9

OPTICS

9.1 REFLECTION

The fundamental law which governs the reflection of light is called the law of reflection. Whether the
light be reflecting off a rough surface or a smooth surface, a curved surface or a planar surface, the
light ray follows the law of reflection.

The law of reflection states that

When a light ray reflects off a surface, the angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection.

θi = angle of incident ray

θr = angle of reflected ray

PLANE MIRRORS
The image form by plane mirror shown below

Its image has:

• Same size
• Opposite direction
• Virtual

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Example 9.1
A porcelain vase is placed 0.3 m in front of a plane mirror. A man looks into the mirror from 2.0 m in
front of it. How far away from the man is the image of the vase?

Solution

For a plane mirror, a point source and its image are at the same distance from the mirror (on opposite
side) and both lie on the same normal line.

Since the vase is 0.3 m in front of the mirror, the image will be 0.3 m behind the mirror. If the man is
looking straight into the mirror, the distance to the image will be the distance from him to the mirror
plus the distance from the mirror to the image.

The distance from the man to the image is 2.00 m + 0.3 m = 2.30 m.

SPHERICAL MIRRORS
A) Concave mirrors

Spherical mirrors can be thought of as a portion of a sphere which was sliced away and then silvered
on one of the sides to form a reflecting surface. The two types of spherical mirrors are concave
mirrors and convex mirrors.

Figure 9.1 Concave mirrors

Point A is the center of the spherical segment or vertex and a line drawn from C to A is called the
principle axis of the mirror. Midway between the vertex and the center of curvature is a point known
as the focal point; the focal point is denoted by the letter F in Figure 9.1.

The distance from the vertex to the center is known as the radius of curvature (abbreviated by “R”).
The radius of curvature is the radius of the sphere from which the mirror was cut.

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The formula for the spherical mirrors

Mirror equation:
1 2 1 1
= = +
f R u v

Magnification equation:
hi v
m= =−
ho u

Where f = focal points

R = radius of curvature
v = image distance
u = object distance
hi = height of image
ho = height of object

The magnitude of m is the ratio of the image size to the object size
⎥ m⎥ = image size
object size

If 0 <⎥ m⎥ < 1 – the image is smaller than the object (diminished)

⎥ m⎥ > 1 – the image is bigger than the object (enlarged/magnified)
m = 1 – the image is same size

Front or Back or
real side virtual side

u and v positive u and v negative

Incident light

Reflected light

Concave or
Convex mirrors
Figure 9.6 A diagram describing the signs of u and v for convex and concave mirrors.

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 Table 9.3 Sign Conventions for Mirrors

Quantity Symbol + -
Focal length f Concave Convex
Image distance v Real Virtual
Image height hi Upright Inverted
Magnification m Upright Inverted
Virtual Real

Example 9.2
1. A 4.0-cm tall light bulb is placed a distance of 45.7 cm from a concave mirror having a focal
length of 15.2 cm. Determine the image distance and the image size.

Solution
ho = 4 cm, u = 45.7 cm, f = +15.2 cm
1 1 1 hi v
= + =−
f u v ho u
1 1 1 hi 22.78
= + =−
15.2 45.7 v 4 45.7
v = 22.78 cm ( real ) hi = −1.99 cm (inverted )

2. A 4.0-cm tall light bulb is placed a distance of 35.5 cm from a convex mirror having a focal
length of 12.2 cm. Determine the image distance and the image size.

Solution
ho = 4 cm, u = 35.5 cm, f = −12.2 cm
1 1 1 hi v
= + =−
f u v ho u
1 1 1 hi ( −9.08)
− = + =−
12.2 35.5 v 4 35.5
v = −9.08 cm (virtual ) hi = 1.02 cm (upright )

Exercise 9.1
1. A 4.0-cm tall light bulb is placed a distance of 45.7 cm from a concave mirror having a focal
length of 15.2 cm. Determine the image distance and the image size.
(Answer : di = +22.78cm , hi = -2cm )

2. A 4.0-cm tall light bulb is placed a distance of 8.3 cm from a concave mirror having a focal length
of 15.2 cm. Determine the image distance and the image size.
(Answer : di = -18.3cm , hi = +8.8cm )

