THE HUMAN EYE AND THE COLOURFUL WORLD POINTS TO REMEMBER

Functions of the different parts of the eye Human eye like a camera Cornea Light enters the eye through a thin membrane called the cornea which forms the transparent bulge on the front surface of the eyeball. Most of the refractions for the light rays entering the eye occurs at the outer surface of the cornea. Crystalline lens merely provides the finer adjustment of the focal length required to focus of the different distances on the retina. Lens system forms the image on a light sensitive screen called retina Iris Dark muscular diaphragm that controls the size of the pupil. Pupil regulates and controls the amount of light entering in the eye. Eye lens forms an inverted image on the retina Retina Delicate membrane where the image is formed. It has enormous number light sensitive cells present in it.

Power of Accommodation The curvature of an eye lens can be modified to some extent by the ciliary muscles thus change its focal length. When the ciliary muscles are relaxed, the lens becomes thin and its focal length increases. This enables us to see distant objects clearly. When the ciliary muscles are contracted, the lens becomes thick and its focal length decreases. This enables us to see nearby objects clearly. The ability of an eye lens to adjust its focal length is called accommodation. The minimum distance at which objects can be seen most distinctly without strain is called least distance of distinct vision which is called the near point of the eye. (25 cm for the normal eye) The farthest point upto which the eye can see the objects clearly is called the far point of the eye.(Infinity for a normal eye) Cataract:- The crystalline lens of people at old age becomes milky and cloudy which causes partial or complete loss of vision. This condition of the eyes is called cataract.

Defects of vision and their correction There are mainly three common refractive defect of vision. Myopia Nearsightedness of short sight. Hypermetropia Farsightedness or long sight

 Myopia

Presbyopia Combination of both myopia and hypermetropia

A person can see nearby objects clearly but cant see distant objects distinctly. Near point 25 cm but far point less than (nearer than) infinity. In a myopic eye image of a distant object is formed in front of the retina. Causes:- (i) Excessive curvature of the eye lens (ii) Elongation of the eye ball. Correction:- This can be corrected by using a concave lens of suitable power which will diverge the rays from the distance object before entering the eye. This will bring the image on the retina. Hypermetropia A person can see distant objects clearly but cant see nearby objects distinctly. Near point Farther away from normal near point (25 cm) but far point is infinity. In a hypermetropic eye image of a nearby object is formed behind the retina. Causes:- (i) the focal length of the eye lens is too long or(ii) the eye ball has become too small. Correction:- This can be corrected by using a convex lens of suitable power which will converge the rays from the nearby object before entering the eye. This will bring the image on the retina. Convex lens provide the additional focusing power. Presbyopia Power of accommodation decreases with ageing For those people near point gradually recedes away, hence it is difficult for vision. (nearby and faraway) A person may suffer from both myopia and hypermetropia. Causes:- Due to the(i) gradual weakening of ciliary muscles and diminishing flexibility of the eye lens. (ii)

 Correction :People with presbyopia must use bifocal lens to focus the nearby and the distant objects. The upper portion consists of concave lens which facilitates distant vision and the lower portion consists of a convex lens which facilitates near vision. REFRACTION OF LIGHT THROUGH A GLASS PRISM o PRISM 2 triangular bases and three rectangular lateral faces inclined to each other. o Angle between the two lateral surfaces is called the angle of the prism (A) o Observe fig 11.4 in page number 192 ( Activity 11.1 is similar to the glass slab experiment) o The peculiar shape of the prism makes the emergent ray bend at an angle to the direction of the incident ray. o Angle between the incident ray (extended) and the emergent ray (extended) is called angle of deviation.(D) DISPERSION OF WHITE LIGHT BY A GLASS PRISM o White light( any light that gives a spectrum similar to that of sunlight) consists of seven component colours. o When a ray of white light passes through a glass prism, it undergoes refraction and splits into seven different colours due to the change in speed of light of each component colour. o The splitting of light into its component colours is called dispersion. o Red light bends the least and has the maximum wavelength. o Violet light bends the maximum and has the minimum wavelength. o The band of coloured components is called spectrum. (fig 11.5 page no. 193)

o If a glass prism prism is kept inverted in the path of a spectrum formed by a glass prism, the spectrum will recombine and form white light again. (fig 11.6)

A rainbow is a natural spectrum caused by dispersion of sunlight by the tiny water droplets present in the atmosphere. The water droplets act as small prisms. They refract and disperse the incident sunlight, then reflect it internally and finally refract it again when it comes out of the rain drop. (Fig 11.8) Due to the dispersion of light and internal reflection different colours reach the observers eye.