Geometric Optics

The Ray Model of Light

Although light is actually an electromagnetic wave, it generally
travels in straight lines.
We can describe many properties of light by assuming that it
travels in straight-line paths in the form of rays.
A ray is a straight line along which light is propagated. In other
contexts, the definition of ray might be extended to include bent
or curved lines.
A light ray is an infinitely thin beam of light. Of course, there
really isnt such a thing, but the concept helps us visualize
properties of light.

In this lecture, I am going to cover two lectures worth of

material by skipping most of the mathematics.*
Cover means go so fast that the students dont get it, but the
teachers conscience is satisfied.
Thats OK. Geometric optics is descriptive modeling, with
mathematics.
It is not the right way to deal with light.
So Im going too fast, skipping the math (which is the part you
came to see), and presenting models.
Lec20s, under supplementary material, has the math.
*51 slides, 50 minutes, 1 slide per minute, twice as fast as the experts say you can
go and have your audience keep up

Light rays from some

external source strike an
object and reflect off it in all
directions.
We only see those light rays
that reflect in the direction of
our eyes.
If you can see something, it
must be reflecting light!
Zillions of rays are simultaneously reflected in all directions
from any point of an object. We wont try do draw them all!
Just enough representative ones to understand what the light is
doing.

Index of Refraction
Light travels in a straight line except when it is reflected or
when it moves from one medium to another.
Refractionthe bending of light when it moves from one
medium to a different onetakes place because light travels
with different speeds in different media.
The speed of light in a vacuum is c = 3x108 m/s. The index of
refraction of a material is defined by
c
OSE :
n =
,
v
where c is the speed of light in a vacuum and v is the speed of
light in the material.

Because light never travels faster than c, n 1. For example,

for water, n = 1.33 and for glass, n 1.5.
Example: Calculate the speed of light in diamond (n = 2.42).

c
n =
v
c
v =
n
3 108 m/s
v =
2.42
v = 1.24 108 m/s

Refraction: Snells Law

When light moves from one medium into another, some is
reflected at the boundary, and some is transmitted.
The transmitted light is refracted (bent).
This figure shows refraction. The angle 1 is called the angle of
incidence, and the angle 2 is called the angle of refraction.

Light passing from

air (n 1) into water
(n 1.33).
Light bends towards
the normal to the
surface because it
slows down in water.
http://www.phy.ntnu.edu.tw/java/light/flashLight.html

Light passing from

water (n 1.33) into
air (n 1).
Light bends away
from the normal to
the surface because
it speeds up in air.

Snells law, also called the law of refraction, gives the

relationship between angles and indices of refraction:

OSE :

n1 sin 1 = n2 sin 2 .
air (n1)

air (n1)

2
water (n2)

2
water (n2)

is the angle the ray makes with the normal!

Coin-in-the-bowl demo (if time).

Example: Calculate the apparent depth of a coin one meter
below the surface of water. (Angles have been exaggerated for
ease of viewing).
n1

Light reflected off the coin actually

follows the solid yellow path.

x
1

Your brain thinks light travels in a

straight line path, and imagines the
light followed the dotted line path.

H
D
n2

The coin appears to be a distance H

beneath the surface of the water.

n1 sin 1 = n2 sin 2

OSE :

Youll have to look at

lec20s.ppt if you want to see all
the beautiful math that went
here (there were a couple of
interesting steps).

x
1
H
D
n2

D 1m
H=
=
= 0.75 m
n2 1.33

Total Internal Reflection;

Fiber Optics
Recall Snells law:

n1 sin 1 = n2 sin 2
sin 1

n2
=
sin 2
n1

Suppose n2>n1. The largest possible value of sin(2) is 1 (when

2 = 90). The largest possible value of sin(1) is
n2
sin 1 =
=1 .
n1
This value of is called the critical angle, C. For any angle of
incidence larger than C, all of the light incident at an interface
is reflected, and none is transmitted.

1 < C

1 close to C

1 > C

Visualization
here.

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/phyopt/totint.html

Total internal reflection explains the disappearing coin trick

(which Ill show if there is time).

The picture below is for a prism, but it also explains why no

light reaches your eyes from a coin under a glass of water.

application: fiber optics

http://laser.physics.sunysb.edu/~wise/wise187/janfeb2001/reports/
andrea/report.html

from
www.howstuffworks.com

application: swimming underwater

If you are looking up from underwater, if your angle of sight

(relative to the normal to the surface) is too large, you see an
underwater reflection instead of whats above the water.

application: perfect mirrors

(used in binoculars)

application: diamonds

Thin Lenses;
Ray Tracing

A convex surface has its middle part bent towards

you as you look at it.

