Grade 10 Light and Optics Notes

Jason F.

Light:
Light is energy. Light is an electromagnetic wave, consisting of both electric and magnetic parts, and requires
no medium. There are different spectrums of light, and humans can see the visible spectrum. Light is a wave,
and can be absorbed, reflected, refracted, and is made of photons. Light travels at 3x10^8 m/s.

Spectrum:
There are many spectrums of light. Visible light is electromagnetic waves that humans can see. There are
other spectrums, all classified by the electromagnetic spectrum. This classifies the spectrums by increasing
energy levels. The colours in the visible spectrum are: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.

Wave motion:
There are 5 parts to a wave. The crest, trough, amplitude, frequency, and wavelength. The crest is the top of
the wavelength, and the trough is the bottom. The amplitude is the height of the wave, frequency is the time for
the wave to return to its original position, and wavelength is the length of the wave.

Advantages/Disadvantages of Incandescence:
Incandescence light is produced as a result of high temperature. Incandescent light bulbs contains a filament
that heats up to produce an orange/yellow light. The filament has electricity passed through it, heating it up to
produce visible light, and infrared light, which is the heat. These light bulbs only use 5-10% of the electricity to
produce visible light, the other 95-50% is released as infrared light. The light bulb must be free of air, as the
filament bursts into flames when it comes in contact with oxygen.

Electric Discharge:
Electric discharge is the process of passing an electric current through a gas to produce visible light. Electricity
makes the gas glow. Different gasses produce different colours of light.

Phosphorescence Light:

The process of absorbing ultraviolet light, and slowly releasing it over time as visible light.. The resulting items
are often called glow in the dark. The material absorbs ultraviolet light, and release it slowly as less powerful
light, visible light. The length of the emission depends on the material.

Fluorescence Light:
The process of absorbing ultraviolet light, and releasing it immediately as visible light. Fluorescent dyes are
added to laundry detergents to brighten clothes. Fluorescent lights use electric discharge and fluorescence to
make visible light. The bulb contains mercury gas, and the coating in the tube is covered with fluorescent
materials. When electricity passes through the mercury gas, ultraviolet light is emitted, which hits the inner
coating of the bulb, and produces visible light. Fluorescent light bulbs use less energy and produce less heat
than incandescent light bulbs, but contain mercury.

Chemiluminescence Light:
The process of mixing two chemicals, and producing visible light as a byproduct of the chemical reaction. The
resulting light produces little to no heat. Light sticks work by surrounding a thin, glass tube of one chemical with
a larger, durable tube filled with the other chemical. When the tube is snapped, the glass within shatters, and
the two chemicals mix together, forming light.

Bioluminescence Light:
The process of mixing two chemicals within a living organism, producing light as the byproduct of the chemical
reaction. The light produces little to no heat.

Triboluminescence Light:
The process of creating friction between certain crystals that produces light. There is currently no practical
application, as it is difficult to maintain the light for a long period of time.

LED Light:
The process of passing an electric current through semiconductors one way, and producing light.
Semiconductors only allow an electric current to pass one way. When the current does pass, the LED
produces light. LED is short for Light Emitting Diode. LEDs do not require a filament, does not produce much
heat, and is very energy efficient.

Ray Model of Light:

Drawing light rays on a diagram. The light ray represents the direction and path that the light travels.

Plane Mirrors:
A plane mirror is a flat mirror. A mirror is a polished surface that reflects back an image. Reflection is the act of
bouncing light off of a surface. A ray of light coming towards the mirror is called the incident ray, and the
reflecting ray is called the reflected ray. The normal is at a 90 degree angle to the plane mirror where the
incident ray strikes. The angle of incidence is the angle of the incident ray to the normal, and vice versa.

Specular and Diffuse Reflection:

Specular reflection is the reflection of light of a smooth surface. Diffuse reflection is the reflection of light off of
a dull or irregular surface.

Laws of Reflection:

There are two laws. The first is that the angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection. The second law is
that the incident ray, reflected ray, and normal are all in the same dimension/plane.

SALT:
SALT is the acronym used to describe the properties of an image. S stands for size, A stands for attitude, L
stands for location, and T stands for type. The attitude of an image can be described in three ways. Upright,
inverted, and laterally inverted. The type of image can be either real or virtual.

Real and Virtual Images:

A real image can be formed on a screen, and the light rays meet together again after refraction. Virtual images
cannot be formed on a screen, and the light rays do not meet after refraction. In a virtual image, the light is not
arriving or coming from the actual object/light source.

