reflection (specular reflection)

• Light from a single incoming direction (a ray) is reflected into a single outgoing direction.

• Usually a smooth surface will create a regular reflection.

Diffuse reflection

• The reflection of light from a surface such that an incident ray is reflected at many angles rather

than at just one angle.

• Usually rough surfaces make diffuse reflection.

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Images formed by plane mirrors

Constructing the ray diagram

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Images formed by plane mirrors include following characteristics

1. Virtual image

Virtual Image

Virtual Image

2. Upright image

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 3. Magnification is same as the object

Image Height Object Height

4. Image is laterally inverted

Left Hand

Plane Mirror

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 5. Object distance is equal to image distance

Object Distance Image Distance

Uses of plane mirrors

1. Dressing table mirrors

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2. Kaleidoscope

3. Microscope mirror

4. Periscope

5. To make multiple images

6. Project sunlight when shooting

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Curved mirror

A curved mirror is a mirror with a curved reflective surface

Concave mirror

• Inner curved surface is reflecting

Convex mirror

• Outer curved surface is reflecting

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General features of a curve mirror

• The Center of the hollow sphere is known as the ---center of the curvature

• The mid-point of the hollow sphere is called as----- pole

• The line drawn across the center of curvature and pole is known as the-- principle axis

• Half of the distance between the center of curvature and the pole (0.5 of radius) is known as----

--- focal length.

Reflection of a concave mirror

• Light rays travel parallel and close to the principal axis on a concave mirror converge to a single

point ---- F

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Reflection of a convex mirror

• Light rays travel parallel and close to the principal axis on a convex mirror diverge as if

travelling outwards from a single point ---- F

Images formed by a concave mirror

To locate the position of the image of an object kept in front of a concave mirror any two of the

following four rules can be used.

1. The ray of light through C reflects back through C

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2. The ray of light parallel to the principle axis reflects through F

3. The ray of light through F reflects parallel to principle axis

4. Ray pointing towards P make equal angle and reflects forming a the angle

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Using the above rules nature of the image can be determined when an object placed at different places

of a concave mirror.

a. Object beyond C

• Image: Upside down, magnification less than 01, forms between F and C, real image

b. Object at C

• Image: Upside down, magnification = 01, forms at C, real image

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c. Object between C and F

• Image: Upside down, magnification more than 01, forms beyond C, real image.

d. Object at F

• Image: Upside down, magnification more than 01, forms at infinity, real image

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 e. Object between F and P

• Image: Up-right, magnification more than 01, forms behind mirror, vertual image

Uses of concave mirrors

1. Dentists mirror- to focus light on the tooth to be examined

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2. Shaving mirror- to form a enlarge a erect image of the face

3. Headlamps of vehicles- to obtain a parallel beam of light.

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 Ray Diagram

4. Projecting mirror of the compound microscope

5. To converge a parallel beam of light in telescopes

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 Images formed by convex mirrors

To locate the position and features of image formed by a convex mirrors two rules can be used

1. The ray travelling parallel to the main axis diverge as if travelling outwards from the focus

2. Rays coming toward the focus will travel parallel to the main axis.

3. Ray pointing towards the pole makes equal angle and reflects

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 4. Rays which are coming toward the centre of curvature.

Image forms by the convex mirrors have following features irrespective of the position.

Characteristics

1. Erect

2. Virtual

3. Magnification is less than one.

4. Formed between F and P

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Uses of convex mirrors

1. Use in driving mirrors

To obtain a wider angle of view than a plane mirror

To make it easy to see the objects as light rays are diverge

2. To examine underneath of the vehicles

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Parabolic mirrors

A curved mirror made out of parabolic surface is called a parabolic mirrorThe concave parabolic

mirrors have a true focus for all rays parallel to the main axis.

Uses of parabolic mirrors

1. satellite dishes

2. reflecting telescopes

3. parabolic microphones

4. lighting devices such as spotlights, car headlights

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 Refraction

• Refraction is the change in direction of a wave due to a change in its speed.

