2010

SHEIKH MD ASHRAFUL ISLAM

STUDY OF SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY

3/12/2010

REFLECTION AND
REFRACTION OF
LIGHT
IMAGE FORMATION BY MIRROR, LENS ETC
THIS REPORT CONSIST OF DETAILS ABOUT THE IMAGE FORMATION AND
BEHAVIOUR OF LIGHT .
 Propagation of Light
Visible light is a narrow part of the electromagnetic spectrum and in a vacuum all
electromagnetic radiation travels at the speed of light:

The above number is now accepted as a standard value and the value of the meter is defined to
be consistent with it. In a material medium the effective speed of light is slower and is usually
stated in terms of the index of refraction of the medium. Light propagation is affected by the
phenomena refraction, reflection, diffraction, and interference.
The behavior of light in optical systems will be characterized in terms of its vergence.

Reflection
Light incident upon a surface will in general be partially reflected
and partially transmitted as a refracted ray. The angle relationships
for both reflection and refraction can be derived from Fermat's
principle. The fact that the angle of incidence is equal to the angle
of reflection is sometimes called the "law of reflection".
Law of Reflection
A light ray incident upon a reflective surface will be reflected at an angle equal to the incident
angle. Both angles are typically measured with respect to the normal to the surface. This law of
reflection can be derived from Fermat's principle.

The law of reflection gives the familiar reflected image in a plane

mirror where the image distance behind the mirror is the same as
the object distance in front of the mirror.

Fermat's Principle:Reflection
Fermat's Principle: Light follows the path of least time. The law of reflection can be derived
from this principle as follows:

The pathlength L from A to B is

Since the speed is constant, the minimum time path is simply

the minimum distance path. This may be found by setting the
derivative of L with respect to x equal to zero.
This derivation makes use of the calculus of maximum-minimum determination, the derivative
of a square root, and the definitions of the triangle trig functions.

Mirror Geometry

Mirror Ray Tracing

Mirrors are used widely in optical instruments for gathering light and forming images since they
work over a wider wavelength range and do not have the problems of dispersion which are
associated with lenses and other refracting elements.
 Mirror Instruments
Mirrors are widely used in telescopes and telephoto lenses. They have the advantage of operating
over a wider range of wavelengths, from infrared to ultraviolet and above. They avoid the
chromatic aberration arising from dispersion in lenses, but are subject to other aberrations.
Instruments which use only mirrors to form images are called catoptric systems, while those
which use both lenses and mirrors are called catadioptric systems (dioptric systems being those
with lenses only).

Spherical Mirror Equation

The equation for image formation by rays near the optic axis (paraxial rays) of a mirror has the
same form as the thin lens equation:
From the geometry of the spherical mirror, note that the focal length is half the radius of
curvature:

As in the case of lenses, the cartesian sign convention is used here, and that is the origin of the
negative sign above. The radius r for a concave mirror is a negative quantity (going left from the
surface), and this gives a positive focal length, implying convergence.

Convex Mirror Image

A convex mirror forms a virtual image.
Using a ray parallel to the principal axis and one incident upon the center of the mirror, the
position of the image can be constructed by back-projecting the rays which reflect from the
mirror. The virtual image that is formed will appear smaller and closer to the mirror than the
object.

Concave Mirror Image

If the object is outside the focal length, a concave mirror will form a real, inverted image.
If an object is placed inside the focal length of a concave mirror, and enlarged virtual and erect
image will be formed behind the mirror.
 Refraction of Light
Refraction is the bending of a wave when it enters a medium where it's speed is different. The
refraction of light when it passes from a fast medium to a slow medium bends the light ray
toward the normal to the boundary between the two media. The amount of bending depends on
the indices of refraction of the two media and is described quantitatively by Snell's Law.

Refraction is responsible
for image formation by
lenses and the eye.

As the speed of light is reduced in the slower medium, the wavelength is shortened
proportionately. The frequency is unchanged; it is a characteristic of the source of the light and
unaffected by medium changes.

Image Formation
 Thin Lens Equation
A common Gaussian form of the lens equation is shown below. This is the form used in most
introductory textbooks. A form using the Cartesian sign convention is often used in more
advanced texts because of advantages with multiple-lens systems and more complex optical
instruments. Either form can be used with positive or negative lenses and predicts the formation
of both real and virtual images. Does not apply to thick lenses.

Enter data below, then click on the quantity you wish to calculate in the active formula above.
Top of Form

For a lens of focal length f = cm,

corresponding to lens power P = diopters,

an object distance of o = cm

will produce an image at i = cm.

The linear magnification will be M =

Bottom of Form

If the lens equation yields a negative image distance, then the image is a virtual image on the
same side of the lens as the object. If it yields a negative focal length, then the lens is a diverging
lens rather than the converging lens in the illustration. The lens equation can be used to calculate
the image distance for either real or virtual images and for either positive on negative lenses. The
linear magnification relationship allows you to predict the size of the image.
 Thin-Lens Equation:Cartesian Convention
The thin-lens equation in the Gaussian form is

where the Cartesian sign convention has been used. The lens equation is also sometimes
expressed in the Newtonian form. The derivation of the Gaussian form proceeds from triangle
geometry. For a thin lens, the lens power P is the sum of the surface powers. For thicker lenses,
Gullstrand's equation can be used to get the equivalent power.

Snell's Law
Snell's Law relates the indices of refraction n of the two media to the directions of propagation in
terms of the angles to the normal. Snell's law can be derived from Fermat's Principle or from the
Fresnel Equations.

