13 Light
Mr Hazhi Rozh
● use the law of reflection of light to explain how an
image is formed in a plane mirror
● construct ray diagrams for reflection
● investigate the refraction of light
● draw ray diagrams to show how lenses form
images
● describe the difference between real and virtual
images
● describe total internal reflection and how it is
used
● describe how the visible spectrum is formed.
13.1 Reflection of
light
You can see an object only if light from it
enters your eyes. Some objects such as the
Sun, electric lamps and candles make their
own light. We call these luminous sources.
Most things you see do not make their own
light but reflect it from a luminous source.
They are non-luminous objects.
13.1 Reflection of
light
Light usually travels in straight lines. It
changes direction if it hits a shiny surface.
This change in direction at a shiny surface
such as a mirror is called reflection. We will
look at reflection in this section.
13.1 Reflection of
light
You can see that light travels in a straight
line using a ray box A light bulb produces
light, which spreads out in all directions. A
ray box produces a broad beam. By placing
a narrow slit in the path of the beam, you
can see a single narrow beam or ray of light.
How light is
produced?
Luminous sources radiate light when
their atoms become ‘excited’ as a result
of receiving energy. In a light bulb, for
example, the energy comes from
electricity. The ‘excited’ atoms give off
their light haphazardly in most
luminous sources.
How Laser
words?
A light source that works differently is the laser, invented in 1960.
In laser light sources the excited atoms act together and emit a
narrow, very bright beam of light. The laser has a host of
applications. It is used in industry to cut through plate metal, in
scanners to read bar codes at shop and library checkouts, in CD
players, in optical fibre telecommunication systems, in delicate
medical operations on the eye or inner ear, in printing and in
surveying and range-finding.
How Laser words?
Rays and beams
Ray Beams
The direction of the path in A beam is a stream of light
which light is travelling is and is shown by a number of
called a ray and is rays.A beam may be parallel,
represented in diagrams by a diverging (spreading out) or
straight line with an arrow on converging (getting
it. narrower).
Rays and beams
Looking in the
mirror
An ordinary mirror is made by
depositing a thin layer of silver on one
side of a piece of glass and protecting it
with paint. The silver – at the back of
the glass – acts as the reflecting
surface. A plane mirror is produced
when the reflecting surface is flat.
Looking in the mirror
Looking in the
mirror
The angle of incidence, i, and the angle of
reflection, r, are found to be equal to each
other. This is the law of reflection:
angle of incidence = angle of reflection
i=r
Angles of incidence and reflection are always
measured between the ray and the normal to
the surface.
Shadows
The sharpness of the
shadow depends on the
size of the light source. A
very small source of light,
called a point source, gives
a sharp shadow which is
equally dark all over.
Shadows
The shadow is then larger
and has a central dark
region, the umbra,
surrounded by a ring of
partial shadow, the
penumbra.
Question
In the figure the completely dark
region on the screen is
Looking in the mirror
Looking in the mirror
Reflection in a
plane mirror
A plane mirror defines a flat, smooth
and polished surface. When an object
is placed in front of a plane mirror, an
image of that object can be seen in the
mirror
Light from the object hits the mirror,
reflecting from it (i=r). To an observer,
the reflected ray appears to have come
from behind the mirror
The reflected ray can be traced back in
this same direction behind the mirror,
forming a virtual ray. This process is
repeated for another ray travelling in a
slightly different direction
When an object is reflected:
the same size as the the same distance behind
laterally inverted
object the mirror as the object is
and virtual
in front of it
Each incident ray can be drawn by
● Light from the object hits the mirror, reflecting from it (i=r)
● To an observer, the reflected ray appears to have come from behind the mirror
● The reflected ray can be traced back in this same direction behind the mirror,
forming a virtual ray
● This process is repeated for another ray travelling in a slightly different direction
Note Also
The type of image formed in the mirror is called a
An image of the object will appear where
virtual image because of the divergence of the rays
these two virtual rays cross
from the image
Note that the normal is based on the
orientation of the surface. If a ray hits a
point that is not horizontal or vertical,
the normal has to be according to how
the surface is placed. If you look at the
image on the right, the normal changes
at different points on the water waves.
The law of reflection
This law of reflection is used in many devices
such as:
● mirrors
● cameras
● optical fibres
● periscopes
Question
Question
Which of the diagrams
below shows both the
correct position of the
image, and the correct
path the light rays must
have taken to the eye?
Question
Why the word ambulance written in reverse
on the front of the vehicle?
Question
A student investigated the law
of reflection. She increased
her angle of incidence by 20°
each time. Which angle of
reflection did she measure
incorrectly? Suggest what she
may have done wrong?
