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Chapter 29: Introduction,
Electromagnetic wave,
Reflection, Refraction and
Dispersion.

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 1.1. Introduction
1. Light travels in straight lines
2. Light travels much faster than sound
(light velocity = 3108 m/s in vacuum,
sound velocity = 344 m/s at room temp.)
3. We see things because they reflect light
into our eyes
4. Shadows are formed when light is
blocked by an object
5. Images are formed when rays meet.
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 1.2. Electromagnetic waves
• Light is an electromagnetic wave, that is,
light is a self-propagating combination of
oscillating electric and magnetic fields.
• It can be shown that changing of electric
field causes changing of magnetic field
and vice-versa.
• A waving electric field causes a similarly
waving magnetic field at right angle to it.
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 1.2. Electromagnetic waves

• Light is an electromagnetic wave,that is, light

is a self propagating combination of oscillating
electric and magnetic fields.

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1.2. Electromagnetic waves

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 1.3. Reflection of Light
• When light hits the surface of
almost any material, some of
that light “ bounces back” off
the surface. This is called
reflection.
• It is how we are able to see
objects.
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 1.3. Specular reflection
Smooth, shiny surfaces have
clear (specular = regular)
reflection. Light rays remain
parallel after reflection.

Rough, dull surfaces have

diffuse (irregular) reflection. In
that case light is scattered in
different directions.
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 1.4. Refraction of light
Refraction is the change in the direction of light
rays when it changes media.

During refraction, light speed up or slow down

due to travelling in different media.
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 1.4. Index of refraction
Index of refraction (n) of a medium is given by:

speed of light in vacuum

n
speed of light in this medium

c
i.e. n  always v  c  n  1
v

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1.4. Refractive index of some elements

The

Hence
Diamond

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 1.4. Snell’s Law
Snell’s Law - relates the indices of
refractions and the angles of
incidence and refraction

n1 sin 1  n2 sin  2

If light speeds up, rays bend

away from the normal.

If light slows down, rays

bend toward the normal.
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 Example
A ray of light is incident on a glass-water surface from the
glass at an angle of 45. Find the angle of refraction if the
index of refraction of the glass is 1.5.

(1.5)(sin 45) = (1.33)(sin 2)

45
1.061 glass n1 = 1.5
sin  2  ,  2  52.9
1.33 water n2 = 1.33
?

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 1.4. Total internal reflection
When light is incident non-normal from a medium of
high refractive index into another medium of less
refractive index:
 The transmitted part of the ray is bent away from
the normal.
 There is also reflected part in the same medium
of the incident ray. Such reflection is commonly
called internal reflection.
 Higher than certain angle of incidence (called
critical angle), the light rays is totally reflected.
This is called total internal reflection.
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1.4. Total internal reflection

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 1.4. Total internal reflection

The critical angle ()

is corresponding to n2
angle of refraction n1
equal to 90

nn11sin
sinc cn2sinn90
2
It can be calculated
n2
from Snell’s law as:  sin  c 
n1
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Chapter: 30 - Lenses
Chapter: 31 - The Parts of Eye

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 2. Image formation (Lenses)

Optical instruments such as:

Cameras Telescopes Human eye

All employ lenses and in some cases mirrors for image formation

Microscopes

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 2.1. Lenses
• A lens is a piece of transparent material made of
glass or polymer, while the lens of the human
eye is formed by a transparent membrane filled
with a clear fluid.
• A lens can focus light so that an image is formed.
There are two types
of lenses:
1) converging
(convex) lenses.
2) diverging
(concave)lenses.

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Convex lenses
Convex lenses are thicker in the middle and focus light rays to a focal
point in front of the lens.

 Focal length (distance) is the distance between focus (focal

point) and the center of the lens

 The main optical axis is the line passes through the focus and
the center of the length
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2.1. How to draw the ray diagram of a lens?
 Draw the main optical axis.
 Draw three rays from the top of the object:
1. Ray Parallel optical axis will be refracts through the other focus
2. Ray passes through the center of the lens does not refract
3. Ray passes through the focus of the lens refracts parallel to the
main optical axis


Object  Main optical axis
 F’
F C
F and F’: focal point Image

f and f’: focal distance
s: object distance
s’: image distance f f’
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s s’
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2.2. Lens formula

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Sign conventions

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 Example

An eyeglass lens has a focal length of -2 m. If it

is 4 m from a book, where is the image of the
book?
Given: f  2 m " concavelens" , s  4 m , s '  ??
1 1 1
  '
f s s
1 1 1 1 1  2 1 3
     
s' f s 2 4 4 4
4
s 
'
 1.33 m virtual image
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Magnification law

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The power of lens

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The power of lens

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 Example
A lens 0.1 m from a lamp forms a real image of this lamp that is 10
times larger. What is the focal length of the lens?

