Physics Lecture Resources

Prof. Mineesh Gulati

Head-Physics Wing
Happy Model Hr. Sec. School, Udhampur, J&K
Website: happyphysics.com

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Ch 33 The Nature and
Propagation of Light

2005 Pearson Education

33.1 The Nature of Light

Speed of light=2.9792458x108m/s
Wave front: describe wave propagation
Rays

Rays

Source
Wave fronts Wave fronts
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Geometric optics: the branch of optics which is
used for the ray description.
Physical optics: the branch dealing specifically
with wave behavior
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33.2 Reflection and Refraction

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Reflection and Refraction
Incident rays

Normal
a

r b

Refracted rays

Reflected rays
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Type of reflection

index of
refraction

c
n
v

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 law of
reflection
r a

law of
refraction

na sin a nb sin b

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 wavelength of
light in a material

0

n

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 Example 33.2
The wavelength of the red light form a helium-neon laser is
633nm in air but 474nm in aqueous humor inside your eyeball.
Calculate the index of refraction of the aqueous humor and the
speed and frequency of the light in this substance.

ANS: 0 0 633nm
n 1.34
n 474nm
c 3.00 10 m / s
8
v 2.25 108 m / s
n 1.34
v 2.25 108 m / s
f 4.74 10 Hz
14

474 10 m9

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33.3 Total Internal Reflection

b b=90
nb
na
>crit
a crit
P

critical angle for total nb

sin crit
internal reflection na
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Application of total internal
reflection

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33.4 Dispersion
The dependence of wave speed and index of
refraction on wavelength is called dispersion

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Dispersion of light by a prism

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Rainbow

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33.5 Polarization
Polarization is a characteristic of all
transverse waves.
Polarized in y-direction Polarized in z-direction

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Polarizing filter

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A Polaroid filter is illuminated by unpolarized natural light

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 Maluss law, polarized light
passing through an analyzer I I max cos 2
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 Reflected light is

Polarization by reflection
100% polarized
perpendicular to
Natural light the plane of
Normal incidence

Plane of incidence

Reflecting surface

Transmitted light is partially polarized

parallel to the place of incidence
 n
Brewsters law for the tan b
p
polarizing angle na
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33.6 Scatttering of Light
When we look at the daytime sky, the light that we see
is sunlight that has been absorbed and then re-radiated
in a variety of directions. The process is called
scattering.

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33.7 huygens Principle
Every point of a wave front may be considered the
source of secondary wavelets that spread out in all
directions with a speed equal to the speed of
propagation of the wave.

AA
construct a
new wave
front BB

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 Light is an electromagnetic wave. When
emitted or absorbed, it also shows particle
properties. It is emitted by accelerated
electric charges. The speed of light is a
fundamental physical constant.

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 A wave front is a surface of constant phase; wave
fronts move with a speed equal to the propagation
speed of the wave. A ray is a line along the direction
of propagation, perpendicular to the wave fronts.
Representation of light by rays is the basis of
geometric optics.

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When light is transmitted from one material to another,
the frequency of the light is unchanged, but the
wavelength and wave speed can change. The index of
refraction n of a material is the ratio of the speed of
light in vacuum c to the speed v in the material. If 0
is the wavelength in a vacuum, the same wave has a
shorter wavelength in a medium with index of
refraction n. (See Example 33.2)

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 At a smooth interface between two optical materials,
the incident, reflected, and refracted rays and the
normal to the interface all lie in a single plane called
the plane of incidence. The law of reflection states that
the angles of incidence and reflection are equal. The
law of refraction relates the angles of incidence and
refraction to the indices of refraction of the materials.
Angles of incidence, reflection, and refraction are
always measured from the normal to the surface. (See
Examples 33.1 and 33.3)

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 When a ray travels in a material of greater index of
refraction na toward a material of smaller index nb,
total internal reflection occurs at the interface when
the angle of incidence exceeds a critical angle ncrit.
(See Example 33.4)

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The variation of index of refraction n with wavelength
is called dispersion. Usually, n decreases with
increasing.

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 The direction of polarization of a linearly polarized
electromagnetic wave is the direction of the E- field. A
polarizing filter used as an analyzer, the intensity Imax
of the light transmitted through the analyzer depends
on the angle between the polarization direction of
the incident light and the polarizing axis of the
analyzer. (See Example 33.5)

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 When unpolarized light strikes an interface between
two materials, Brewsters law states that the reflected
light is completely polarized perpendicular to the plane
of incidence (parallel to the interface) if the angle of
incidence equals the polarizing angle . (See Example
33.6)

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Light is scattered by air molecules. The scattered
light is partially polarized.

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Huygens principle states that if the position of a wave
front at one instant is known, the position of the front
at a later time can be constructed by imagining the
front as a source of secondary wavelets. Huygens
principle can by used to derive the laws of reflection
and refraction.

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 END
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