Physics and Math: Light and Optics
Spherical mirrors
have centers and radii of curation, as well as focal points concave mirrors convex mirrors plane mirrors
Conex lenses
are converging systems and can produce real, inverted, images or virtual, upright images.
The EM spectrum
includes, from lowest to highest energy: radio waves microwaves infrared visible light ultraviolet x-rays gamma (γ) rays
Multiple lens system (focal length and power equation)
lenses in contact are a series of lenses with negligible distances between them. These systems behave as a single lens with equivalent focal length. power is the reciprocal of focal length
Power
optometrist describes a lens in terms of its power (P). power is the reciprocal of focal length f= focal length in meters
Lenses
refract light to form images of objects
convex mirrors
Diverging systems and will only produce virtual, upright images.
Physics and Math: Light and Optics
16% AAMC: 4D: How light and sound interact with matter
Plane-polarized light
All of the light rays have electric fields w/ parallel orientation. It is created by passing unpolarized light through a polarizer.
Circularly polarized light
All of the light rays have electric fields with equal intensity but constantly rotating direction. Circularly polarized light is created by exposing unpolarized light to special pigments or filters.
concave mirrors
Converging systems and can produce real, inverted images or virtual, upright images, depending on the placement of the object relative to the focal point.
Concaves lenses
Diverging systems and will only produce virtual, upright images
What wave phenomenon do diffraction fringes result from?
Fringes result from constructive and destructive interference between light rays
Why are light waves transverse?
Light waves are transverse because the direction of propagation is perpendicular to the direction of oscillation.
Total internal reflection
Occurs when light cannot be refracted out of a medium and is instead reflected back inside the medium.
Interference supports which theory?
The wave theory of light states that light consists of a series of waves rather than individual particles
How does the application of a polarized filter impact the wavelength of light passing through the filter?
Plane polarization has no effect on the wavelength (or frequency or speed) of light. Polarization does affect the amount of light passing through a medium and light intensity.
plane mirrors
Produce virtual, upright images: these images are always the same size as the object. They may be thought of as spherical mirror with infinite radii of curvature.
Young's double slit experiment
Shows the constructive and destructive interference of waves that occur as light passes through parallel slits, resulting in minima (dark fringes) and maxima (bright fringes) of intensity
Snell's Law (law of refraction)
States that there is an inverse relationship between the index of refraction and the sin angle of the refraction (measured from the normal). The angle of refraction will be smaller than the incident angle.
Aberration (spherical or chromatic)
The alternation or distortion of an image as a result of an imperfection in the optical system
The amount of refraction depends on what?
The amount of refraction depends on the wavelength of the light involved; this behavior causes dispersion of light through a prism.
Diffraction
The bending and spreading out of light waves as they pass through a narrow slit. Diffraction may produce a large central light fringe surrounded by alternating light and dark fringes with the addition of a lens
Refraction
The bending of light as it passes from one medium to another. The speed of light changes depending on index or refraction of the medium. This speed change causes refection
Dispersion
The tendency for different wavelengths of light to experience different degrees of refraction in a medium, leading to separation of light into the visible spectrum (a rainbow).
How does double-slit diffraction and interference differ from single-slit diffraction?
The image formed during double-slit diffraction contains fringes because light rays constructively and destructively interfere. A single slit forms an image of a wide band of light, spread out from its original beam.
Lenses with a non-negligible thickness require use of?
The lensmaker's equation n= index of refraction of lens material r1= radius of curvature of thefirst lens surface r2= radius of curvature of second lens surface
Critical angle
The minimum incident angle at which total internal reflection occurs.
Electromagnetic spectrum
The range of frequencies and wavelengths found in EM waves
Reflection
The rebounding of indecent light waves at the boundary of a medium.
Electromagnetic waves
Transverse waves that consist of an oscillating electric field and an oscillating magnetic field.
When does total internal reflection occur?
When light moves from a medium with a higher index of refraction to a medium with a lower index of refraction with a high incident angle.
Positions of dark fringes in slit-lens setup
a sin θ = nλ
Speed of light from frequency and wavelength equation
c= f λ
Optics equation
f: focal length; distance between the focal point and the mirror o: distance between the object and mirror i: distance between image and mirror r: radius of curvature; distance between C and the mirror
Thin symmetrical lenses have
focal points on each side
Visible spectrum
runs from approximately 400 nm (violet) to 700 nm (red) 4*10¹⁴ Hz to 8*10¹⁴ Hz 1 meter = 1 x 10⁹
Law of reflection
states that the incident angle will equal the angle of reflection, as measured from the normal.