Enter data below, then click the symbol of the quantity you wish to calculate.
Top of Form

Indices of refraction: Angles with surface normal:

 = = °

= = °
Bottom of Form

Enter data and then click on the symbol for the quantity you wish to calculate in the active
equation above. The numbers will not be forced to be consistent until you click on the quantity to
calculate. Indices of refraction must be greater than or equal to 1, so values less than 1 do not
represent a physically possible system.
If the incident medium has the larger index of refraction, then the angle with the normal is
increased by refraction. The larger index medium is commonly called the "internal" medium,
since air with n=1 is usually the surrounding or "external" medium. You can calculate the
condition for total internal reflection by setting the refracted angle = 90° and calculating the
incident angle. Since you can't refract the light by more than 90°, all of it will reflect for angles
of incidence greater than the angle which gives refraction at 90°.

Total Internal Reflection

When light is incident upon a medium of lesser index of refraction, the ray is bent away from the
normal, so the exit angle is greater than the incident angle. Such reflection is commonly called
"internal reflection". The exit angle will then approach 90° for some critical incident angle θc ,
and for incident angles greater than the critical angle there will be total internal reflection.

The critical angle can be calculated from Snell's law by setting the refraction angle equal to 90°.
Total internal reflection is important in fiber optics and is employed in polarizing prisms.
For any angle of incidence less than the critical angle, part of the incident light will be
transmitted and part will be reflected. The normal incidence reflection coefficient can be
calculated from the indices of refraction. For non-normal incidence, the transmission and
reflection coefficients can be calculated from the Fresnel equations.

Top of Form

For total internal reflection of light from a medium of index of refraction

n1 = ni = ,
the light must be incident on a medium of lesser index. If the new medium has

n2 = nt =

then the critical angle for internal reflection is θc = degrees.

Bottom of Form

If values for n1 and n2 are entered above, the critical angle θc for total internal reflection will be
calculated. (For example, θc = 48.6° for water and air.) But the angle for total internal reflection
can be measured and used to determine the index of refraction of a medium. If a new value of θc
is entered above, then the corresponding value of n1 will be calculated.
 Ray Diagrams for Lenses
The image formed by a single lens can be located and sized with three principal rays. Examples
are given for converging and diverging lenses and for the cases where the object is inside and
outside the principal focal length.

The "three principal rays" which are used for visualizing the image location and size are:
1. A ray from the top of the object proceeding parallel to the centerline perpendicular to the
lens. Beyond the lens, it will pass through the principal focal point. For a negative lens, it
will proceed from the lens as if it emanated from the focal point on the near side of the
lens.
2. A ray through the center of the lens, which will be undeflected. (Actually, it will be
jogged downward on the near side of the lens and back up on the exit side of the lens, but
the resulting slight offset is neglected for thin lenses.)
3. A ray through the principal focal point on the near side of the lens. It will proceed parallel
to the centerline upon exit from the lens. The third ray is not really needed, since the first
two locate the image.

Ray Diagrams for Convex Lenses

For an object outside the focal point, a real inverted image
will be formed.

4.

For an object inside the focal point, a

virtual erect image will be formed

Ray Diagrams for Concave Lenses

The ray diagrams for concave lenses inside and outside the focal point give similar results: an
erect virtual image smaller than the object. The image is always formed inside the focal length of
the lens.

Ray Diagram for Two Lenses

 Prisms
A refracting prism is a convenient geometry to illustrate dispersion and the use of the angle of
minimum deviation provides a good way to measure the index of refraction of a material.
Reflecting prisms are used for erecting or otherwise changing the orientation of an image and
make use of total internal reflection instead of refraction.
White light may be separated into its spectral colors by dispersion in a prism.

Prisms are typically characterized by their angle of minimum deviation δ . This minimum
deviation is achieved by adjusting the incident angle until the ray passes through theprism
parallel to the bottom of the prism.
An interesting application of refraction of light in a prism occurs in atmospheric optics when tiny
hexagonal ice crystals are in the air. This refraction produces the 22° halo commonly observed in
northern latitudes. The fact that these ice crystals will preferentially orient themselves
horizontally when falling produces a brighter part of the 22° halo horizontally to both sides of
the sun; these bright spots are commonly called "sundogs".
The angle of minimum deviation for a prism may be calculated from the prism equation. Note
from the illustration that this minimum deviation occurs when the path of the light inside the
prism is parallel to the base of the prism. If the incident light beam is rotated in either direction,
the deviation of the light from its incident path caused by refraction in the prism will be greater.
White light may be separated into its spectral colors by dispersion in a prism.

Top of Form
 Active formula

Enter data below and then click on the quantity

you wish to calculate in the active formula
above.
For a prism of apex angle

= °
and index of refraction
=
Unless otherwise specified, the
medium will be assumed to be air. =
the angle of minimum deviation is

= °
Bottom of Form

Fiber Optics
The field of fiber optics depends upon the total internal reflection of light rays traveling through
tiny optical fibers. The fibers are so small that once the light is introduced into the fiber with an
angle within the confines of the numerical aperture of the fiber, it will continue to reflect almost
losslessly off the walls of the fiber and thus can travel long distances in the fiber. Bundles of
such fibers can accomplish imaging of otherwise inaccessible areas.
 Fiber Optic Imaging
Fiber optic imaging uses the fact that the light striking the end of an individual fiber will be
transmitted to the other end of that fiber. Each fiber acts as a light pipe, transmitting the light
from that part of the image along the fiber. If the arrangement of the fibers in the bundle is kept
constant then the transmitted light forms a mosaic image of the light which struck the end of the
bundle.