Physics - Light

What is light?
Light is a form of energy that enables us to see!
Our eyes detect light in a range of 7 colours from

red to violet which forms a spectrum.

Light travels at 3.0 x 108 metre per second. It can
reach the Earth from the Sun in 8 minutes.
The study of the physics of light is known as optics.

Light
The Rectilinear Propagation of Light states that

light travels in straight lines.

Light cannot bend around corners and can only

travel straight.
The path in which light travels is known as a light
ray. Arrows are added to indicate the direction of
the light ray.
A beam of light forms a bundle of light rays.
There are 3 types of beams:
Parallel (light rays are straight)
Converging (light rays converge at a point)
Diverging (light rays diverge from a point)

Luminous objects
Luminous objects are objects that give out light.

Some examples include the sun, TV, light bulb.

Objects that do not give out light are non - luminous

objects.
We can see them as that object reflect light from a
luminous object nearby into our eyes.

Reflection of light
Laws of reflection

The incident ray, reflected ray, and the normal all lie in the same plane
The angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection

Important terms
Incident Ray: Light ray hitting the reflecting

surface.
Reflected Ray: Light ray reflected from the
reflecting surface.
Normal: The perpendicular to the reflecting
surface at the point of incidence.
Angle of incidence (i): The angle between the
incident ray and the normal.
Angle of reflection (r): The angle between the
reflected ray and the normal.

Reflection of light
Regular and Diffused reflection
Regular reflection
refers to the reflection of rays coming from a smooth plane surface
All incident rays have parallel reflected rays
Diffused (irregular) reflection
Occurs from reflection of rays coming from rough surfaces
The reflected rays come out in different directions
But the laws of reflection are obeyed at each point on the rough surface

Reflection of light
Ray diagrams

An image is formed when an object is placed in front of a plane mirror.

Properties of image formed in plane

mirror:
Same size as the object
Laterally inverted
Upright
Virtual
As far behind the mirror as the object is
in front

Note: Virtual image cannot be formed on a screen, unlike a real image

Refraction of light
Laws of refraction
Refraction refers to the bending of light when it passes from an optically less
dense medium to an optically denser medium or vice versa.

Laws of refraction:
The incident ray, refracted ray and the normal
are all in the same plane.
The ratio of the sine of the angle of incidence to
the sine of the angle of refraction is always a
constant.

Refraction
Phenomena Due to

Refraction of Light

The apparent Depth A

swimming pool looks

shallower than it really is.
A straight object placed in
water looks bent at the
surfaces.

Refraction of light
Laws of refraction

The incident ray forms the angle

of incidence
The refracted ray forms the
angle of refraction with the
normal
Refraction is due to the change
in speed of light when it travels
from one medium to another

Refraction of light
Refractive Index

Snell's Law:
where n is a constant, also known as the refractive index of a medium, but refers
particularly to light ray traveling from vacuum (or air) to that medium.
The refractive index of a medium can also be defined as the ratio of the speed of light in
a vacuum (or air) to the speed of light in that medium.

h=

speed of light in vacuum (or air)

speed of light in medium

Refractive index of a medium must be equal to or greater than ONE

Minimum value is ONE, which is the refractive index of vacuum (or air)

The greater the refractive index, the slower the speed of light in that medium

Note: the speed of light is fastest in vacuum or air

Refraction of light
Refractive Index
Refractive Index, n, for some materials and their critical angles

Material Refractive
Water
Glass
Diamond

Index (n)
1.33
1.50
2.42

Critical angle (c)

48.8
41.8
24.4

Example:

If the critical angle for a material is 42. What is its refractive index?
n = 1 / sinC
= 1 / sin 42
= 1.49

Principle of Reversibility of Light

States that light will follow exactly the same path

if its direction of travel is reversed

Therefore,

Refraction
Q&A

Q: What happens when light

passes from a transparent
medium into air?

A: When light passes from a

transparent medium into air,
it bends away from the
normal. It is refracted.

Refraction of light
Critical Angle

Critical angle: the angle of incidence in the optically denser medium for
which its angle of refraction in the less dense medium is 90

Refraction
Q&A

Q: Why does the angle of refraction

become 90 and not more? What
do we call the angle of incidence
at this limit?
A: This is the limit the light ray can be
refracted in air because the angle in
air cannot be larger than 90. The
angle of incidence in the denser
medium at this limit is called the
critical angle, c.

Q: What happens when the angle of incidence is more than the critical angle?
A: When the angle of incidence is greater than the critical angle, all the light
undergoes reflection.