MS101: Physics

Chapter 23: Reflection and Refraction of Light

Dr. Ahmed Amin Hussein
01007903935

ahussein32125@gmail.com
2013-2014
29 April 2014 Prepared By: Dr. Ahmed Amin 1
Chapter 23: Reflection and
Refraction of Light
Huygenss Principle
Reflection
Refraction
Total Internal Reflection
Polarization by Reflection
Formation of Images
Plane Mirrors
Spherical Mirrors
Thin Lenses
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23.1 Huygenss Principle
A set of points with equal phase is called a wavefront.
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A ray points in the direction of wave propagation and is
perpendicular to the wavefronts. Or a ray is a line in the
direction along which light energy is flowing.
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Huygenss principle: At some time t, consider every point on a
wavefront as a source of a new spherical wave. These wavelets move
outward at the same speed as the original wave. At a later time t+At,
each wavelet has a radius vAt, where v is the speed of propagation of the
wave. The wavefront at t+At is a surface tangent to the wavelets.
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23.2 Reflection of Light
When light is reflected from a smooth surface the rays
incident at a given angle are reflected at the same angle.
This is specular reflection.
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Reflection from a rough surface is called diffuse reflection.
Smooth and rough are determined based on the
wavelength of the incident rays.
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The angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection. The
incident ray, reflected ray, and normal all lie in the same
plane. The incident ray and reflected ray are on opposite
sides of the normal.
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23.3 Refraction of Light
When light rays pass from one medium to another they
change direction. This is called refraction.
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Snells Law:
2 2 1 1
sin sin u u n n =
where the subscripts refer
to the two different media.
The angles are measured
from the normal.
When going from high n to low n, the ray will bend away
from the normal.
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The incident ray, transmitted ray, and normal all lie in the
same plane.

The incident and transmitted rays are on opposite sides of
the normal.
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Example (text problem 23.11): Sunlight strikes the surface of
a lake. A diver sees the Sun at an angle of 42.0 with respect
to the vertical. What angle do the Suns rays in air make with
the vertical?
surface
n
1
= 1.00; air
n
2
= 1.33; water
Normal
42
Transmitted
wave
incident wave
u
1

( ) ( )
=
=
=
=
1 . 63
8920 . 0 sin
42 sin 333 . 1 sin 00 . 1
sin sin
1
1
1
2 2 1 1
u
u
u
u u n n
29 April 2014 Prepared By: Dr. Ahmed Amin 12
23.4 Total Internal Reflection
The angle of incidence for when the angle of refraction is
90 is called the critical angle u
c
.
1
2
c
2 2 c 1
2 2 1 1
sin
90 sin sin
sin sin
n
n
n n n
n n
=
= =
=
u
u
u u
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If the angle of incidence is greater than or equal to the
critical angle, then no wave is transmitted into the other
medium. The wave is completely reflected from the
boundary.
Total internal reflection can only occur when the incident
medium has a larger index of refraction than the second
medium.
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Example (text problem 23.22): Calculate the critical angle
for sapphire surrounded by air.
( ) ( )
=
=
=
=
4 . 34
565 . 0 sin
90 sin 00 . 1 sin 77 . 1
sin sin
c
c
c
2 2 1 1
u
u
u
u u n n
surface
n
2
= 1.0; air
n
1
= 1.77; sapphire
Normal
Transmitted wave
incident wave
u
2
=90
u
1

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23.9 Thin Lenses
A diverging lens will bend light away from the principle axis.
A converging lens will bend light toward the principal axis.
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Magnification:
The thin lens equation:
p
q
h
h
m =
'
=
f q p
1 1 1
= +
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Example (text problem 23.64): A diverging lens has a
focal length 8.00 cm.
(a) What are the image distances for objects placed at various distances
from the lens? Is the image real or virtual? Upright or inverted? Enlarged
or diminished?
Object
distance
Image
distance
Real/
virtual?
Upright/
inverted?
Enlarged/
diminished
5 cm
3.08 cm
Virtual upright Diminished
8 cm
4.00 cm
Virtual Upright Diminished
14 cm
5.09 cm
Virtual Upright Diminished
16 cm
5.33 cm
Virtual Upright Diminished
20 cm
5.71 cm
Virtual Upright Diminished
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(b) If the object is 4.00 cm high, what is the height of the
image?
Object
distance
Image
distance
Magnification

