Experiment Number: 17.

Date: February 27, 2019.

Title: The Pinhole Camera.

Aim: To demonstrate that light travels in a straight line and to investigate the features of images
produced in a pinhole camera.
Apparatus and Materials:
 Clamp and Stand
 Flame/Light Source
 18 ×12 Grease Paper
 14 ×8 ×5 Cardboard Box
 Black Plastic Bag (Dark Room)
 Tape
 Sewing Needle/Pin

DIAGRAM SHOWING SET UP OF APPARATUS USED IN PINHOLE

CAMERA EXPERIMENT.

THE PINHOLE CAMERA KENYA O. LEVY

Procedure:
1. The apparatus and materials were collected.
2. The Grease paper was taped along the opening of the box so that it acted as a ‘screen’ of some
sort.
3. The light source was placed inside the clamps of the clamp and stand, ensuring the filament of
the light source was facing up.
4. A small hole was made using the sewing needle/pin, ensuring that the hole lines up exactly with
where the light source starts illuminating.
5. The Black Plastic Bag was taped around the cardboard box closer to the end where the screen
was as shown in the diagram above, ensuring that the bag was able to cover the head of the
experimenter.
6. The light source was placed 10 cm away from the pinhole camera, making sure that enough
space was left for the pinhole camera to move away from the light source.
7. The light source was turned on and the experimenter’s head was placed inside the bag so he
could see the screen made by the grease paper.
8. The distance between the light source and the pinhole camera was increase and observations
recorded in the table below.
9. The size of the hole on the pinhole camera was increased then steps 6 – 8 were repeated with
new size hole.
10. The observations were analysed and a discussion was formed comparing both observations.

Observations and Results:

SIZE OF OBSERVATIONS
PINHOLE
 SHARPNESS: Not very sharp images.
 SIZE: Small image of light source.
Small  The image of the light source was inverted.
 Images seem smaller when distance increases.

 SHARPNESS: Moderately sharp images.

 SIZE: Medium image of light source.
Medium  The image of the light source was inverted.
 Images seem smaller when distance increases.

 SHARPNESS: Very sharp images.

 SIZE: Big image of light source.
Large  The image of the light source was inverted.
 Images seem smaller when distance increases.

TABLE SHOWINGOBSERVATIONS MADE IN THE PINHOLE CAMERA

EXPERIMENT.

Discussion:
THE PINHOLE CAMERA KENYA O. LEVY
 Light is a form of energy. A ray of light is a narrow beam of parallel light, which may be drawn as
a single line on a diagram. Rays are produced when light shines through a small hole called a point
source of light. Light travels in a straight line, unless the medium through which it is travelling changes.
The property of light travelling in a straight line is known as rectilinear propagation. The Principle of
Pinhole Cameras rely on the fact that light travels in straight lines. The principle is known as the
Rectilinear Theory of Light. A pinhole camera does not have a lens, but instead, a tiny aperture. Light
travels in a nearly perfect straight line through air. As a result, the light travelled from the top of the
overlaps with the one at the bottom while going through the aperture, which gives an inverted image
when it touches the screen. So if the aperture is the same size as the distance between the top and
bottom rays the image wouldn’t be inverted.
In this experiment when the hole was made with the pin (approximately 0.1mm∈diameter ),
the image formed on the screen was small(approximately 1 cm∈diameter) and not very sharp. It was
observed that the image was inverted on the screen and that the images seem smaller when the
distance between the pinhole camera and the light source was increased. Afterwards the hole in the
pinhole camera was made a little bigger(approximately 3 mm∈diameter ), the image was still inverted,
and the size of the image was medium(approimately 2 cm∈diameter). However, the image was
slightly sharper than that of the small pinhole. When the displacement was increased the image got
smaller, however, it was slightly sharper. When the size of the hole was increased for the second time
(approximately 7 mm∈diameter), it was observed that the image was still inverted and the image
produced by the light source on the screen was the largest (being approximately 3 cm∈diameter).
While moving the pinhole camera away from the light source the image got sharper, but the image
decreased in size.
Sources of Error in this experiment were Random errors (environmental) when observing the
image formed on the screen, because light from the environment may have affected the image
produced, and a Systematic error (theoretical) which arose due to the fact that the experiment should
have bee done in a dark room and the light source used was not ideal. Limitations in the experiment
were in the apparatus used, they were not ideal, and no dark room was there to carry out this
experiment, however, these limitations and sources of errors were taken into account by simulating a
dark room using the plastic bag. It was ensured that the pinhole was made in line with where the light
source started illuminating.
Upon completing this experiment, it may be concluded that light travels in a straight line and
that the image produced by a pinhole camera is inverted. It may also be said that when the distance
between a light source and a pinhole camera is increased the size of the image decreases, but the image
is slightly sharper, also, the larger the hole in the pinhole camera, the larger the image produced on the
screen.

Conclusion:
It may be concluded that light travels in a straight line and that the image produced by a pinhole
camera is inverted.

Reflection:
This experiment was a simple experiment, which should have been completed with barely any
effort at all; however, due to indiscipline it was somewhat difficult. The allotted time was nearly finished
when completing.

THE PINHOLE CAMERA KENYA O. LEVY