A double convex lens has two convex surfaces,

and is called a converging lens.

Sorry about the colors. I changed the background color, but dont want to take the
time to change all the diagram colors.

A concave surface has its middle part bent

away from you as you look at it.

A double concave lens has two concave

surfaces, and is called a diverging lens.

The axis of one of these lenses is

a straight line through its center,
perpendicular to both surfaces.

Light rays striking a convex lens

are bent towards the axis at both
surfaces.
If the lens is infinitesimally thin, all light rays striking the lens
parallel to the axis converge at the same point.

The point at which

the rays converge i
s called the focal
point.

For a lens with spherical surfaces, the rays do not quite

converge at the focal point, but if the lens is very thin and the
object very far away compared to the diameter of the lens, then
the rays very nearly converge.
We will consider thin lenses in this section. The focal point of a
thin convex lens is the point where the image of an infinitely
distant object is formed.

http://webphysics.ph.msstate.edu/javamirror/ipmj/java/clens/

The focal length, f, is the distance

along the lens axis of the focal
point from the center of the lens. A
an incoming ray parallel to the axis
will cross the axis at the focal point
F.
Light rays not parallel to the axis
will all converge on the focal plane.
A converging lens like the one
shown has focal points on both
sides of the lens.

F
f

F'

F
f
focal
plane

The two focal lengths may differ (if the two surfaces have
different shapes). The light rays from an object to the left
actually converge at F, not at F'.

We will be studying the images formed by thin lenses. To

study the image qualitatively, we use ray tracing to form the
image. Only two rays are needed to determine the location of
the image from a point on the object. For redundancy, we use
three rays.
An incident ray
parallel to the lens
axis passes through F.
A ray through the
center of the lens.

F
F'

A ray through F' which

emerges from the lens
http://www.physics.brocku.ca/faculty/sternin/120/applets/Lenses/
parallel to the axis.
Image points for other points on the object are found similarly;
this lets us complete the image of the object.

We follow the same procedure to find the image for a diverging

lens.

F'

The image appears to be on the same side of the lens as the

object; thats why F and F' have been switched compared to
the double convex lens!

The Lens Equation

The lens equation describes the position and size of an
imaged formed by a lens.
The derivation is simple geometry, and can be done for both
converging and diverging lenses.

The result is

1
1
1
+
=
dO di
f

where f is the focal length of the lens, do is the distance from

the object to the lens, and di is the distance from the lens to
the object.
This equation uses these sign conventions:
F is + for converging lenses and for diverging
lenses
dO is + if object is on side of lens that light comes
from (and otherwise)
di is + if image is on opposite side of lens to light
source (and - otherwise)
image height hi is + if image is upright and if
image is inverted (object height hO is always +)

The magnification of a lens is the image height divided by the

object height, and from the figures used to derive the lens
equation,

hi
di
m =
= hO
dO

Problem Solving for Lenses

Brief litany for solving lens equations:
draw a picture
draw a ray diagram
define and label focal lengths, distances, and
heights
OSE
solve algebraically, then numerically

Images formed by convex lenses may be real

or they may be virtual.

Images formed by convex lenses are always virtual.

Example: What are the position and size of the image of a 7.6
cm high flower placed 1 m from a +50 mm focal length
converging lens?
Example: What is the position and size of the image of an
object placed 10 cm away from a +15 cm focal length
converging lens?
Example: Where must a small insect be placed if a 25 cm
focal length diverging lens is to form a virtual image 20 cm in
front of the lens?
Good links:
http://www.physics.brocku.ca/faculty/sternin/120/applets/Lenses/
http://www.cs.unc.edu/~dorianm/academics/comp235/lenstrace/javaapplet/index.html
http://webphysics.ph.msstate.edu/jc/library/22-6/
http://webphysics.ph.msstate.edu/javamirror/ipmj/java/clens/

Reflection: Image
Formation by a Plane Mirror
Light striking a surface may be reflected, transmitted, or
absorbed. Reflected light leaves the surface at the same angle
it was incident on the surface:

= R

I R

The angles are measured relative to the surface normal.

