Optics

Light is a form of Energy. It effects the eye so as to produce the sensation of

vision. The visible light is a small portion of the electromagnetic waves. It
ranges from the Violet (of wavelength 400nm) to Red (of wavelength 700nm).
Light is often emitted when the valence electrons in an atom change their
state of motion. (Optical transition) vision is perhaps man’s most valued gift of
Allah. The scientific study of light is called optics. It is divided into two
categories.
1. Physical Optics (wave optics):
It discusses nature of light and its properties, e.g Interference, Diffraction and
Polarization etc.
2. Geometrical Optics (ray optics):
It discusses reflection and refraction of light and deals with mirrors, lenses,
prism and their applications in optical instruments.
In ordinary situation, light travel in straight line. The straight line paths
followed by light are called light rays.
Wavefront:
A source of light sends out disturbance in all
directions. In homogeneous medium, the velocity of
light is same in all directions, therefore all the
particles of the medium at the same distance from
the source of light vibrates in same phase. The locus
of all such particles vibrating in same phase is called
the wavefront. “The continuous locus of all the particles of the medium which
are vibrating in the same phase is called the wavefront”

Huygen’s Principle:
Huygen’s Principle is a geometrical construction for determining the position
of a new wavefront at same instant from the position of the previous
wavefront. This principle can be stated as under;
1. Every point on a given wavefront acts as a source of secondary wavelets
(called secondary waves) which travel in all directions with the velocity
of light in the vaccum.
 2. The position of the new wavefront at
any instant is a surface touching
those secondary wavelets
tangentially in the forward direction
at that instant.
Huygen’s principle can be used to
explain the phenomenon of reflection &
refraction of light on the basis of wave theory of light.

Refractive Index:
When a ray of light travels from one medium
(a) into another medium (b) it suffers
refraction. If i is the angle of incident (in
medium a) and r the corresponding angle of
refraction (in medium b)
sin 𝑖 𝑎
then = 𝜇𝑏
sin 𝑟
Where 𝜇𝑏𝑎 is the refractive index of the
medium ‘b’ with respect to the medium ‘a’.
3. According to the wave theory of light, if C is
the velocity of light in vacuum/air and v in a medium, then refractive
𝑐
index of the medium 𝜇 =
𝑣
Thus refractive index of a medium is the ratio of velocity of light in
vacuum to the velocity of light in the medium.
4. When monochromatic light travels from one medium to the other, its
velocity and the wavelength changes but the frequency remains const.
𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑚𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑢𝑚 𝑎
Hence 𝜇𝑏𝑎 =
𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑚𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑢𝑚 𝑏
𝑓𝜆𝑎 𝜆𝑎
𝜇𝑏𝑎 = =
𝑓𝜆𝑏 𝜆𝑏

Optical Path:
The geometrical path between two points is the actual distance travelled by
light in going from one point to the other.
The optical path is defined as “The product of the geometrical path and the
refractive index of the medium”.
If a ray of light travels a geometrical distance x in a medium of refractive index
𝜇, then optical path = (refractive index) x (geometrical path)
Optical path = 𝜇 𝑥
In a given time, light travels the same optical path in different media, if in time
t, light travel a distance 𝑥1 , in a medium of refractive index 𝜇1 , and a distance
𝑥2 in a medium of refractive index 𝜇2 , then 𝜇1 𝑥1 = 𝜇2 𝑥2
Optical path is the distance which light would have travelled in air/vacuum
during the same time.

Q: State and explain Fermat’s Principle of least time (or stationary time)?
Ans: Before Fermat’s Law it is assumed that the light travels from one point
to another point along the shortest path, But in case of refraction light doesn’t
follow the shortest path.
Fermat suggested that principle of shortest path can be replaced by principle
of shortest time or least time.
“A ray of light is passing from one point to another through a set of media by
any number of reflection or refractions chooses a path along which the time
taken is the least or minimum”

But it is found that there are a number of cases in

which the real path of light is the one for which the
time taken is not minimum but maximum.
In case of spherical reflectors light prefers
maximum time, and in case of elliptical reflectors
light ray takes the same time for all paths.
Fermat’s Principle of Extremum Time:
A ray of light in passing from one point to the other through any number of
reflections or refractions follows a path for which the time taken is either
minimum or maximum or stationary i.e. extremum

Q: Using Fermat’s principle Establish the Laws of reflection of Light?

Ans: Derivation of Laws of Reflection:
1. Consider a plane mirror 𝑀1 𝑀2 and a plane abcd normal to it. A ray of
light AO incident at O is reflected along OB. The rays AO, OB and normal
ON lie in the plane abcd.
Consider another ray AO’ reflected from the
point O’ where OO’ is normal to the plane abcd.
The incident ray AO’ is reflected along O’B.
Now AO’ > AO and O’B > OB.
Thus the path (AO’ + O’B) > (AO + OB), which is
against Fermat’s Principle. Hence O’ must
coincide with O for the path to be minimum.
Hence AO, OB and ON all lies in the same plane.
2. Second Law of Reflection:
To derive 2nd law of reflection, consider the point of incident O on the mirror
𝑀1 𝑀2 so that the time taken by light to travel from A to B via O is minimum.
Let i be the angle of incident and r that of reflection.
If c is the velocity of light, the time t to travel the optical path (AO + OB) is
𝐴𝑂+𝑂𝐵
given by T =
𝐶
Here we have, AO = √𝑎2 + 𝑥 2
OB = √𝑏 2 + (𝑑 − 𝑥)2
√𝑎2 + 𝑥 2 +√𝑏2 + (𝑑−𝑥)2
t= (putting values of AO and OB)
𝐶
If the point O’ is displaced slightly along 𝑀1 𝑀2 , x will
be change by dx and slightly different path will be
obtained for light and time will be different. As A
and B are fixed ‘d’ will remain the same for the new
path.
According to Fermat’s Principle the time of actual
traverse should be extremum, i.e. minimum,
𝑑𝑡
maximum or stationary, or = 0
𝑑𝑥
𝑑𝑡 1 𝑥 𝑑−𝑥
= [ − ]=0
𝑑𝑥 𝐶 √𝑎2 + 𝑥 2 √𝑏2 + (𝑑−𝑥)2
𝑥 𝑑−𝑥
= ]
√𝑎2 + 𝑥 2 √𝑏2 + (𝑑−𝑥)2
Sin i = Sin r ⟹i=r
Thus the path of light from A to B via the plane mirror traversed in the least
time is such that the angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection.