Lecture 22

Wave Optics-3 Chapter

22
PHYSICS 270
Dennis Papadopoulos
April 2, 2010
R = A[coswt + cos(wt + f ) + cos(wt + 2f ) + cos(wt + 3f ) + ....]
d sinq
f = 2p
l

OQöS = f
A = 2r sin(f /2)
OQöT = nf
sin(nf /2)
AR = 2r sin(nf /2) = A
sin(f /2)
sin2 (nf /2)
I = Io
sin 2 (f /2)
Io º A 2
 sin2 (nf /2)
I = Io
Gratings
sin 2 (f /2)
d sinq
f = 2p
l

Phase Arrays
 What happens when slit is too large to be considered a point source ?
Huygens principle replace wave-front by a continuous series of point
sources
sin2 (nf /2)
I = Io
sin2 (f /2)
d sinq
f = 2p
l

d ® 0;f ® 0
Take nf the difference from one end to the other constant,say nf = F
but send f to zero. sinf » f
2 sin 2 (F /2) sin 2 (F /2)
I = n Io = Imax
F2 F2
When to use ray optics and when wave optics

2.44l L
w= =D
D
Dc = 2.44l L
Actual double slit interference pattern
(a<d and a> wavelength) –
Convolution of ideal double slit
and single slit patterns
Raleigh Criterion

• Two objects are resolvable

if α >θ min =1.22λ /D, namely
the angle of the first dark
fringe of the diffraction
pattern

• Objects not resolvable if

α <θ min

• Objects marginally
resolvable if α = θ min
 Resolution limit -- Rayleigh’s criteria
r circular aperture, slightly different:
 The Resolution of Optical
Instruments
The minimum spot size to which a lens can
focus light of wavelength λ is

where D is the diameter of the circular aperture

of the lens, and f is the focal length.
In order to resolve two points, their angular
separation must be greater than θmin , where

is called the angular resolution of the lens.

The same criterion applies to the focusing spot of mirrors if D is the diameter
of the mirror
Raleigh Criterion

• Two objects are resolvable if

α >θ min =1.22λ /D, namely the angle of the
first dark fringe of the diffraction pattern

• Objects not resolvable if α <θ min

• Objects marginally resolvable if α = θ min

EXAMPLE

The Hubble space telescope has a diameter 2.4 meters. It is used to

photograph objects 30000 light years away ( 1 light year is 9.46x1015
meters). Assume that it uses red light with 650 nm wavelength. What
is the distance between two stars that can be resolved?

θ = 1.22l /D
s = Rq = R(1.22l /D) = 1011 km
The Eye-Angular Magnification- Resolution

SECTIONS 24.3-24.4-24.5
 Vision
• The human eye is roughly spherical, about 2.4
cm in diameter.
• The transparent cornea and the lens are the
eye’s refractive elements.
• The eye is filled with a clear, jellylike fluid
called the aqueous humor and the vitreous
humor.
• The indices of refraction of the aqueous and
vitreous humors are 1.34, only slightly
different from water.
• The lens has an average index of 1.44.
• The pupil, a variable-diameter aperture in the
iris, automatically opens and closes to
control the light intensity.
• The f-numberf-number
varies= from roughly
f/3 meansf/3
thatto
f- f/16,
f/D number is 3
very similar to a camera.
 Focusing and
• The eye Accommodation
focuses by changing the focal length
of the lens by using the ciliary muscles to
change the curvature of the lens surface.
• Tensing the ciliary muscles causes
accommodation, which decreases the lens’s
radius of curvature and thus decreases its
focal length.
• The farthest distance at which a relaxed eye
can focus is called the eye’s far point (FP).
The far point of a normal eye is infinity; that is,
the eye can focus on objects extremely far
away.
• The closest Usually
distance
25 at which an eye can
focus, usingcmmaximum accommodation, is the
 θ ≈ h /s
q NP » h /25cm

Cannot focus any

closer than the near
point of the eye ~
25 cm
 Angular Magnification

Exercise: Compare
sinq » q » h /s » h / f concepts and scaling
of angular vs. lateral
Angular Magnification magnification
M = q /q NP = 25cm / f