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1. ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES White light is a mixture of all visible colors. When a beam of white light passes through a glass prism, the resulting beam is dispersed into a spectrum of colors. Dispersion of light in a transparent material occurs because the index of refraction of the material varies with wavelength, with higher indices corresponding to shorter wavelengths. Wavelengths in the narrow, visible light spectrum range from 750 nm for the color red down to 400 nm for the color violet as shown below.
700 nm
Wavelength,
400 nm
4x10 14 Hz
Frequency, f
7.5x10 14 Hz
However, visible light makes up just a tiny portion of the large electromagnetic spectrum. Types of waves with longer wavelengths than visible light include infrared radiation, microwaves, and radio waves. Those with shorter wavelengths include ultraviolet radiation, x-rays, and gamma-rays. ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES (m) radio waves microwaves infrared radiation (IR) visible light (VIS) ultraviolet (UV) x-rays gamma-rays 0.34 - 570 1x10-3 - 0.1 7x10-7 - 1x10-3 4x10-7 - 7x10-7 1x10-8 - 4x10-7 1x10-11 - 1x10-8 < 1x10-11
5
f (Hz) 5x10 - 9x108 Hz 3x109 - 3x1011 Hz 3x1011 - 4x1014 Hz 4x1014 - 7.5x1014 Hz 7.5x1014 - 3x1016 Hz 4x1016 - 3x1019 Hz > 3x1019 Hz
Because light is made up of transverse waves, it can be polarized. The direction of polarization is taken to be the direction of the electric field vector. A special filter known as a polarizer produces polarized light from unpolarized light. The same filter can be used as an analyzer to determine whether or not light is polarized. When the axis of the analyzer is parallel to the plane of polarized light, the greatest amount of light is transmitted. When the analyzer is perpendicular to the plane of polarized light, no light transmission occurs. 2. REFLECTION & REFRACTION
i = r
If the surface of reflection is a flat, shiny mirror, the process is known as specular reflection. The law also holds for diffuse reflection from a rough surface as long as each small section of surface is considered separately. If a light ray passes into a transparent medium at an angle 1 that is not equal to 90, the path of the ray bends. This bending of light is known as refraction, and the angle 2 at which it is bent is known as the angle of refraction.
2
Light travels at a speed of c = 3.00 108 m/s in a vacuum, but travels slower in other transparent media such as water or glass. It is the wavelength of light, not the frequency, that varies from medium to medium. The index of refraction n is the ratio of the speed of light in a vacuum c to the speed of light in another medium v as given by: c n= v The index of refraction can never be less than one because v can never be greater than c. When light passes from one medium to another medium, the angle of refraction 2 depends on the angle of incidence 1 and the speed of light in the two media involved. Therefore, the index of refraction in first medium n1 is related to that in the second medium n2 by the equation:
n1 sin 1 = n2 sin 2
This relationship is known as Snells Law. If light rays traveling in a medium with a high index of refraction strike a second medium with a lower index of refraction at an angle that is large enough, the rays cannot
C F Converging Mirror
F C Diverging Mirror
There are certain principle rays that are defined according to their path with respect to the mirrors geometry. These include:
A parallel ray that is incident along a path parallel to the mirrors axis and is reflected through the focal point. A chief ray that is incident through the center of curvature and is reflected back along its incident path. A focal ray that passes through the focal point and is reflected parallel to the mirrors axis.
C F Parallel ray
C F Chief ray
Focal ray
For so > R the image is real, inverted, and reduced. For so = R the image is real, inverted, and the same size. For R > so > f the image is real, inverted, and enlarged. For so = f the image is at infinity. For so < f the image is virtual, upright, and enlarged.
f object image real Inverted enlarged C F
si
so
The object distance, the image distance, and the focal length are related by the spherical mirror equation:
1 1 1 + = si so f
and the magnification M of the mirror is given by: M = si hi = so ho
where hi is the image height and ho is the object height. A lens is a piece of curved, clear material that bends light by refraction. A biconvex spherical lens is a converging lens with both surfaces convex. A biconcave spherical lens is a diverging lens with both surfaces concave. These lenses have two focal points and two centers of curvature, one for each lens surface.
Converging lens
Diverging lens
A converging lens can form either a real or a virtual image, whereas a diverging lens is capable of forming only a virtual image. The image characteristics depend on the position of the object relative to the lens. For a converging lens these characteristics can be summarized as follows:
For so > f the image is real and inverted, and it can be enlarged, reduced, or the same size. For so = f the image converges at infinity. For so < f the image is virtual, upright, and enlarged.
image real inverted reduced F F
object
ho
hi
so
si
The object distance, the image distance, and the focal length are related by the lens equation:
1 1 1 + = si so f
and the magnification M of the lens is given by: M = si hi = so ho
4. DIFFRACTION When waves encounter an object, they bend around its edge into the region directly behind the region. This phenomenon is known as diffraction. Diffraction occurs at the
For a single slit, the width of the central maximum of the diffraction pattern is twice that of the side fringes. The positions of the dark side fringes are given by the equation: wsin = m m = 1,2,3,... where w is the slit width. A diffraction grating is a device that consists of thousands of slits per centimeter. The conditions required for a diffraction grating to produce bright fringes are the same as for the double-slit setup. Diffraction gratings produce very sharp bright lines and are used in spectrometers to make precise measurements of light wavelengths. When light reflects off the two surfaces of a thin film, an interference pattern is formed. This phenomenon is known as thin film interference. A thin coating is applied to lenses to make them nonreflective. For the coating to be nonreflective to light of wavelength , the minimum thickness t of the coating is given by the equation:
4n where n is the refractive index of the lens glass. When a curved lens is placed on a flat glass plate, the wedge of air that is trapped between the two produces an interference pattern consisting of concentric bright and dark circular fringes known as Newtons rings.
t=