3. A 4.0-cm tall light bulb is placed a distance of 35.5 cm from a convex mirror having a focal
length of -12.2 cm. Determine the image distance and the image size.
(Answer : di = -9.08cm , hi = +1.02cm )

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Tutorial 9.1

1. Find the position and height of the image formed by a concave spherical mirror with a radius of
curvature of 0.40m when a 0.10m tall bottle stands 0.15m in front of the mirror.
(Ans : -0.60m , 0.40m)

2. Find the position and height of the image formed by a convex spherical mirror with a radius of
curvature of 0.40m when a 0.10m tall bottle stands 0.15m in front of the mirror.
(Ans : -0.086m , 0.057m)

3. An object 5cm high is located 3m in front of concave spherical mirror of radius of curvature 4m.
Determine the position and height of image by using
(a) ray diagram and
(b) calculation method.
(Ans : 6m , 0.10m )

4. Where should an object be placed, with reference to a concave spherical mirror of radius 180
cm, to form a real image having half its linear dimension?
(Ans : 2.7 m from mirror )

5. An actor is applying make-up using a concave make-up mirror with a focal length of 0.20m.
(a) If the actor sees his eye to be twice its actual size, how far is his eye from the mirror if the
image is virtual?
(b) How far from the mirror should the actor’s eye be to produced a real image that is twice
the size of the eye itself?
(Ans : 0.1m , 30cm)

6. How far must a girl stand in front of concave spherical mirror of radius 120 cm to see an erect
image of her face four time its natural size.
(Ans : 45 cm from mirror )

7. What type of spherical mirror must be used, and what must be its radius, in order to give an erect
image one-fifth (1/5) as an object placed 15cm in front of it?
(Ans : -7.5 cm , convex mirror )

8. A spherical shaving mirror produces an erect image that is magnified by a factor of 2.0 when a
man's face is 25 cm away from the mirror. Determine the radius of curvature of this mirror.
(Answer : 100 cm)

9. A 1.5 cm high diamond ring is placed 20 cm from a convex mirror with radius of curvature 30
cm. Determine the position of the image? State the image either real or virtual?
(Answer : -8.57 cm, virtual)

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9.2 REFRACTION
Definition of refraction
Refraction is the bending of the path of a light wave as it passes across the boundary separating two
media. Refraction is caused by the change in speed experienced by a wave when it changes medium.

The speed of an electromagnetic wave depends upon the optical density of that material. The optical
density of a medium is not the same as its physical density.
The physical density of a material refers to the mass/volume ratio. The optical density of a material
relates to the sluggish tendency of the atoms of a material to maintain the absorbed energy of an
electromagnetic wave in the form of vibrating electrons before reemitting it as a new electromagnetic
disturbance. The more optically dense which a material is, the slower that a wave will move through
the material.

One indicator of the optical density of a material is the index of refraction, n value of the material.

The index of refraction value of a material is a number which indicates the number of times slower
that a light wave would be in that material than it is in a vacuum. A vacuum is given an n value of
1.0000. The n values of other materials are found from the following equation:

c
n=
v

Where n = index of refraction of a medium

v = velocity of ray in the medium
c = velocity of light (3 x 108 ms-1)
Table 1.4 lists the index of refraction values for a variety of medium. The materials listed at the top of
the table are those through which light travels fastest; these are the least optically dense materials. The
materials listed at the bottom of the table are those through which light travels slowest; these are the
most optically dense materials.

So as the index of refraction value increases, the optical density increases, and the speed of light
in that material decreases.

Table 9.4 : Index of Refraction

Material Index of Refraction

Vacuum 1.0000
Air 1.0003
Ice 1.31
Water 1.333
Ethyl Alcohol 1.36
Plexiglas 1.51
Crown Glass 1.52
Light Flint Glass 1.58
Zircon 1.923
Diamond 2.417
Rutile 2.907
Gallium phosphide 3.50

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Dispersion

We have already mentioned that the velocity of light in different substances varies with different
wavelengths. We defined the index of refraction as the ratio of the free space velocity, c to the
c
velocity inside a medium n = . The values given in Table 9.4 are valid strictly for monochromatic
v
yellow light (589 nm). A different wavelength of light, such as blue light or red light, results in a
slightly different index of refraction. Red light travels faster through a particular medium than blue
light. This can be shown by passing white light through a glass prism as in Figure 9.7. Because of the
different speeds inside the medium, the beam is dispersed into the component of colors.