Question
What angle must ray hit a mirror at for the direction of the ray to be turned through
90°? Draw a diagram to illustrate your answer.
45°. Diagram should show a ray hitting a mirror at 45° and therefore being
turned through 90°.
Remember
Periscope
A simple periscope consists of a
tube containing two plane mirrors,
fixed parallel to and facing each
other. Each makes an angle of 45°
with the line joining them. Light from
the object is turned through 90° at
each reflection and an observer is
able to see over a crowd. By playing
with the angle, you will be able to
see any direction that you want.
Remember
13.2 Refraction of
light
Although light travels in straight lines in a
transparent material, such as air, if it passes
into a different material, such as water, it
changes direction at the boundary between
the two, i.e. it is bent. The bending of light
when it passes from one material (called a
medium) to another is called refraction.
13.2 Refraction of
light
The bending of the straw is another
consequence of refraction. The light hits the
red object from two different materials. This
effect distorts the light and we think they are
disconnected.
13.2 Refraction of
light
Refraction happens at the boundary
between the two materials. The ray
approaching the boundary is called the
incident ray and the ray leaving the
boundary is called the refracted ray. The
angle of incidence, i, and angle of
refraction, r, are measured to the normal
drawn at the point where the ray hits the
boundary
13.2 Refraction of light
Facts about refraction
A ray of light is bent
towards the normal when
A ray of light is bent away
it enters an optically
from the normal when it A ray travelling along the
denser medium at an
enters an optically less normal direction at a
angle, for example from air
dense medium, for boundary is not refracted
to glass. So the angle of
example from glass to air.
refraction r is smaller than
the angle of incidence i.
Explaining
refraction
Light is refracted because it travels at
different speeds in different materials. Light
travels fastest in a vacuum (empty space)
and almost as fast in air. It travels more
slowly in glass, water and other transparent
substances.
Question
a. the speed of light decreases and the ray bends toward the normal
b. the speed of light increases and the ray bends away from the normal.
Question
explain why the swimming pool appears to
be shallower than it is?
a. The light is refracted when it leaves the water. It bends away from the
normal. The observer assumes that the light travelled in a straight line,
and therefore sees the lamp higher – shown by the dashed ray and lamp.
Speed of light
Light travels very fast. As far as we
know, nothing can travel any faster than
light. The speed of light as it travels
through empty space is exactly 299 792
458 m/s. This is usually rounded to
300 000 000 m/s or 3 × 108 m/s.
Refractive index
The refractive index of a material is a measure of how much the light slows, or
how much it is bent. If the speed of light is halved when it enters a material, the
refractive index is 2, and so on. The refractive index is the ratio of the speeds of
light in two different media or different regions. We define the refractive index, n,
as the ratio of the speeds of a wave in two different regions.
speed of light in air (or a vacuum)
refractive index, n =
speed of light in medium
Refractive index is also
The refractive index, n, for the ratio of angles, is defined as: The ratio of the sine of
the angle of incidence and the sine of the angle of refraction of a wave in two
different regions.
sine of angle between ray in air and normal sin i
refractive index, n = =
sine of angle between ray in material and normal sin r
Remember
Facts about refraction
The change in the
The more light is slowed
direction of travel of a light
down when it enters a The mediums can be any
ray when its speed
medium from air, the two different materials. It
changes on entering
greater is the refractive does not necessarily need
another medium suggests
index of the medium and to be air and glass!
that light may also be a
the more the light is bent.
type of wave motion.
Refractive index table
Question
A ray of light hits the surface of water at an angle of incident of 30°. It is refracted
at an angle of 22°. Find the refractive index, n, of water
n = 1.33
Question
A ray of light enters a block of glass at an angle of incidence of 0.698 rad. The
angle of refraction in the glass is 25°. Calculate the refractive index of the glass.
n = 1.52
Remember from math class
Question
A ray of light enters glass with a refractive index of 1.52 at an angle of incidence of
60°.
● Calculate the angle of refraction.
● Calculate the speed of light in the glass.
● r = 34.7°
Answer
To calculate the speed of light in glass, we use the formula:
c
v=
n
v is the speed of light in the medium,
c is the speed of light in a vacuum (3.00×108 m/s),
n is the refractive index of the medium
● the speed of light in the glass is approximately 1.97×108 m/s.
Changing direction
Usually we say that
refraction is the bending of
light when it passes from
one medium to another.
However, we should bear in
mind that, when the light is
perpendicular to the
boundary between the two
materials, there is no
bending.
13.3 Total internal
reflection
When you investigated refraction you
may have noticed that not all the light is
refracted. Some is reflected back from
the surface. You can also see that as the
light emerges from the glass, some light
is reflected back inside the glass. This is
called internal reflection.