+ve +ve

Given: s  0.1 m , h  10 h , f  ??
'

' ' '

h s 10 h s
M    ,   , s  10 s  1 m
'

h s h s
1 1 1 1 1 1
  '    11 f   0.09 m
f s s 0.1 1 11
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 2.2. The human eye
Main parts of the eye
 Cornea- bends light,
 Iris-controls the amount of light,
 Pupil – opening,
 Sclera – outer covering,
 Crystalline Lens – focuses light
onto retina,
 Fovea – center of the vision
“0.25 mm diameter”,
 Retina – back of eye
 Optic nerve - “single wire”
(corresponds to blind spot),
 Choroid – absorbs stray light, 38
2.2. The mechanism of image forming
• Light enters to eye through cornea
which refracts it. Cornea has a small
radius of curvature (0.8 cm) so most
of the bending light occurs inside it.
• The light reaches the interior of the
eye through the pupil.
• The light refracted more through the
crystalline lens onto the retina.

• The retina consists of photosensitive cells which convert light into

“electrical signals”. These signals are sent to the brain via the optic
nerve. The image is perceived.
• P.N.B. Both humors have an index of refraction equal to 1.336, very
close to that of water, which is 1.333, while the crystalline lens has a
slightly large index, 1.437. 39
Chapter 31: Emmetropia,
Myopia, Hypermetropia,
Presbyopia and Astigmatism

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 3.1. Emmetropia ( Normal Vision)
• Emmetropia is a state in which the eye is relaxed
and focused on an object more than 6 meters or
20 feet away.
• The light rays coming from that object are
essentially parallel, and the rays are focused on
the retina without effort.
• If the gaze shifts to something closer, light rays
from the source are too divergent to be focused
without effort.
• In other words, the eye is automatically focused
on things in the distance unless a conscious effort
is made to focus elsewhere. 41
3.1. Emmetropia ( Normal vision)

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 3.1. Eye accommodation
Accommodation of the eye is the process by which
the ciliary muscles can change the focal length of an eye lens to
focus objects clearly on the retina. It is a measure of the ability of
the eye to focus objects lying at different distances.

A  Pn  Pf

The Power of accommodation of the eye (A) is the difference

between the powers of the eye lens measured at extreme
distances (near & far distances). 43
 3.1. The power of accommodation
A  Pn  Pf
s S’

1 1 1
P  
The power of the lens is: f s s'
For near point For far point
S =25 cm = 0.25 m S =
S’ = 2 cm = 0.02 m for normal eye S’ = 0.02 m for normal eye
1 1 1 1 1 1
 Pn     54 diopters  Pf     50 diopters
f 0.25 0.02 f  0.02
A  Pn  Pf  54  50  4 diopters 44
3.2. defects of the human eye and corrections

3.2 Short-sightedness (Myopia)

In short-sightedness nearby objects are

in focus while distant objects are blurred.
This is because light rays converge in
front of the retina instead of on the retina.

Short-sightedness can be corrected by

concave lenses. The convergence of light
rays is shifted backwards to the retina.

Short-sighted people who wish to go

through life without having to wear
glasses or contact lenses can have a lens
implantation. 45
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 3.3. Long-sightedness (Hypermetropia)

In long-sightedness distant objects are

in focus while nearby objects are more
blurred. This is because light rays from
nearby converge behind the retina.

Long-sightedness may be corrected

with convex lenses. The convergence
of light rays is shifted forwards to the
retina.

Long-sighted people who wish to go

through life without having to wear
glasses or contact lenses can have a
lens implantation. 47
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 3.4. Senile vision (Presbyopia)

The accommodative power of the eyes (their ability to focus)

diminishes with age. The natural crystalline lens is unable to assume
a sufficiently convex shape in order to focus on nearby images.
Senile vision can be corrected by using reading glasses.
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 3.5. Cylinder deviation (Astigmatism)
In a cylinder deviation, the cornea does
not refract the light in the same way in all
directions.
This is because the cornea does not have
a perfectly spherical shape. It is more
convex in one direction than in the other
(rugby ball). Cylinder deviations
frequently occur in combination with
short- or long-sightedness. Cylindrical
lenses are available for correcting
cylinder correction.

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