Does Light Travel in a Straight Line?

Does light travel in straight line?

The path of light gets blocked when an object covers the source of light. This is illustrated
by trying to see the flame of a candle using a straight pipe and then with a bent pipe. This
proves that light travels in a straight line.

Experiment to prove that light

travels in a straight line.

Types of objects

Based on their interaction with light, objects can be classified as:

Transparent objects allow light to pass through them completely.E.g: glass

Translucent objects allow light to pass through them partially. E.g: Butter paper
Opaque objects do not allow any light to pass through them. E.g: table, book, etc.

The letters ABCD as seen through a

(A) Opaque object
 (B) Translucent object
(C) Transparent object

A Deeper Look at Reflection

Reflection

When light is incident on a certain surface, it either gets reflected or bounces

back. Such surfaces are really well polished and act like a mirror. The phenomenon of light
bouncing off surfaces is called reflection.

Laws of Reflection
Laws of reflection

The ray of light that strikes a reflecting surface is called as the incident ray and the ray
that gets reflected back is called the reflected ray
The imaginary line that is perpendicular to the reflecting surface at the point of incidence
is called the normal
Angle of incidence ∠i is the angle between the incident ray and the normal. Angle of
reflection ∠r is the angle between the reflected ray and the normal.
Law of Reflection states that the angle of incidence ∠i is always equal to the Angle of
reflection ∠r (∠i=∠r). The angle of incidence, angle of reflection and the normal all lie on
the same plane

Reflection on a mirror at the point O

Images
Rays of light from an object after reflection by a mirror tend to converge or appear to
diverge from a certain point in front of the mirror. At this point, the reproduction of the
object is called as an image.
These images are classified as real or virtual images.
 A real image is formed by the actual convergence of light rays after reflection. Real
images can be viewed on a screen.
A virtual image is the apparent convergence of diverging light rays after reflection.
Virtual images cannot be viewed on a screen.
The image formed by a plane mirror is erect, virtual and is of the same size as the object.
The image is at the same distance behind the mirror as the object is in front of it.

Range of visibility (plane mirrors)

An observer can only see a reflection on a plane mirror if the observer is within its range
of visibility.
If an observer wants to see his entire image on a plane mirror, the mirror must be at least
half the height of the observer.

Right or Left!
Lateral inversion

An image formed by a plane mirror undergoes lateral inversion, i.e the right side of the
object appears as the left side in the image.
That is why the word “AMBULANCE” is written backwards on ambulance vans so that it
appears in the correct order when viewed on a mirror.

Lateral inversion by a plane mirror

Playing with Spherical Mirrors

Spherical mirrors

A spherical mirror (or curved mirror) is a mirror which has the shape of a piece cut out of
a spherical surface. They are of 2 types: Concave and Convex.
 Spherical Mirrors: Convex and Concave

Concave mirror: If the outer surface of the curved mirror is painted and its inner surface
is a reflecting surface, then this type of spherical mirror is a concave mirror.
Convex mirror: If the inner surface of the curved mirror is painted and its outer surface is
a reflecting surface, then this type of spherical mirror is a concave mirror.

Image formation by spherical mirrors

Concave mirrors form a real, inverted and magnified image. When the object is moved
really close to the mirror, the image formed is erect and virtual. Concave mirrors are used
by doctors and dentists for enlarged images of our ears, eyes, teeth etc.
Convex mirrors form erect and virtual images that are diminished, meaning smaller than
the object size. That is why convex mirrors are used in vehicles as it gives the driver
images spread over a large area.

Lenses
Refraction

The bending of the path of light when it moves from one medium to another is known as
refraction.
The object we see after refraction is called the apparent object.
There exists some displacement between the apparent and actual object.
In the below image, the bottom part of the pencil in water is seen apparently closer to the
surface of the water.
 Effect of Refraction

Image formation by lenses

Convex lens forms a real, inverted and diminished image. When the object is placed very
close the lens the image formed is erect, virtual and magnified. They are also called as
converging lens. This type of lens is also used as a magnifying glass.
Concave lens always forms a virtual, erect and diminished image. They are also called as
diverging lens. They are used as camera lenses and binoculars.

(a) Refraction by a convex lens

(b) Refraction by a concave lens

Does Sunlight Have Colours?

Dispersion of white light through prism

Sunlight may appear as white but in fact, is made up of seven component colours. This
can be observed when a beam of sunlight is passed through a triangular prism or when
light falls on a compact disk (CD).
The seven colours that appear are violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange and red.
These are also the colours of a rainbow we see after a rainfall.
The splitting of white light into its component colours is called dispersion.
Dispersion by a CD