Chapter 22 &23

Light: Electromagnetic Waves,

Geometric Optics

© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Light as an Electromagnetic Wave and
the Electromagnetic Spectrum

Light was known to be a wave. The production and

measurement of electromagnetic waves of other
frequencies confirmed that light was an electromagnetic
wave as well.
The frequency of an electromagnetic wave is related to
its wavelength:
(22-4)

© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Light as an Electromagnetic Wave and the
Electromagnetic Spectrum
Electromagnetic waves can have any wavelength; we
have given different names to different parts of the
electromagnetic spectrum.

© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Light as an Electromagnetic Wave

• Visible light: Electromagnetic radiation with wavelength 0.4 to

0.75 μm or 400 – 750 nm
 Ultraviolet : 0.01 – 0.4 μm or 10 – 400 nm
 Infrared: 0.75 – 1000 μm or
 Light is in form of waves and consist of particles called
photons.

4
 Example1
1. How long does it take light to reach us form the Sun,
1.5x108km away?

2.What is the frequency of green light of wavelength of

560 nm?

3. What is wavelength of 22.75 GHz radar signal?

© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc.

Geometric Optics – Using a Ray
Approximation
 23-2 Reflection; Image Formation
by a Plane Mirror

Law of reflection: the angle of reflection (that the ray

makes with the normal to a surface) equals the angle of
incidence.

© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Specular Reflection
• Specular reflection is
reflection from a smooth
surface
• The reflected rays are
parallel to each other
• All reflection in this text
is assumed to be
specular
 23-2 Reflection; Image Formation
by a Plane Mirror
When light reflects from a rough surface, the law of
reflection still holds, but the angle of incidence varies. This
is called diffuse reflection.

© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc.

 23-3 Formation of Images
by Spherical Mirrors
Spherical mirrors are shaped like sections of a sphere,
and may be reflective on either the inside (concave) or
outside (convex)

© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc.

 23-3 Formation of Images
by Spherical Mirrors
Parallel rays striking a spherical mirror do not all
converge at exactly the same place if the curvature of the
mirror is large; this is called spherical aberration. A
parabolic reflector will reflect the rays to the perfect
focus

© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc.

 23-3 Formation of Images
by Spherical Mirrors
If the curvature is small, the focus is much more precise;
the focal point is where the rays converge. F – focal point,
f – focal length, C – center of the curvature of the mirror,
r - radius of curvature

© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc.

 23-3 Formation of Images
by Spherical Mirrors

Using geometry, we find that the focal length is half the

radius of curvature:
(23-1)

Spherical aberration can be avoided by using a

parabolic reflector; these are more difficult and
expensive to make, and so are used only when necessary,
such as in research telescopes.

© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc.

 23-3 Formation of Images by Concave Spherical
Mirrors – image of an object placed between C and F

© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc.

 23-3 Formation of Images
by Spherical Mirrors
Geometrically, we can derive an equation that relates the
object distance, image distance, and focal length of the
mirror:

© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc.

 23-3 Formation of Images
by Spherical Mirrors

We can also find the magnification (ratio of image height

to object height).
(23-3)

The negative sign indicates that the image is inverted.

This object is between the center of curvature and the
focal point, and its image is larger, inverted, and real.

© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc.

 23-3 Formation of Images by Concave Spherical
Mirrors-Image of an Object Placed at a Distance
Smaller then the Focal Length

If an object is inside the focal point, its image will be

upright, larger, and virtual.

© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc.

 23-3 Formation of Images
by Convex Spherical Mirrors

For a convex mirror, the

image is always virtual,
upright, and smaller.

© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Example 2

A 1.5 cm high object is placed 20 cm from

the concave mirror with radius of curvature
30 cm. Determine the position of the image
and its size

© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Example 3

A 1.0 cm high object is placed 10 cm from

the concave mirror with radius of curvature
30 cm. Determine the position of the image
and its size.

© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc.

Chapter 23Problem 8, 9, 10 page 674
 Example (23.15)

© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc.

23.20
 23-4 Index of Refraction

In general, light slows

somewhat when traveling
through a medium. The
index of refraction of the
medium is the ratio of the
speed of light in vacuum to
the speed of light in the
medium:

(23-4)

© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Example 4

A slab made of glass ( n= 1.5) has a thickness

of 0.4 m. A. How long does it take 650 nm
light to pass perpendicularly through the slab?
B. What is its wavelength in the glass ? (c =
3x108 m/s)
 23-5 Refraction: Snell’s Law

Light changes direction when crossing a boundary

from one medium to another. This is called
refraction, and the angle the outgoing ray makes
with the normal is called the angle of refraction.

© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc.

© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc.
 23-5 Refraction: Snell’s Law

The angle of refraction depends

on the indices of refraction, and
is given by Snell’s law:

Some values of n
For a vacuum, n = 1
For other media, n > 1
n is a unitless ratio

© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc.

Problem 28, 29
 Total Internal Reflection
• Total internal reflection can
occur when light attempts to
move from a medium with a
high index of refraction to one
with a lower index of refraction
• Ray 4 shows you critical angle
for which
• n1sinθ1 = n2sin900
– Ray 5 shows internal
reflection
 Critical Angle
• A particular angle of
incidence will result in
an angle of refraction
of 90°
– This angle of incidence
is called the critical
angle
n2
s in  C  fo r n 1  n 2
n1
If light passes from media of high
refractive index to a media of
low refractive index, θ’ = 900
at θ = θc

n1sinθ1 = n2sin900
 Examples
7. What is the critical angle for the interface between water
(n=1.33) and Plexiglas (n = 1.51)? To be internally reflected
the light must start in which material?

8. The critical angle of a certain piece of plastic in air is

37.30. What is refractive index of this plastic?
23.39
 23-6 Total Internal Reflection; Fiber Optics

Total internal reflection is also the principle behind fiber

optics. Light will be transmitted along the fiber even if it
is not straight. An image can be formed using multiple
small fibers.

© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Dispersion

• The index of refraction in anything except a vacuum

depends on the wavelength of the light
• This dependence of n on λ is called dispersion
• Snell’s Law indicates that the angle of refraction made
when light enters a material depends on the
wavelength of the light
 Variation of Index of Refraction
with Wavelength
• The index of refraction for a
material usually decreases
with increasing wavelength
• Violet light refracts more than
red light when passing from
air into a material
 Refraction in a Prism

• The amount the ray is bent

away from its original
direction is called the
angle of deviation, δ
• Since all the colors have
different angles of
deviation, they will spread
out into a spectrum
– Violet deviates the most
– Red deviates the least
 The Rainbow

• A ray of light strikes a drop of water in the atmosphere

• It undergoes both reflection and refraction
– First refraction at the front of the drop
• Violet light will deviate the most
• Red light will deviate the least
 The Rainbow, 2

• At the back surface the light is

reflected
• It is refracted again as it returns
to the front surface and moves
into the air
• The rays leave the drop at
various angles
– The angle between the white light
and the violet ray is 40°
– The angle between the white light
and the red ray is 42°
 23-7 Thin Lenses; Ray Tracing
Thin lenses are those whose thickness is small compared
to their radius of curvature. They may be either
converging (a) or diverging (b).

© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Types of Images for Lenses

• A real image is one in which light actually

passes through the image point
– Real images can be displayed on screens
• A virtual image is one in which the light does
not pass through the image point
– The light appears to diverge from that point
– Virtual images cannot be displayed on screens
 23-7 Thin Lenses; Ray Tracing

Parallel rays are brought to a focus by a converging lens

(one that is thicker in the center than it is at the edge).

© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc.

 23-7 Thin Lenses; Ray Tracing

A diverging lens (thicker at the edge than in the center)

make parallel light diverge; the focal point is that point
where the diverging rays would converge if projected
back.

© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc.

 23-7 Thin Lenses; Ray Tracing

The power of a lens is the inverse of its focal length.

(23-7)

Lens power is measured in diopters, D.

1 D = 1 m−1

© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc.

 23-7 Thin Lenses; Ray Tracing

© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc.

 23-8 The Thin Lens Equation

The thin lens equation is the same as the mirror

equation:

© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc.

 23-8 The Thin Lens Equation
The sign conventions are slightly different:
1. The focal length is positive for converging lenses and
negative for diverging.
2. The object distance is positive when the object is on the
same side as the light entering the lens (not an issue
except in compound systems); otherwise it is negative.
3. The image distance is positive if the image is on the
opposite side from the light entering the lens; otherwise
it is negative.
4. The height of the image is positive if the image is
upright and negative otherwise.
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc.
 23-8 The Thin Lens Equation

The magnification formula is also the same as that for a

mirror:

The power of a lens is positive if it is converging and

negative if it is diverging.

© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Example 10
Ellen places an object 20.0 cm from a converging lens.
If a virtual image appears 80.0 cm from the lens on the
same side as the object, what is the focal length of the
lens?
Chapter 23 page 675
 Example 11

An object is placed at a distance of 30 cm from a thin

converging lens along its axis. The lens has a focal
length of 10 cm. What are the values, respectively, of
the image distance and magnification?
23.51