Dispersion is the separation of light into its component colors.

From such experiment, we conclude white light is actually a mixture of light, consisting of several
colors. The projection of a dispersed beam is called spectrum.

Figure 9.7 Dispersion of light by a prism

Snell’s Law

When a light ray is transmitted into a new medium, the relationship between the angle of incidence
and the angle of refraction is given by the following equation
n i sin θ i = n r sin θ r

Where θ i = angle of incidence

θ r = angle of refraction
ni and nr values represent the indices of the medium which incidence ray going through and refracted
respectively.

Example 9.3
A light ray strikes an air/water surface at an angle of 46o with respect to the normal. The refractive
index of water is 1.33. Find the angle of refraction when the direction of ray is a) from air to water
b) from water to air.

Solution

a) The incident ray is in air, θ1 = 46o, n1 = 1.00 and n2 = 1.33. From Snell’s Law,

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 sin θ 2 = 1 =
(
n sin θ1 (1.00 ) sin 46
o
)
= 0.54
n2 1.33

θ 2 = sin −1 ( 0.54 ) = 33o

Exercise 9.2
1. A ray of light in air is approaching the boundary with water at an angle of 52o. Determine the
angle of refraction of the light ray.
(Answer : 36.30)

2. A ray of light in air is approaching the layer of crown glass at an angle of 42o. Determine the
angle of refraction of the light ray upon entering the crown glass and upon leaving the crown
glass.
(Answer : 26.120 , 420 )

Total Internal Reflection

Total internal reflection (TIR) is the phenomenon which involves the reflection of all the incident
light off the boundary. TIR only takes place when both of the following two conditions are met:

• the light is in the more dense medium ( n ↑ ) and approaching the less dense medium ( n ↓ )

• the angle of incidence is greater than the so-called critical angle ( θi 〉 θ c )

Figure 9.8

According to Snell’s Law, if a ray is transmitted from a slower medium into a faster medium, the
refracted ray bends away from the normal (Figure 9.8 ray b).

That is, the angle of refraction is greater than the angle of incidence. As the angle of incidence is
increased, the angle of refraction eventually reaches 90o (Figure 9.8 ray c).

At 90o, the refracted ray is parallel to the surface. It isn’t transmitted into the faster medium; it just
moves along the surface. The angle of incidence for which the angle of refraction is 90o is called the
critical angle θ c for the boundary between the two media θ c .

If the angle of incidence is greater than θ c , there cannot be a transmitted ray; if there is no ray
transmitted into the faster medium, all the light must be reflected from the boundary (Figure 9.8 ray
d). This is called total internal reflection.

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 Critical angle :
angle of incidence which provides an angle of refraction of 90o.
ni sin θ c = nr sin 90o
n
sin θ c = r
ni

Tutorial 9.2

1. The speed of light in a certain glass is 1.91 x 108m/s. What is the refractive index of the glass.
(Ans : 1.57)

2. As is show in Figure 1, a ray of light in medium 1 strikes a medium 2 at an incidence angle of 380.
Determine the angles of the reflected and refracted rays.
(Answer : 380 , 52.90)

Reflected ray
n1 = 1.58

n2 = 1.22
Refracted
ray
Figure 1

3. A beam of light is traveling in glass to the glass–oil boundary with angle of incidence θ as shown
in Figure 2.
(a) Find critical angle for light emerging from glass to oil.
(b) Find Refracting angle in oil if θ = 400
(c) Draw the light travel when it was incidence with θ = 750
(Ans : 72.50 , 42.40)

Oil ( n = 1.45 )

Glass ( n = 1.52 ) Figure 2

θ

4. A layer of oil (n=1.45) floats on water (n=1.33). A ray of light shines onto the oil from the air
with the angle as shown in Figure 3. Find the angle of refraction for the ray makes in the water.
(Ans : 28.90)