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 • This is most commonly observed when a wave passes from one medium to another at any angle

other than 90° or 0°. Refraction of light is the most commonly observed phenomenon

• In refraction of light, ray of light enters from one transparent medium to another transparent

medium it change its direction.

• More dense medium------------------- denser medium

• Less dense medium-------------------- rarer medium

Any ray crossing an interface along the normal line does not change direction at all (no refraction).

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• Light ray entering from lesser dense medium (rarer medium) to denser medium refract towards

the normal

• Light ray entering from dense medium to lesser denser medium refract away from the normal

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Refraction and Speed of light

In the refraction process at the interphase two different mediums, the wave's phase velocity is altered,

usually causing a change in direction.

Its wavelength increases or decreases but its frequency remains constant. But due to the change of the

velocity light rays refract.

Snell's law

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 • Angle of incidence- (i) angle between normal and incident ray

• Angle of refraction- (r) angle between normal and refracted ray

Refraction is described by Snell's law. It describes the relationship between the angles of incidence and

refraction, when referring to light or other waves passing through a boundary between two different

media.

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

rays are on opposite sides of the normal.

2. sin 𝑖/ sin 𝑟 is a constant for a given medium. And this constant value is known as refraction

index of the medium.

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• The relationship between amount of refraction by different materials and their refractive indexes

as folllows.

n1 x Sin 𝜽𝟏 = n2 x Sin 𝜽𝟐

• The values of n, and n, are the refractive indices in each medium.

• The values of 𝜃1, and 𝜃2, are the angles that the ray of light makes to the normal to the interface

between the two media at the point the ray meets at the interface.

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 Types of Refraction

Refraction index can be described in two different ways

Absolute refraction index

The refractive index of a medium measured relative to the vacuum.

Relative refraction index

• The refractive index of a medium measured relative to another medium is known as relative

refractive index

water

w ng

glass

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Refractive indexes of common materials

• Glass ------ 1.52

• Water-------1.33

Eg: Refractive index of water relative to air anw = 1.33

Refractive index of glass relative to air ang = 1.5

Real Depth and Apparent Depth

• Depth that a transparent material such as water or glass appears to have when viewed from

above.

• Normally this is less than its real depth because of the refraction that takes place when light

passes into a less dense medium from dense medium.

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Refractive Index = Real Depth
Apparent depth

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Critical Angle and Total Internal Reflection

• When a light ray enters from a dense medium to a rare medium, it starts to bend away from the

normal.

Rare medium

Dense medium

• When the angle of incidence increases, the angle of refraction also increases.

• The increasement of angle of refraction makes the refracted ray bend towards the interphase.

• At a particular angle of incidence, the refracted ray emerges exactly along the interface.

𝜃 Sin C = 1 / n1

Sin C = 1 / 1.33

Sin C = 0.752

C = Sin-1 0.752

C = 48.8 0

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Critical Angle

• The refracted ray normally bend away from the normal when s ray of light enter into rarer

medium from a dense medium.

• When the incident angle increases, the refracted angle also increases. But in a certain incident

angle the refracted angle travel through the interphase.

• The angle of incidence which makes 900 refracted angle is known as critical angle.

Critical Angle Calculations

n2

B 𝜃2

A
𝜃1
n1

From Snell's law, we can find the critical angle for a material,

n1 x sin 𝜃1 = n2 x sin 𝜃2

If we take medium A to be the optically denser material than B, then 𝜃2 must be 90° when the light is at

the critical angle, 𝜃1, in medium A

𝜃1 = 𝐶
n1 Sin C = n2 Sin 90°

Sin 90° = 1

n1 Sin C = n2

Sin C = n 2 / n1

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 • If the situation involves a light ray emerging into air, then the equation becomes.

Sin C = 1 / n1

• Table below shows the critical angle for a few different materials.

