HANDOUT 11: Optics

Physics 101: PHYSICS FOR ENGINEERS

1 Light

Definition 1. light - form of electromagnetic radiation and represents energy transfers from the source
to the observer; it enables the human eye to see or make things visible
Note 1. Example: rainbow, television
Note 2. speed of light: c = 3 × 108 m/s

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Definition 2. reflection - when a ray of light approaches a smooth polished surface and the light ray
bounces back
Definition 3. specular reflection - reflection of light from a smooth surface

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Definition 4. diffuse reflection - reflection of light from rough surface

We only restrict the discussion on specular reflection, when we say reflection, we’re talking about specular
reflection.
Definition 5. Law of Reflection. The angle of reflection equals the angle of incidence.
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Law of Reflection
θ1′ = θ1

Note 3. Incident and reflected rays make angles θ1 and θ′ and measured between the normal and the
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rays. Normal is a line drawn perpendicular to the surface at the point where the incident ray strikes the
surface.

Example 1. Two mirrors make an angle of 120 ◦ with each other. A ray is incident on mirror M1 at
an angle of 65 ◦ to the normal. Find the direction of the ray after it is reflected from mirror M2 .
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Definition 6. If the angle between two mirrors is 90 ◦ , the reflected beam returns to the source parallel
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to its original path. This phenomenon is called retroreflection.

Definition 7. The ray that enters the second medium changes its direction of propagation at the
boundary and is said to be refracted.
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angle of refraction (θ2 )

sin θ2 v2
=
sin θ1 v1
where θ1 is the angle of incidence, v1 is the speed of light in the first medium, v2 is the speed of light in
the second medium

index of refraction
speed of light in vacuum c
n= =
speed of light in a medium v
Snell’s Law of Refraction
n1 sin θ1 = n2 sin θ2

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Example 2. A light ray of wavelength 589 nm traveling through air is incident on a smooth, flat slab
of crown glass at an angle of 30 ◦ to the normal. (a) Find the angle of refraction. (b) Find the speed of
light once it enters the glass.
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Example 3. A light beam passes from medium 1 to medium 2, with the latter medium being a thick
slab of material whose index of refraction is n2 . Show that the beam emerging into medium 1 from the
other side is parallel to the incident beam.
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2 Image Formation

Classification of Image
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1. real image - formed when all light rays pass through and diverge from the image point (image that
light passes through)
2. virtual image - formed when most if not all of the light rays do not pass through the image point
but only appear to diverge from that point

magnification
image height h′
M= =
object height h

Note 4. For flat mirror, M = +1 because h′ = h.

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2.1 Images formed by Spherical Mirrors

Definition 8. spherical mirrors - has the shape of a section of a sphere

Definition 9. concave mirror - mirror that is curved inward in the middle

Definition 10. convex mirror - curved mirror where the reflective surface bulges out towards the light
source

The figure below illustrates the descriptions for a mirror that will be used for the succeeding formulas.

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mirror equation in terms of radius of curvature

1 1 2
+ =
p q R
where p is the object’s distance from the mirror, q is the image distance and R is the radius of curvature

focal length
R
f=
2

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mirror equation in terms of focal length
1 1 1
+ =
p q f

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Ray Tracing for Spherical Mirrors
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1. A ray that leaves the object parallel to the axis of mirror. After reflection, this ray passes through
the focal point of a concave mirror or seems to come from a focal point of a convex mirror.

2. A ray that passes through the focal point of a concave mirror or is directed toward the focal point
of a convex mirror. After reflection, this ray travels parallel to the axis of the mirror.
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3. A ray that leaves the object along a radius of the mirror. After reflection, this ray returns along
the same radius.

The intersection of any two of these rays locates the image.

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Example 4. A spherical mirror has a focal length of +10 cm. (a) Locate and describe the image for an
object distance of 25 cm. (b) Locate and describe the image for an object distance of 10 cm. (c) Locate
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and describe the image for an object of distance of 5 cm.

Example 5. An automobile rearview mirror shows an image of a truck located 10 m from the mirror.
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The focal length of the mirror is -0.6 m. (a) Find the position of the image of the truck. (b) Find the
magnification of the image.

2.2 Images formed by Thin Lenses

lensmakers’ equation  
1 1 1
= (n − 1) −
f R1 R2

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where n is the index of refraction of the lens material relative to the medium it is in, R1 and R2 are the
radii of curvature of two surfaces of the lens.

thin lens equation

1 1 1
+ =
p q f

magnification
h′ −q
M= =

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h p

Ray Diagrams for Lens

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1. A ray that leaves the object parallel to the axis of the lens. After refraction, this ray passes through
the focal point on the back side of the converging lens or seems to come from the focal point on
the front side of a diverging lens.
2. A ray that passes through the focal point on the front side of a converging lens or is directed toward
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the focal point on the back side of a diverging lens. After refraction, this ray travels parallel to
this axis of the lens.

3. A ray that leaves the object and proceeds toward the center of the lens. This ray is not deviated
by refraction.
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Example 6. A converging lens has a focal length of 10 cm. (a) An object is placed 30 cm from the lens.
Construct a ray diagram, find the image distance and describe the image.(b) An object is placed 10 cm
from the lens. Find the image distance and describe the image. (c) An object is placed 5 cm from the
lens. Construct a ray diagram, find the image distance, and describe the image.

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Example 7. A diverging lens has a focal length of 10 cm. (a) An object is placed 30 cm from the lens.
Construct a ray diagram, find the image distance, and describe the image. (b) An object is placed 10 cm
from the lens. Construct a ray diagram, find the image distance and describe the image. (c) An object
is placed 5 cm from the lens. Construct a ray diagram, find the image distance, and describe the image.

Exercise 1. Solve/Answer the following.

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1. An underwater scuba diver sees the Sun at an apparent angle of 45 above the horizontal. What
is the actual elevation angle of the Sun above the horizontal?

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2. A ray of light is incident on a flat surface of a block of crown glass that is surrounded by water.
The angle of refraction is 19.6 ◦ . Find the angle of reflection.
3. A woman 170 cm tall wishes to buy a mirror in which she can see herself at full length. What is
the minimum height of such a mirror? How far from the mirror should she stand?
4. An object is placed 20 cm from a concave spherical mirror having a focal length of magnitude 40

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cm. (a) Use graph paper to construct an accurate ray diagram for this situation. (b) From your
ray diagram, determine the location of the image (c) What is the magnification of the image? (d)
Check your answers to parts (b) and (c) using the mirror equation.

5. A convex spherical mirror has a radius of curvature of magnitude 40 cm. Determine the position
of the virtual image and the magnification for object distances of (a) 30 cm and (b) 60 cm (c) Are
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the images in parts (a) and (b) upright or inverted?
6. A thin lens has a focal length of 25 cm. Locate and describe the image when the object is placed
(a) 26 cm and (b) 24 cm in front of the lens.
7. A converging lens has a focal length of 10 cm. Construct accurate ray diagrams for object distances
of (1) 20 cm and (2) 5 cm. (a) From your ray diagrams, determine the location of each image. (b)
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Is the image real or virtual? (c) Is the image upright or inverted? (d) What is the magnification
of the image? (e) Compare your results with the values found algebraically.

References:
Serway, Raymund A. and Jewett, John W. Jr. (2010). Physics for Scientists and Engineers 8th Edition.
Lachina Publishing Services, USA.
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Young et al. (2012). University Physics 14th Edition Addison Wesley, USA.
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