Reflection from a
smooth surface is
specular (mirror
like). Reflection
from a rough
surface is diffuse
(not mirror like).
http://acept.la.asu.edu/PiN/rdg/reflection/reflection.shtml

http://www.mic-d.com/java
/specular/

Flat (Plane) Mirrors

Plane mirrors form virtual images; no
light actually comes from the image.
The solid red rays show the actual
light path after reflection; the dashed ho
red rays show the perceived light
path.

do

di

The object distance and image distance are equal: dO=di.

The object height and image height are equal: hO=hi. The
magnification of a plane mirror is therefore one.

hi

Formation of Images
by Spherical Mirrors
We will begin by experimenting with several different spherical
mirrors.
Like lenses, spherical mirrors can be concave or convex.

http://physics.bu.edu/py106/notes/Reflection.html

Parallel rays striking a convex spherical mirror do not focus

precisely at a single point.

However, if the mirror is small compared to its radius of

curvature, then the rays essentially all focus at a single point.
Just as we assumed thin lenses, we will assume mirrors with
large radii of curvature.
In real life you would minimize the aberration by using a
parabolic mirror.

Lets get definitions and terminology out of the way first. I am

borrowing the good illustrations I found at
http://www.citycollegiate.com/chapter14_Xa.htm.
Spherical mirrors are made from polished
sections cut from a spherical surface.

The center of curvature, C,

is the center of the sphere,
of which the mirror is a
section.

Of course, you dont really make these mirrors by cutting out part of a sphere
of glass.

The radius of curvature is the

radius of the sphere, or the
distance from P to C.

The Principal Axis is the line

that passes through the center
of curvature and the center of
the mirror (P in the previous
drawing).

A beam of light parallel to

the principal axis will pass
through the focal point, F,
after being reflected off the
mirror surface.
The focal length, f, is the distance from P to F. Then
f = r / 2, where r is the radius of curvature of the mirror.
Light rays from an object at
infinity will pass through the
focal point, F. (In this picture,
the radius of curvature is
called R.)

As we did for thin lenses, we can determine image position and

orientation by tracing three rays.
A ray drawn
parallel to the
principal axis
passes through
the focal point.
A ray passing
through F
reflects parallel
to the axis.

A ray perpendicular to the mirror reflects back through the

center of curvature.
image from http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/geoopt/mirray.html#c3

For a concave mirror, object inside F, the image is upright,

virtual, and larger than the object.

To construct the image for an object further away from the

mirror than F, we trace the same three rays

A ray drawn
parallel to the
principal axis
passes through
the focal point.
A ray passing
through F
reflects parallel
to the axis.
A ray perpendicular to the mirror reflects back through the
center of curvature.
The image is inverted, real (because light rays actually pass
through the image position), and smaller than the object.

http://www.glenbrook.k12.il.us/gbssci/phys/mmedia/optics/rdcmb.html

http://www.glenbrook.k12.il.us/gbssci/phys/mmedia/optics/rdcmc.html

Before we consider the convex mirror, lets look at the equation

relating object and image positions and sizes.
From geometry:

1
1
1
+
=
dO di
f

hi
di
m =
= hO
dO

Hey! The mirror equation is the same as the lens equation!

Yup. But the sign conventions are different.
dO, dI, or f on reflecting side are +
hI is if image is inverted

Example: A 1.5 cm high diamond ring is placed 20 cm from a

concave mirror whose radius of curvature is 30 cm. Determine
the position and size of its image.

Weve looked at the images in concave mirrors. Now lets

look at convex mirrors.
A ray drawn
parallel to the
principal axis
passes through
the focal point.
We can skip ray
2 (see slides 11
and 13).
A ray perpendicular to the mirror reflects back through the
center of curvature.
The author of this figure (at hyperphysics) used a different
third ray.

The image is virtual, upright, and smaller than the object,

no matter where you place the object.
The mirror equations on slide 15 are still valid.

Example: A convex rearview car mirror has a radius of

curvature of 40 cm. Determine the location of the image and
its magnification for an object 10 m from the mirror.

beautiful math goes here

di = - 0.196 m = - 19.6 cm

Not on reflecting
side, so negative.

di
-0.196 m
1
m = = =
dO
10 m
51
The object is 51 times larger than the image. (What does it
say on passenger side rear view mirrors?)
What good is a concave mirror?
What good is a convex mirror?
If I remember, Ill bring an extreme example of a convex
mirror.