Total internal refraction

• When the angle of incidence is greater than the critical angle the refracted ray reflect back into

the same medium.

• The interphase act as a mirror.

Conditions for total internal reflection to happen

1. Light travels from a denser medium to a less dense medium

2. The incident angle is larger than the critical angle.

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Applications of Total Internal Reflection

1. The movement of light through 45° prisms.

2. Fibre optics

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 3. Medical endoscope

Refraction through a prism

• Light changes speed as it moves from one medium to another. This speed change causes the

light to be refracted and to enter the new medium at a different angle.

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 • The degree of bending of the light's path depends on the angle that the incident beam of light

makes with the surface, and on the ratio between the refractive indices of the two media.

• This causes the spatial separation of a white light into components of different wavelengths

(different colors).the process is known as dispersion.

Recombination

Rainbow

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 Primary colours and secondary colours

Red blue and green are considered as the primary colours. And mixing of two primary colours give

secondary colours.

• Red + blue = magenta

• Red + green = yellow

• Green + blue = cyan

Lenses

• Lens is an optical device which transmits and refracts light by converging or diverging the

beam. Lenses are typically made of glass or transparent plastic.

Convex lenses (Converging lenses)

• The two surfaces of a convex lens can be considered as parts of two imaginary spherical

surfaces, as shown below.

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• C1 and C2 are the centers of two imaginary spherical surfaces.

• Light rays travelling parallel to the principal axis of a convex lens, they bend towards the

principal axis (converge) and travel through a single point on the principal axis.

• This point is called the focus or the focal point of the lens.

• When light beam (Parallel and close to the main axis) pass through the convex mirrors they bend

inwards/ converged to a point on the principal axis.

• Its known as principal focus (F).

• The distance between the principal focus and optical point is known as focal length.

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 • The center of the lense in called as optical center (O). Light rays traveling across the optical

centre will not undergo refraction.

Ray Diagram rules used in convex lenses

To draw a ray diagram several slandered rules are used.

1. A ray through the optical center pass straight through the lense

2. A ray parallel and close to the main axis pass through F

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 3. A ray through F leaves parallel to the main axis

Object beyond 2F

• Real image, forms between F and 2F, Magnification less than 1, upside down

Object at 2F

• Real image, forms at 2F, Magnification 1, Upside down

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Object between 2F and F

• Real image, forms beyond 2F, Magnification more than 1, upside down.

Object at F

• Real image, forms at Infinity, Magnification more than 1, upside down.

Object between F and O

• Virtual image, forms behind lense, Magnification more than 1, upright.

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 Concave lense (Diverging Lense)

• The centre of the sphere that forms surface A is C2 and the centre of the sphere that forms

surface B is C1.

• The line that joins these two centre points is called the principal axis of the lens.

• In both convex lenses and concave lenses, a light ray that travels through the principal axis

passes through the lens without bending.

• When light beam (Parallel and close to the main axis) pass through the concave mirrors they

bend outwards/ diverged, as it coming from a point on the principal axis.

• It is the principal focus in these lenses.

• The distance between the principal focus and optical point is known as focal length.

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 Ray Diagram rules for concave lenses

To draw a ray diagram several slandered rules are used.

1. A ray through the O passes straight through

2. A ray parallel and close to principal axis diverge as if it is coming from the focus

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 3. A ray of light pointing F diverge away parallel to main axis

Images formed by concave mirror

• Virtual image, Magnification less than 1, upright.

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 Optical instruments

1. Simple microscope

• A convex lense fixed to a handle can be used as a magnifying glass.

2. Compound microscope

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Lense near the object------------- objective lens

Lense near the eye---------------- eyepiece lens

Object should be positioned between f and 2f, then the Objective lens produce a real inverted image.

The eyepiece act as a simple magnifying glass but the distance between the objective lens and eyepiece

must be changed in order to positioned the image formed by the objective lens, between f and p of the

eyepiece.

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