Chapter 9: Ray Optics and Optical Instruments
1. Reflection of Light
Laws of Reflection:
o The angle of incidence (iii) is equal to the angle of reflection (rrr).
o The incident ray, the reflected ray, and the normal to the surface at the point of
incidence all lie in the same plane.
Types of Mirrors:
o Plane Mirror: Produces an upright, virtual image of the same size as the
object.
o Concave Mirror: Can form real or virtual images, depending on the object’s
position.
o Convex Mirror: Always forms a virtual, diminished image.
2. Refraction of Light
Snell’s Law:
sinisinr=v1v2=μ2μ1\frac{\sin i}{\sin r} = \frac{v_1}{v_2} =
\frac{\mu_2}{\mu_1}sinrsini=v2v1=μ1μ2
where iii is the angle of incidence, rrr is the angle of refraction, v1v_1v1 and v2v_2v2
are the velocities of light in the two media, and μ1\mu_1μ1 and μ2\mu_2μ2 are the
refractive indices of the media.
Refractive Index:
μ=Speed of light in vacuumSpeed of light in medium\mu = \frac{\text{Speed of light
in vacuum}}{\text{Speed of light in
medium}}μ=Speed of light in mediumSpeed of light in vacuum
Total Internal Reflection: Occurs when light travels from a denser medium to a rarer
medium and the angle of incidence exceeds the critical angle.
3. Lenses
Types of Lenses:
o Convex Lens: Converges parallel rays of light to a focal point.
o Concave Lens: Diverges parallel rays of light.
Lens Formula:
1f=1v−1u\frac{1}{f} = \frac{1}{v} - \frac{1}{u}f1=v1−u1
where fff is the focal length, vvv is the image distance, and uuu is the object distance.
Magnification:
m=hiho=vum = \frac{h_i}{h_o} = \frac{v}{u}m=hohi=uv
where hih_ihi and hoh_oho are the image and object heights, respectively.
4. Refraction at Spherical Surfaces
Refraction at a spherical surface: The relationship between the object distance,
image distance, and the radius of curvature RRR for a spherical surface is given by
the formula: n2−n1R=1v−1u\frac{n_2 - n_1}{R} = \frac{1}{v} - \frac{1}{u}Rn2−n1
=v1−u1 where n1n_1n1 and n2n_2n2 are the refractive indices of the two media.
5. Dispersion of Light
Chromatic Aberration: The failure of a lens to bring all colors of light to a single
focus due to different refractive indices for different wavelengths.
Prism: A transparent optical element with flat, polished surfaces that refract light.
Dispersion occurs when different colors of light are refracted by different amounts.
6. Optical Instruments
Human Eye: The eye works on the principle of refraction and has a convex lens to
focus light on the retina.
Defects of Vision:
o Myopia: Near-sightedness; can be corrected with a concave lens.
o Hypermetropia: Far-sightedness; can be corrected with a convex lens.
o Astigmatism: Caused by an irregular shape of the cornea; corrected by
cylindrical lenses.
o Presbyopia: Loss of accommodation power with age; corrected by reading
glasses.
Telescopes and Microscopes:
o Astronomical Telescope: Consists of two convex lenses (objective and
eyepiece).
o Compound Microscope: Consists of two convex lenses (objective and
eyepiece).