Critical angle
The angle of incidence is
small, so most of the light
emerges from the block.
There is a faint reflected ray
inside the glass block. The
refracted ray bends away
from the normal. What
happens next depends on
the angle of incidence of the
ray at the midpoint.
Critical angle
The angle of incidence has
increased, so more light is
reflected inside the block.
The refracted ray bends
even further away from the
normal.
Critical angle
The refracted ray emerges
along and parallel to the
surface of the block for a
particular angle of
incidence. This angle is
called the critical angle.
Most of the light is reflected
inside the block. At a certain
angle of incidence, called
the critical angle, c, the
angle of refraction is 90°
Critical angle
The angle of incidence is
even greater and all of the
light is reflected inside the
block. No refracted ray
emerges from the block.
Critical angle
For angles of incidence
greater than c, the refracted
ray disappears and all the
incident light is reflected
inside the denser medium.
The light does not cross the
boundary and is said to
undergo total internal
reflection.
Critical angle
Critical angle
Critical angle
Total Internal Reflection (TIR)
total, because 100% of the internal, because it reflection, because the ray
light is reflected happens inside the glass is entirely reflected.
Total Internal Reflection (TIR)
For total internal reflection to happen, the angle of incidence of the ray
must be greater than the critical angle c. The critical angle depends on
the material being used. For glass, it is about 42°, depending on the
type of glass. For water, the critical angle is greater, about 49°. For
diamond, the critical angle is small, about 25°.
Critical angle
On a hot day the road ahead may
appear to shimmer with water. The
layers of air close to the surface of the
road are hotter and less dense than
those above and refraction of sunlight
occurs. When the critical angle of
incidence is reached, the light
undergoes total internal reflection,
resulting in a mirage which disappears
as you move towards it.
Critical angle
Critical angle and
refractive index
As we have seen, the critical angle depends on the material through which a ray is
travelling. The greater the refractive index of the material, the smaller the critical
angle. The relationship between the critical angle and the refractive index is
Question
Find the critical angle, c, for diamond. Assume that refractive index n = 2.40
c = 24.6°
Question
The critical angle for a material is 38°. Calculate its refractive index.
n = 1.62
Question
If the angle of
incidence is greater
than the critical
angle, 42 degrees in
this case, the light
will be totally
internally reflected,
and no light will
escape the rod
Question
Optical fibers
A revolution in telecommunications has been
made possible by the invention of fibre
optics. Telephone messages and other
electronic signals such as internet computer
messages or cable television signals are
passed along fine glass fibres in the form of
flashing laser light, which is a digital signal.
Optical fibers
Optical fibers usage for internet
Optical fibers in medicine
Optical fibers in medicine
Question
Sketch a diagram to show how a ray of light can travel along a curved glass
fibre. Indicate the points where total internal reflection occurs.
Question
Internal reflection
Question
Question
Question
Question
Question
Question
Question
Question
Question
Question
Question
Question
Question
Answer
Answer
Answer
Answer
Answer
Answer
normal
13.4 Lenses
A lens is a transmissive optical device
that focuses or disperses a light beam
by means of refraction. A lens is a piece
of transparent material, usually circular
in shape, with two polished surfaces,
either or both of which is curved and
may be either convex (bulging) or
concave (depressed). Lenses are all
around us, for example in spectacles
and cameras. Lenses are particularly
important to scientists in instruments
including microscopes and telescopes.
Converging and diverging lenses
converging lenses diverging lenses
A converging (or convex) lens is A diverging (or concave) lens is
thickest in the centre and bends thinnest in the centre and spreads
light inwards light out
converging lenses
Parallel rays
Optical centre C
Principal axis
converging lenses
converging lenses
On one side of the lens, the rays
are parallel to the principal axis of
the lens. After they pass through
the lens, they converge on a
single point: the principal focus
(or focal point). After they have
passed through the principal
focus, they spread out again.
converging lenses
The process can be reversed if
the incident rays are not parallel to
the principal axis. In this figure it
can be seen as a reverse of A in
the previous slide.
Drawing ray
diagrams for lenses
We can explain how this real image is
formed using a ray diagram. These ray
diagrams are drawn to scale and show
the path of two particular rays. In
diagrams a thin lens is represented by a
straight line at which all the refraction is
considered to occur.
Step 01
Draw the lens (a simple outline shape will do) with a horizontal axis
through the middle of it.
Step 02
Mark the positions of the principal focus (F) on either side, at the given
distance from the centre of the lens. Mark the position of the object, O,
along with at the given position arrow standing on the axis. Place the arrow
with the given height from the lens.
