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Chapter 26 Ray Optics
Chapter 26 Ray Optics
Reflection
a process in which light bounces off of a surface surface
the angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection, law of reflection
θi = θr normal
θr
θi
angles are measured from the normal to the surface
if the surface is smooth such that all light rays are reflected in the same
direction, this is called specular reflection
if the surface is rough such that all light rays are not reflected in the same direction, this is called
diffused reflection
Plane Mirror
a plane mirror is just a flat mirror
observer
mirror mirror
observer
the object distance is the distance between the mirror and object
the image distance is the distance between the mirror and image
for a plane mirror these two distances are the same
the magnification is +1 because the apparent size of the image is the same as the object and the
object and image have the same orientation
mirror
object image
orientation orientation
object image
page 1
Example 26-1
An observer at table level a distance d behind the object which is also a distance d from a plane
mirror looks at the top of the image. What is the height of the location where the light from the top
of the object bounce off of the mirror (in terms of the height of the object)?
mirror
h
observer y
d object d image
d d
h/2
h θ
θ
By looking at the triangles, the angle of the reflected ray is also 30°.
Spherical Mirror
a mirror made of a section of a sphere concave mirror
if the reflective side is curved in then it is a concave mirror
radius
if the reflective side is curved out then it is a convex mirror principal
the radius is always perpendicular to the mirror surface so it is center focus axis
always the normal
page 2
for a concave mirror, the focus is defined by where parallel convex mirror
incident rays converge after reflection
radius
for a convex mirror, the focus is defined by where parallel
principal
incident rays appear to originate after reflection axis focus center
the focus is located half way between the mirror and the center
of curvature of the mirror
for a concave mirror, the actual light rays converge so the image
is called real
for a convex mirror, the actual light rays diverge so the image is called virtual
θr
incident incident θi
light ray θi light ray
θr
Spherical Aberration
for “large” mirrors, parallel rays focus perfectly for only parabolic mirrors
for spherical mirrors, the reflected light rays donʼt exactly line up at the focus so the image is
always slightly fuzzy
Ray Tracing
method to find the image due to an optical instrument graphically
where these three rays intersect (or appear to originate) is where the image is located
the 3 principal rays
1." incident ray parallel to the principal axis reflects through the focus
2." incident ray going through the focus reflects back parallel to the principal axis
3." incident ray going through the center of curvature returns reflects back through the center of
curvature
c f c f c f
o o o
page 3
the image is real, upside-down, and smaller
c f
o
image
c f c f c f
o o o
page 4
Mirror Equation
mathematical method for finding the properties of an
image due to a mirror do>0
ho>0 f>0
the focal length is defined as
1
f =± R di>0
2
hi<0
+ for a concave and – for a convex mirror
the mirror equation says where the image is
1 1 1
= +
f do d i do>0
ho>0 f<0
the size of the image is given by the magnification
h d di<0
m= i =− i hi>0
ho do
Example
The concave side of a spoon has a focal length of 5.00 cm. What are the image distances and
magnifications of an object whose object distances are (a) 25.0 cm, (b) 9.00 cm, and (c) 2.00 cm?
A diagram of part (a) shows that the image distance is approximately +6 cm.
10 5
25
The magnification is
di 6.25 1
m=− =− = −0.25 = −
do 25 4
page 5
A diagram of part (b) shows that the image distance is about +10 cm. 9
Using the mirror equation,
−1 −1 10 5
⎛1 1 ⎞ ⎛ 1 1 ⎞
di = ⎜ − ⎟ =⎜ − = 11.3 cm
⎝ f do ⎠ ⎝ 5 cm 9 cm ⎟⎠
The magnification is
di 11.3
m=− =− = −0.25 = −1.25
do 9
A diagram of part (c) shows that the image distance is about -1.3
cm.
Using the mirror equation, 10 5
−1 −1
⎛1 1 ⎞ ⎛ 1 1 ⎞
di = ⎜ − ⎟ =⎜ − = −3.33 cm 2
⎝ f do ⎠ ⎝ 5 cm 2 cm ⎟⎠
At least the sign is correct and it is in the ball park.
The magnification is
di −3.33
m=− =− = +1.7
do 2
Example
A convex mirror has a radius of curvature of 20.0 cm. What is the image distance for an object
6.33 cm from the mirror? What is the magnification of the image?
6.33 ~4.5 10 20
It appears that the image distance should be about -4.5 cm and the magnification is about +0.6.
The mirror equation says that
−1 −1
⎛1 1 ⎞ ⎛ 1 1 ⎞
di = ⎜ − ⎟ =⎜ − = −3.88 cm
⎝ f do ⎠ ⎝ −10 cm 6.33 cm ⎟⎠
The magnification is
d −3.88 cm
m=− i =− = +0.61
do 6.33 cm
page 6
Example
A 1.75 m person standing 1.10 m from a sphere of 8.50 cm diameter casts an image of what size
and location?
The object size is 1.75 m. The object distance is 1.10 m. The radius of curvature is 0.0425 m.
The focal length is 0.02125 m. Since the mirror is convex, the focal length is actually -0.02125 m.
Using the mirror equation,
−1 −1
1 1 1 ⎛1 1 ⎞ ⎛ 1 1 ⎞
= − ⇒ di = ⎜ − ⎟ =⎜ − = −0.0208 m = −2.08 cm
d i f do ⎝ f do ⎠ ⎝ −0.02125 m 1.10 m ⎟⎠
Example
To look at the back side of a tooth with a greater than 1 magnification and an upright image, what
kind of mirror must be used?
If the mirror is placed 1.5 cm from the tooth and a magnification of +2.0 is desired, what should be
the focal length of the mirror?
To meet both requirements, a concave mirror is necessary.