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 500

Figure 3

air oil water

5. A layer of oil (n = 1.45) floats on an unknown liquid. A ray of light shines from the oil into the
unknown liquid. The angles of incidence and refraction are, respectively, 650 and 530. What is the
index of refraction of unknown liquid?
(Ans ; 1.64 )

6. The refractive index of diamond is 2.42. Find the critical angle for light passing from diamond to
air. If the diamond is surrounded by water (n= 1.33 ), what is the critical angle of diamond in the
water.
(Ans ; 24.40 , 33.30)

7. A monochromatic light strikes in the glass to a AB surface as shown in Figure 4. Find the θ angle
that the ray light emerges to the air.
(Ans : 58.7)

air (n = 1.00) θ B
Glass (n = 1.52) 80 0

Figure 4 300

8. A monochromatic light source is put on the bottom of a beaker filled with an unknown liquid.
Two ray of light from the source are travel to the liquid layer as shown in Figure 5. Find the
refractive index for the liquid and the angle of θ.
(Ans : 1.41 , 45.10 )

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 θ
0
45 60 0

liquid
Light source

Figure 5
9. A beam of light is incident from air on the surface of liquid. The angle of incidence is 36o and the
angle of refraction inside the liquid is 25o. Find
(a) the refractive index of the liquid
(b) the critical angle of the liquid with respect to the air
(Answer : 1.39, 46o)

10. A beam of light is propagating through diamond (n1 = 2.42) and strikes a diamond-air interface at
an angle of incidence of 28o. Determine whether the part of beam enters the air or it will be totally
reflected at the interface.

LENSES

A lens is a transparent object with two refracting surfaces whose central axes coincide. Lenses are
commonly used to form images by refraction in optical instruments such as compass, telescopes and
microscopes.

There are a variety of types of lenses. Lenses differ from one another in terms of their shape and the
materials from which they are made. Our focus will be upon converging lenses and diverging lenses.
A converging lens is a lens which converges rays of light which are traveling parallel to its principal
axis (Figure 9.9). Converging lenses can be identified by their shape; they are thicker across their
middle and thinner at their upper and lower edges.

Figure 9.9

A diverging lens is a lens which diverges rays of light which are traveling parallel to its principal axis
(Figure 9.10). Diverging lenses can also be identified by their shape; they are thinner across their
middle and thicker at their upper and lower.
If the refracted rays are extended backwards behind the lens, an important observation is made. The
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extension of the refracted rays will intersect at a point. This point is known as the focal point.

Figure 9.10
Every lens has two possible focal points - one on each side of the lens. The distance from the lens to
the focal point is known as the focal length.

A lens does have an imaginary point which we refer to as the 2F point. This is the point on the
principal axis which is twice as far from the vertical axis as the focal point.

Vertical axis

Principal
axis
2F F F 2F

Focal length

Figure 9.11

The lens equation

Lens equation:
1 1 1
= +
f u v

The images formed by lens may be larger, smaller or same size to the objects. The magnification of
the mirror, m is the ratio of the image size to the object size

⎥ m⎥ = image size
object size

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 Magnification equation:
hi v
m= =−
ho u
where v is the image distance and u is the object distance.

If 0 <⎥ m⎥ < 1 – the image is smaller than the object (diminished)

⎥ m⎥ > 1 – the image is bigger than the object (enlarged/magnified)
⎥ m⎥ = 1 – the image is same size to the object

From the Figure 9.15, if the formation of image is located in front of the lenses the image formed is
virtual image and always negative. If the image is formed behind the lenses, the image is real and
always positive.

Front Back

u positive u negative
v negative v positive

Incident Refracted
light
light
Converging and
diverging lens

Figure 9.15 A diagram describing the signs of u and v for converging and diverging lens

Table 9.7

Sign Conventions for Lens

Quantity Symbol + -
Focal length f Converging Diverging
Object location u In front of lens In back of lens
Image location v Real Virtual
Image height hi Upright Inverted
Magnification m Upright Inverted
Virtual Real

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Example 9.4

A converging lens of focal length 10.0 cm forms images of an object situated at various
distances. If the object is placed 30.0 cm from the lens, locate the image, state whether it’s
real or virtual and find its magnification.