Step 03
Draw ray 1, a straight line from the top of the object arrow which passes
undeflected through the middle of the lens.
Step 04
Draw ray 2 from the top of the object arrow parallel to the principal axis. As
it passes through the lens, it is refracted through the principal focus. To
make things easier when we draw ray diagrams, we only show rays
bending once, at the centre of the lens.
Forming a real
image ● enlarged: used to describe an image
which is bigger than the object
Images can be described in terms of ● diminished: use to describe an image
their size (enlarged, the same size, or which is smaller than the object
diminished), which way up they are ● inverted: used to describe an image
(inverted or upright), and where they are which is upside down compared to
the object
formed. We say that the image is real, ● upright: used to describe an image
because light really does fall on the which is the same way up as the
screen to make the image. object
Forming a real
image ● enlarged: used to describe an image
which is bigger than the object
● diminished: use to describe an image
which is smaller than the object
● inverted: used to describe an image
which is upside down compared to
the object
● upright: used to describe an image
which is the same way up as the
object
How camera lenses
work?
Real and virtual image
real image virtual image
an image that is formed when the an image that is formed when the light
light rays from an object converge rays from an object do not meet but
and meet each other and can be appear to meet behind the lens and
projected onto a screen cannot be projected onto a screen
Question
Question
Question
Question
Question
Question
5
Question
Question
Question
Question
Question
Question
Question
Question
Diverging lenses
A diverging (or concave) lens is thinnest in the centre and spreads light out
Diverging lenses
Step 01: draw the important parts
F F
Step 02: draw ray into the center
F F
Step 02: draw parallel ray
F F
Step 02: the meeting point is the virtual image
F F
Step 02: the meeting point is the virtual image
F F
Magnifying glasses
In magnifying takes advantage of the
virtual image produced when an object is
placed between the lens and the focal
point. Your eyes sees a enlarged
(magnified) version of the object. The
glass used is a converging lens. You
hold it close to a small object and look
through the lens.
Magnifying glasses
A converging lens gives an enlarged, upright, virtual image of an object placed
between the lens and its principal focus F
we can see that the image
produced by a magnifying glass
is:
● upright
● enlarged
● further from the lens than the
object
● virtual
Using lenses to correct
eyesight problems
Our eyes contain converging lenses
which form an image on the retina at the
back of the eye. The lenses in our eyes
are flexible and muscles can change the
shape and strength of the lens. This
allows us to focus on objects at different
distances.
Using lenses to correct eyesight problems
A long-sighted person sees distant
objects clearly but close objects appear
blurred. The image of a near object is
focused behind the retina because the
eyeball is too short or because the eye
lens cannot be made thick enough. A
converging spectacle lens (or contact
lens) corrects the problem
converging
A short-sighted person sees near objects
clearly but distant objects appear blurred.
The image of a distant object is formed in
front of the retina because the eyeball is
too long or because the eye lens cannot
be made thin enough. The problem is
corrected by a diverging spectacle lens
(or contact lens) which diverges the light
before it enters the eye, to give an image
on the retina
13.5 Dispersion of light
When white light passes through glass, it
refracts as it enters and leaves the
glass, and can be split into a spectrum of
colours. You can see that the colours
merge into one another, and they are not
all of equal widths in the spectrum. This
splitting up of white light into a spectrum
is known as dispersion.
13.5 Dispersion of light
Isaac Newton set out to explain how it
happens. He concluded that white light
is a mixture of all the different colours of
the spectrum. Newton described the
visible light spectrum as being made up
of seven colours – red, orange, yellow,
green, blue, indigo and violet.
13.5 Dispersion of light
The traditional colours of the visible
spectrum in order of increasing
wavelength are: violet, indigo, blue,
green, yellow, orange and red. In order
of increasing frequency, the
sequence is reversed.
Red vs. Violet
Red light has the longest wavelength
in the optical spectrum and hence the
lowest frequency and is refracted least
by the prism. Violet light has the
shortest wavelength and the highest
frequency in the optical spectrum and is
refracted most by the prism.
13.5 Dispersion of light
It had been suggested that light is
coloured by passing it through a prism.
Newton showed that this was the wrong
idea by arranging for the spectrum to be
passed back through another prism. The
colours recombined to form white light
again.
2024 Questions
Answer
Answer
Answer
Question
Question
Question
Answer
Question
Question
Question
Question
Question
Question
Question
Question
Question
Question
Question
Question
It is a point on the principal axis where rays of light from the
source converge after passing through lens. The focal point is
important because we can understand how the image will look
(virtual, real, enlarged, diminished)
Question
Question
Question
Question
Question
Question
Question
Thank
You
