Exam 3: Tuesday, April 17, 5:00-6:00 PM

Test rooms:
Instructor Sections Room
Dr. Madision E, G McNutt 204
Dr. Parris J, L Toomey 199
Mr. Upshaw B, H, K, N Schrenk G3
Dr. Vojta A, D Physics 104
Dr. Wilemski F, M BCH 125
Today’s agenda:

Introduction to Light.
You must develop a general understanding of what light is and how it behaves.

Reflection and Refraction (Snell’s Law).

You must be able to determine the path of light rays using the laws of reflection and
refraction.

Total Internal Reflection and Fiber Optics.

You must be able to determine the conditions under which total internal reflection occurs,
and apply total internal reflection to fiber optic and similar materials.

Dispersion.
You must understand that the index of refraction of a material is wavelength-dependent.
 What is Light?

Optics: physics of light

• different layers of understanding/describing light

Geometric optics:
• light consists of rays, moves in straight line until it hits
interface
• arose in ancient Greece ~300BC ( = appearance)
• greatly developed in Persia in the middle ages
(in 984, mathematician Ibn Sahl wrote treatise "On burning mirrors and lenses“
that contained a version of Snell’s law)
Wave optics:
• light is a wave phenomenon (Huygens 1690)
• new effects beyond geometric optics: interference
• later: light is electromagnetic wave
• unified with theory of electromagnetism by Maxwell (1860s)

Modern (quantum) optics:

• light is not just a wave but at the same time consists of
particles, the photons
• started by Planck and Einstein around 1900
• many new phenomena, e.g., the laser

In this course:
geometric optics and wave optics, for quantum optics take
Physics 2305 “Introduction To Modern Physics”
Reminder:
Visible light is a small part of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Wavelenths of visible light: 400 nm (violet) to 700 nm (red)

Geometric Optics

• occupies first half of optics part of Physics 2135

• light consists of rays (infinitely thin beams of light)

• in vacuum or in uniform medium,

ray is a straight line

• if medium is not uniform (for example at a surface), ray

can be curved or bent

• we can see an object if rays

emitted by the object enter
our eyes
(if you can see something, it must be a
source of light!)
Today’s agenda:

Introduction to Light.
You must develop a general understanding of what light is and how it behaves.

Reflection and Refraction (Snell’s Law).

You must be able to determine the path of light rays using the laws of reflection and
refraction.

Total Internal Reflection and Fiber Optics.

You must be able to determine the conditions under which total internal reflection occurs,
and apply total internal reflection to fiber optic and similar materials.

Dispersion.
You must understand that the index of refraction of a material is wavelength-dependent.
Reflection

• light striking a surface may be reflected, transmitted, or

absorbed

• reflection from a
smooth surface is
specular (mirror- like)

• reflection from a rough

surface is diffuse (not
mirror-like).

http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/j
ava/reflection/specular/index.html/
 Specular reflection:

• reflected light leaves surface at the same angle it was

incident on surface:

i = r

i r

Real Important Note: the angles are measured relative to the surface normal.
Refraction

• light rays change direction

(are “refracted”) when they
move from one medium to
another

• refraction takes place because

light travels with different
speeds in different media

Speed of light in vacuum:

c = 2.9979x108 m/s (just use 3x108 m/s)
• in medium, light moves at speed v, slower than in vacuum
• index of refraction of a material is defined by

c
n = If you study light in advanced classes,
you’ll find it is more complex than this.
v

• recall: wave speed v = f

• speed and wavelength change when light passes from

one medium to another, frequency stays the same

c 
v= and n = .
n n
Because light never travels faster than c, n  1.* For water,
n = 1.33 and for glass, n 1.5. Indices of refraction for
several materials are listed in your text.

Example: calculate the speed of light in diamond (n = 2.42).

c
v =
n

3×108 m/s
v =
2.42

v = 1.24×108 m/s

*Actually, not true but don’t worry about it unless you take advanced courses in optics.
 Snell’s Law

• quantitative description of refracted (bent) ray

a: angle of incidence, b: angle of refraction

a b
air (na) air (nb)
water (nb) water (na)
b a

nb>na na>nb

na sin  θa  = nb sin  θb 
Light passing from air (n  1) into water (n  1.33).

Light “bends” towards the normal to the surface as it slows

down in water.

a
air (na)
(1) sin  θa  = (1.33) sin  θb 
water (nb)
θa > θb
b

nb>na

na sin  θa  = nb sin  θb 
Light passing from water (n  1.33) into air (n  1).

Light “bends” away from the normal to the surface as it

speeds up in air.

(1.33) sin  θa  = (1) sin  θb  b

air (nb)
water (na)
θa < θb
a

na>nb

na sin  θa  = nb sin  θb 
Snell’s law: na sin  θa  = nb sin  θb  .

air (na) air (na)

a a

b b

water (nb) water (nb)

You are free to choose which is “a” and which is “b.”

 is the angle the ray makes with the normal!

Example: a 45-45-90 glass (n=1.50) prism is surrounded by
water (n=1.33). Light is incident at a 23 angle, as shown in
the diagram. What angle does the light make when it exits the
prism?

45

ng=1.50

45

nw=1.33
i
Example: a 45-45-90 glass (n=1.50) prism is surrounded by
water (n=1.33). Light is incident at a 23 angle, as shown in
the diagram. What angle does the light make when it exits the
prism?