Solution
To find the image distance v, use the mirror equation.
1 1 1
= +
f u v
1 1 1
= +
10 30 v
v = 15cm

The image distance is positive, so the image is real and on the far side of the lens.
v 15
m=− =− = −0.5
u 30

The magnification is negative and less than one in absolute value, so the image is inverted and
smaller than the object.

Example 9.5

A diverging lens of focal length 10.0 cm forms images of an object situated at various
distances. If the object is placed 30.0 cm from the lens, locate the image, state whether it’s
real or virtual and find its magnification.

Solution
To find the image distance, v use the mirror equation.
1 1 1
= +
f u v
1 1 1
− = +
10 30 v
v = −7.5cm

The image distance is negative, so the image is virtual.

v (−7.5)
m=− =− = 0.25
u 30
The magnification is positive and less than one in absolute value, so the image is upright and
smaller than the object.

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 Exercise 9.4

1. A 4.0 cm tall light bulb is placed a distance of 45.7 cm from a double convex lens having
a focal length of 15.2 cm. Determine the image distance and the image size.
(Answer : v = +22.78 cm, hi = -1.99 cm )

2. A 4.0 cm tall light bulb is placed a distance of 8.3 cm from a double convex lens having
a focal length of 15.2 cm. Determine the image distance and the image size.
(Answer : v = -18.28 cm, hi = +8.8 cm )

3. A 4.0 cm tall light bulb is placed a distance of 35.5 cm from a diverging lens having a
focal length of -12.2 cm. Determine the image distance and the image size.
(Answer : v = -9.08 cm, hi = +0.28 cm )

4. A diverging lens has a focal length of 16 cm. If the lens is held 10 cm from an object,
where is the image located? What is the magnification?
(Answer : v = -6.15 cm, m = 0.615 )

5. An object 450 mm from a converging lens forms a real image 900 mm from the lens.
What is the focal length of the lens?
(Answer : 30 cm )

TUTORIAL 9.3

1. Find the image distance and magnification produced when an object is placed
(a) 30 cm from a converging lens of focal length 20 cm
(b) 10 cm from a diverging lens of focal length 15 cm
(Answer : a) 60 cm, -2 b) -6 cm, 0.6)

2. An object is 20 cm to the left of a thin diverging lens having a 30 cm focal length.

(a) What is the image distance
(b) Find the image position with a ray diagram method.
(Answer : -12 cm)

3. An object is 20 cm to the left of a thin converging lens having a 30 cm focal length.

(a) What is the image distance
(b) Find the image position with a ray diagram method.
(Answer : -60 cm)

4. How far from a converging lens of focal length 45 cm must an object be placed if the
image is to be three times as big as the object
(a) if the image is real
(b) if the image is virtual
(Answer : a) 60 cm b) 30 cm)

5. The focal length of a thin converging lens is f. Find the distance of the object in term
of f if the image
(a) is real, inverted and twice as large as the object
(b) is virtual, upright (erect) and twice as large as the object
(Answer : a) u = 3/2 f b) u = f/2 )

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6. A screen is 10.0 m from the object of the lamp. Compute the distance of lamp from the
converging lens that will project the image of a lamp on the screen, magnified 4 times
and find the focal length of this lens.
(Answer : u = 2 m, f = +1.6 m )

7. The image of an object, 35.7 cm from a lens is formed 7.80 cm in front of that lens.
The image is located on the same side as the object. Determine the type of the lens.
What is its focal length? Is the image real or virtual?
(Answer : concave, f = -9.98 cm, virtual ) OCT 2006

8. (a) A concave mirror forms an inverted image two times larger than the object.
If the distance between object and image is 0.40 m, find the focal length of the mirror
(b) An object 4.0 cm high is placed 20 cm to the left of a converging lens having a
focal length of 15 cm. A diverging lens with a focal length of -10.0 cm is placed 55
cm to the right of the converging lens. Determine the position and magnification of
the final image. Is the image upright or inverted? (Answer : a) 27 cm b)i) 10 cm
behind the second lens ii) -6, inverted)
9. An object 8 cm high is placed 12 cm to the left of a converging lens which has a focal
length of 8 cm. Find the location, size and the orientation of the image produced by
the lens, using the computational method (Answer : 24 cm, -16 cm, image is located
24 cm from the lens on the opposite side of the object, magnified and inverted)

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