Concave Mirrors and Convex Mirrors:

A concave mirror is where the reflective part is bent in. A convex mirrors is where the reflective part is bent out.
The centre of curvature ( C ) is centre of the sphere whose surface is used to make the mirror. The principal
axis passes through the centre of curvature, and is labeled ( PA ). The vertex is where the principal axis meets
the mirror, and is 90 degrees from the principal axis and the mirror. The point where parallel rays meet on the
principal axis is called the focus ( F ). The distance between the centre of curvature and the focus is the same
distance between the focus and the vertex. A diagram below is for a convex and concave mirror diagram.
\
\
C-----------------------------------------------------------F-----------------------------------------------------V | --------------------/
PA

Concave

Convex

Finding an Object in a Plane Mirror:

There are two ways to draw an object in a mirror. The first way is to use the law of reflection. Draw a line from
the point to the mirror, and make a normal, and reflect it. Then, extend the reflected ray back behind the mirror.
The distance from the object to the mirror is the distance between the back of the mirror and the extended
reflected lines. The second way to do this is to simply draw a line from the point to the mirror, that is
perpendicular to the mirror. Then, extend the line back.

Finding an Object in a Concave Mirror:

You can find the a point by using two special rays, and the finding the point where they meet. There are four
laws for concave mirrors.
1-A light ray parallel to the principal axis is reflected through the focus.
2-A light ray through the centre of curvature will reflect back itself.
3-A light ray through the focus will reflect parallel to the principal axis.
4-A light ray at the vertex will follow the rule of reflection.
If the object is behind the centre of curvature, the image will be smaller, inverted, between C and F, and real.
If the object is at the centre of curvature, the image will be the same size, inverted, at C, and real.
If the object is in front of the centre of curvature, the image will be larger, inverted, behind C, and real.

Finding an Object in a Convex Mirror:

A convex mirror never produces a real image, because the rays reflected off the mirror will always diverge.
There are three special laws for convex mirrors.
1-A ray parallel to the principal axis will reflect like it came through F.
2-A ray aimed at the centre of curvature will reflect back on itself.
3-A ray aimed at F will come back parallel to the principal axis.
The image created by a convex mirror is always smaller, upright, and virtual.

Refraction:
The bending or change in light as it travels from one medium to another. The angle of refraction is the angle
between the refracted ray and the normal. There are two laws for refraction. The first law is that the incident
ray, refracted ray, and normal all lie in the same dimension/plane. The incident ray and refracted ray are
separated by the line that separates the two mediums. The normal is perpendicular to the line. The second law
is that light bends toward the normal when the speed of light in the first medium is faster than the speed of light
in the second medium. Light bends away from the normal when the speed of light in the first medium is slower
than the speed of light in the second medium.
Light can go through partial reflection and refraction at the same time. The light shining in the second medium
is refracted, but some of the light is reflected. Total internal reflection happens when the angle of incidence is
greater than the critical angle. The critical angle is the angle of incidence that creates a refracted ray with a
refracted angle of 90 degrees. Total internal reflection can only occur if light travels faster in the first medium
than the second, and if the angle of incidence is large enough so that refraction does not occur, and the light is
reflected back into the second medium and does not pass into the second medium.

Calculating Index of Refraction:

The formula for calculating the index of refraction is: index of refraction=speed of light in a vacuum/speed of
light in the given medium. The formula is: N=C/V
Another way to calculate the index of refraction is N=sin angle of incidence/sin angle of refraction.
C is always 3x10^8.
The result of C/V is a dimensionless quantity, because both the speeds are measured in m/s, so they cancel
each other out when divided. The lower the index of refraction is, the higher the speed of light in that medium.

Calculating Speed of Light in a Medium:

The formula for calculating the speed of light in a medium is: speed of light in a medium=speed of light in a
vacuum/index of refraction. Or, V=C/N. C is always 3x10^8.

Snells Law:
Snells law is a way of finding the angle of incidence or refraction given one or the other. The formula for Snells
Law is: index of refraction=sin angle of incidence/sin angle of refraction, or N=sin i / sin R.
To find the index of refraction: N=sin i/sin R or N=C/V
To find the speed of light in a medium: V=C/N

To find the angle of refraction: sin R=sin i/N

To find the angle of incidence: sin i=sin R * N

Apparent Depth and Examples:

The depth that an object appears to be due to the refraction of light in a transparent medium.
For broken object: Light from a point from the submerged object reaches your eyes. Your brain projects the
rays backwards in a straight line to make a virtual image. The virtual image looks shallower than it really is.
The apparent depth is the distance from the surface of the water to the virtual image.
For flattened sun: When the sun is close to the horizon, light from the bottom of the sun is refracted more than
the light from the top of the sun. The air is denser in the atmosphere, and even denser as you get closer to the
Earth.
Water on pavement: The pool of water on the pavement is a mirage, a virtual image formed as a result of
refraction and total internal reflection in the Earth's atmosphere. The pool of water is really a virtual image of
the sky on the pavement.
Shimmering: Shimmering on a lake is caused by light traveling at different speeds through different layers of
different temperatures.

Fibre Optics:
A way to transfer information along a glass tube, using light. The light can't escape, so the tube has to have a
small critical angle. The light entering will have an angle of incidence greater than the critical angle. Fibre
optics is used in communication. Google Fibre is great.