The mirror equation says that
−1 −1
1 1 1 ⎛ 1 1⎞ ⎛ 1 1⎞
= + ⇒ f =⎜ + ⎟ =⎜ + ⎟
f do d i ⎝ do d i ⎠ ⎝ 1.5 cm d i ⎠
Since the magnification is
di
m=− = +2.0, d i = −2d o
do
combining the two equations gives
−1
⎛ 1 1 ⎞
f =⎜ + = 3 cm
⎝ 1.5 −2(1.5) ⎟⎠
Refraction
the bending of light path passing through the interface between two materials with different
speeds of light
the speed of the medium is measured using the index of refraction, n, defined as
c c
v= or n =
n v
for some substances: diamond 2.4, glass 1.4 to 1.7, ice 1.3, water 1.33, air 1.000
the angle of refracted light depends on the angle of incident measured from the normal
Snellʼs Law relates the angles and indexes of refraction
page 7
n i sin θi = n r sin θr
alternatively
ni
sin θr = sin θi
nr
if light travels from a lower index medium to a higher one, the refracted angle is smaller than the
incident angle
if light travels from a higher index medium to a lower one, the refracted angle is larger than the
incident angle
no refraction occurs if the incident angle is 0° or if the indices were the same
Example
θi
1.8 m
You shine a laser at an object that is under water. The beam starts
out 1.8 m above the water and it hits a spot 2.4 m away on the 2.4 m
surface. The water is 5.5 m deep. How far away is the object from θr
you? 5.5 m
object
From the diagram, the incident angle is x
2.4 m
tan θi = ⇒ θi = 0.927 rad = 53.1°
1.8 m
The index of refraction of air is 1.00 and of water is 1.33. So the
refracted angle is
(1.00)sin(0.927 rad) = (1.33)sin θr ⇒ θr = 0.645 rad = 37.0°
This means the distance x is apparent object
location
x
tan θr = ⇒ x = 4.14 m actual object
5.5 m
location
and the distance of the object from you is 6.5 m. And it appear
to come from a shallower location.
page 8
Example
What are the critical angles for light traveling from glass (n = 1.50) to air (1.00) and from glass to
water (n = 1.33)?
From glass to air,
n i sin θi = n r sin θr ⇒ (1.50)sin θc = (1.00)sin 90° = 1.00 ⇒ θc = 41.8°
From glass to water,
n i sin θi = n r sin θr ⇒ (1.50)sin θc = (1.33)sin 90° = 1.33 ⇒ θc = 62.5°
Lenses
Converging Lens
the 3 principal rays
1." ray parallel to the principal axis goes through the
focus on the other side
2." ray coming through the focus comes out parallel to the principal axis
3." ray going through the center of the lens passes through unchanged
object outside the focus
lens
object
image
principal axis
focus
page 9
the image is made of actual, converging light rays so it is real
object inside the focus
image lens
principal axis
focus object
the image is made of light rays that donʼt converge to form an image so the image is virtual
Demo: converging lens animation
Diverging Lens
the 3 principal rays
1." ray parallel to the principal axis appears to come from the focus on the same side
2." ray going toward the opposite focus comes out parallel to the principal axis
3." ray going through the center of the lens passes through unchanged
for an object beyond the focus, the image is virtual since the light rays do not converge but looks
to come from some other location
lens
object image
principal axis
focus
object
principal axis
focus image
page 10
Thin Lens Sign Conventions
focal length: converging lens is positive and diverging lens is negative
object distance: positive (real) if the object is on the side where the light is coming toward the lens
" negative (virtual) if the object is on the side where the light is leaving the lens
image distance: positive (real) if the image is on the side where the light is leaving the lens
" negative (virtual) if the image is on the side where the light is coming toward the lens
image magnification: same orientation as object is positive and opposite object is negative
Example
A glass converging lens has a focal length of f. Would the focal length of the same lens be larger
or smaller if the lens were to be immersed in water?
The amount of refraction is decreased when immersed in water so the focal length increases.
Example
A lens produces a real image twice as larger as the original object. The image is located 15 cm
from the lens. What is the object distance and what is the focal length of the lens?
Since the image is real, it means the lens is a converging lens. It also means that the image is
upside-down. The second statements say the following
d d 15 cm
m = − i ⇒ do = − i = − = +7.5 cm
do m −2
The object distance is +7.5 cm so the focal length is
−1 −1
1 1 1 ⎛ 1 1⎞ ⎛ 1 1 ⎞
= + ⇒ f =⎜ + ⎟ =⎜ + = 5.0 cm
f do d i ⎝ do d i ⎠ ⎝ 7.5 cm 15 cm ⎟⎠
Example
A object is placed 12 cm from a diverging lens of focal length -7.9 cm. What is the image distance
and what is the magnification of the image?
The thin lens equation says that the image distance is
−1 −1
1 1 1 ⎛1 1 ⎞ ⎛ 1 1 ⎞
= + ⇒ di = ⎜ − ⎟ =⎜ − = −4.8 cm
f do d i ⎝ f do ⎠ ⎝ −7.9 cm 12 cm ⎟⎠
The magnification then is
d −4.8 cm
m=− i =− = +0.40
do 12 cm
page 11
Rainbow angle-accurate diagram
rainbows are formed from sunlight is refracted then reflected then
refracted again from water droplets in the sky sun light
blue light is refracted more so it comes back at a sharper angle
from the sun light
sun light
sun
sun light
observer rain drops
rainbow is seen when you are between the sun and the water
droplets
in fact, if you are elevated, you could see the entire rainbow
which is circularly symmetric
observer
sun
rain drops
if the sun light is strong enough and there is enough rain drops, you can see a secondary rainbow
in which the color order is reversed because of an extra bounce within the rain drop
more light is lost so it is also weaker
sun light
sun
page 12