Light waves

1) Light is a transverse wave that exhibits properties of reflection and refraction

2) Law of reflection:
Angle of incidence = angle of reflection
The incident ray, reflected ray and normal, all lie in the same plane

3) Properties of image in a plane mirror

-Object distance from mirror = image distance from mirror
-It is upright
-Image is laterally inverted
-Object height = image height
-Image is virtual ie light rays don’t actually meet at the image

4) Refraction of light
Refraction is the bending of light when the medium changes. Refraction occurs due to the change in
the speed of light. During refraction wavelength and speed change while frequency does not change

When light enters a denser medium it bends towards the normal and when light enters a rarer
medium the ray bends away from the normal.

The incident ray, refracted ray and normal all lay on the same plane
The refracted ray and incident ray lie on opposite sides of the normal

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 5) Refractive index is the light bending ability of a material.

6) Refractive index can also be calculated by

7) Refractive index can also be calculated by

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 8) Total internal reflection

When light travels from a denser medium to a less dense medium it bends away from the normal.
During this process some light is internally reflected. This is called partial internal reflection

If the angle of incidence is increased the angle of refraction in air increase upto a maximum value of
90⁰. Critical angle is the angle of incidence in the denser medium which makes an angle of 90⁰ in air.

If the angle of incidence is increased beyond the critical angle all the light is internally reflected and
no refraction occurs. This is called total internal reflection

Two conditions for total internal reflection:

a) Light should be travelling from denser medium to rarer medium
b) Angle of incidence in denser medium should be greater than the critical angle.

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 9) Application of totral internal reflection

Optical fibre

An optical fibre is a glass tube surrounded by a cladding having a low refractve index.
The signals in an optic fiber travel in the form of light waves that get totally internally reflected
within the fibre.
Optic fibres are used in medical applications like endoscopy and in communication.

Advantages of optical fibres in communication

-Since signals travel in the form of light pulses thus high speeds are achieved in communication.
-Many phone calls can be done over the same fibre without interference
-more information can be sent per second
-Less prone to interference, tough to tap into, fewer repeaters needed.

However, Optical fibres need to be sheathed to prevent light passing from one fibre into the next.

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