45 1.33 sin θi = 1.50 sin θg

ng=1.50 1.33
sin θg = sin 23
g 1.50

45 keep an extra digit to

θg = 20.27 reduce roundoff error
nw=1.33
i
Example: a 45-45-90 glass (n=1.50) prism is surrounded by
water (n=1.33). Light is incident at a 23 angle, as shown in
the diagram. What angle does the light make when it exits the
prism?

45 Trig…

20.27 65.27 90 - 20.27 = 69.73

180 - 69.73 - 45 = 65.27

69.73 45

nw=1.33 90 - 65.27 = 24.73

There are a variety of
23 ways to get this.
Example: a 45-45-90 glass (n=1.50) prism is surrounded by
water (n=1.33). Light is incident at a 23 angle, as shown in
the diagram. What angle does the light make when it exits the
prism?

45


24.73 45

nw=1.33
Example: a 45-45-90 glass (n=1.50) prism is surrounded by
water (n=1.33). Light is incident at a 23 angle, as shown in
the diagram. What angle does the light make when it exits the
prism?

45 1.50 sin 24.73 = 1.33 sin 


1.50
sin  = sin 24.73
1.33

24.73 45
 = 28.2
nw=1.33
Today’s agenda:
Introduction to Light.
You must develop a general understanding of what light is and how it behaves.

Reflection and Refraction (Snell’s Law).

You must be able to determine the path of light rays using the laws of reflection and
refraction.

Total Internal Reflection and Fiber Optics.

You must be able to determine the conditions under which total internal reflection occurs,
and apply total internal reflection to fiber optic and similar materials.

Dispersion.
You must understand that the index of refraction of a material is wavelength-dependent.
Total Internal Reflection; Fiber Optics

n1 sin  θ1  = n2 sin  θ2 
n2
sin  θ1  = sin  θ2 
n1

Suppose n2<n1
• largest possible value of sin(2) is 1 (when 2 = 90)
• therefore, largest possible value of sin(1) is
n2
sin  θ1,max  = sin(θc ) = . For 1 larger than c , Snell’s
n1 Law cannot be satisfied!

• for 1 > C: no refracted ray, light is totally reflected

• C is called the critical angle of total internal reflection
 1 < C 1 close to C

1 1

1 > C

1
 n2

 n1>n2

Ray incident normal to surface is not “bent.” Some is reflected,

some is transmitted.
 n2

 n1>n2

Increasing angle of incidence…

 n2

 n1>n2

Increasing angle of incidence…more…

 n2

 n1>n2

Increasing angle of incidence…more…critical angle reached…

some of incident energy is reflected, some is “transmitted
along the boundary layer.
 n2

 n1>n2

Light incident at any angle beyond C is totally internally

reflected.
application: fiber optics

http://laser.physics.sunysb.edu/~wise/wise187/janfeb2001/reports/andr
ea/report.html
Example: determine the incident angle i for which light strikes
the inner surface of a fiber optic cable at the critical angle.

Light is incident at f
an angle i on a i
transparent fiber. nf>1
ni=1 (air)

The light refracts at an angle f.

ni sin  θi  = nf sin  θf 

sin  θi  = nf sin  θf 
 90
Light strikes the fiber
wall an an angle of 90-f
f
90-f normal to the i
surface. nf>1
ni=1 (air)

At the critical angle, instead of exiting the fiber, the refracted

light travels along the fiber-air boundary. In this case, 90-f is
the critical angle.
nf sin  90 - θ f  = nf sin  θc  = na sin  90   1
1
sin  90 - θ f  =
nf

Solve the above for f and use sin  θi  = nf sin  θf  to solve for
i.
 90
Numerical example:
what i will result in the f
90-f
critical angle if nf=1.4? i
nf>1
ni=1 (air)

Begin the analysis at the fiber-into-air interface:

1.4  sin  90 - θf  = 1 sin  90 

1
sin  90 - θ f  =
1.4
keep an extra digit to
90 - θ f = 45.58
reduce roundoff error

θ f = 44.41
 90
Numerical example:
what i will result in the f
90-f
critical angle if nf=1.4? i
nf>1
θ f = 44.41 ni=1 (air)

Next consider the air-into-fiber interface.

1 sin  θi  = 1.4  sin  44.41

sin  θi  = 0.980

θi = 78.5
This is a very large angle of incidence! If you want the incident light to be
nearly parallel to the fiber axis, you must surround the fiber with a coating
with noutside<ncoating<nfiber.
application: swimming underwater

If you are looking up from underwater, if your angle of sight

(relative to the normal to the surface) is too large, you see an
underwater reflection instead of what’s above the water.
application: perfect mirrors

(used in binoculars)

application: diamonds
Today’s agenda:
Introduction to Light.
You must develop a general understanding of what light is and how it behaves.

Reflection and Refraction (Snell’s Law).

You must be able to determine the path of light rays using the laws of reflection and
refraction.

Total Internal Reflection and Fiber Optics.

You must be able to determine the conditions under which total internal reflection occurs,
and apply total internal reflection to fiber optic and similar materials.

Dispersion.
You must understand that the index of refraction of a material is wavelength-dependent.
Picture from the Exploratorium (http://www.exploratorium.edu/).
Dispersion

We’ve treated index of refraction of a material as if it had a

single value for all wavelengths.

In fact, speed of light in a substance depends on wavelength,

so the index of refraction depends on wavelength (or
color).

http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/refrn/Lesson-4/Dispersion-of-Light-by-Prisms
When light shines on a surface. The light may be
• Reflected ( ),
• Transmitted ( sin sin , for each surface),
• Absorbed or
• A combination of the above options may occur.