Image height
5 cm
3.08 cm
0.616 2.46 cm
8 cm
4.00 cm
0.500 2.00 cm
14 cm
5.09 cm
0.364 1.45 cm
16 cm
5.33 cm
0.333 1.33 cm
20 cm
5.71 cm
0.285 1.14 cm
Example continued:
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Summary
The Laws of Reflection
The Laws of Refraction
Condition for Total Internal Reflection
Condition for Total Polarization of Reflected Light
Real/virtual Images
Mirrors (plane & spherical)
Thin Lenses
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QUESTIONS ?
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X
Geometric optics is an approximation to the behavior of
light that applies when interference and diffraction are
negligible. In order for diffraction to be negligible, the sizes
of objects must be large compared to the wavelength of
light.
24
X23.5 Polarization by Reflection
Brewsters angle is the angle of incidence for which the
reflected light is completely polarized.
Light is totally polarized when the reflected ray and the
transmitted ray are perpendicular.
( )
i
t
t B t i
t t i i
n
n
n n n
n n
=
= =
=
B
B B
tan
cos 90 sin sin
sin sin
u
u u u
u u
25
Example (text problem 23.32): (a) Sunlight reflected from
the still surface of a lake is totally polarized when the
incident light is at what angle with respect to the horizontal?
=
= = =
1 . 53
33 . 1
00 . 1
33 . 1
tan
air
water
B
B
n
n
u
u
The angle is measured from the normal, so 90 53.1
= 36.9 is the angle from the horizontal.
26
(b) In what direction is the reflected light polarized?
Example continued:
It is polarized
perpendicular
to the plane of
incidence.
27
Example continued:
(c) Is any light incident at this angle transmitted into the
water? If so, at what angle below the horizontal does the
transmitted light travel?
( ) ( ) ( )
=
=
=
=
9 . 36
6000 . 0 sin
sin 333 . 1 1 . 53 sin 00 . 1
sin sin
2
2
2
2 2 1 1
u
u
u
u u n n
From Snells Law:
The angle is measured from the normal, so 90 36.9
= 53.1 is the angle from the horizontal.
28
X23.6 Formation of Images
An image is real if light rays from a point on the object
converge to a corresponding point on the image.
A camera
lens forms a
real image.
29
Your eye focuses
the diverging rays
reflected by the
mirror.
The light rays
appear to come
from behind the
mirror.
An image is virtual if the light
rays from a point on the object
are directed as if they diverged
from a point on the image, even
though the rays do not actually
pass through the image point.
30
Example (text problem 23.35): A defect in a diamond
appears to be 2.00 mm below the surface when viewed from
directly above that surface. How far beneath the surface is
the defect.
Surface
Actual location of
defect
Air
n
2
=1.00
Diamond
n
1
= 2.419
u
1

u
2

u
1

u
2

y
y
31
The angles u
1
and u
2
are related by Snells Law:
2 2 1 1
sin sin u u n n =
The actual depth of the defect is y and it appears to
be at a depth of y. These quantities are related by:
1 2
tan tan u u y y =
'
Example continued:
32
Dividing the previous two expressions gives:
2 2 1 1
cos cos u u y n y n =
'
As long as you are directly above the defect and its
image, the angles u
1
and u
2
are nearly 0. Rays from
only a narrow range of angles will enter your eye. The
above expression simplifies to:
1
2
2 1
n
n
y
y
y n y n
=
'
=
'
(general result)
Example continued:
33
The actual depth of the defect in the diamond is then
( ) mm. 84 . 4 mm 00 . 2
00 . 1
419 . 2
2
1
=
|
.
|

\
|
=
'
= y
n
n
y
Example continued:
34
X23.7 Plane Mirrors
A point source and its image are at the same distance from
the mirror, but on opposite sides of the mirror.
Treat an extended
object as a set of
point sources.
35
Example (text problem 23.41): Entering a darkened room,
Gustav strikes a match in an attempt to see his
surroundings. At once he sees what looks like another
match about 4 m away from him. As it turns out, a mirror
hangs on one of the walls. How far is Gustav from the wall
with the mirror?
The image seems 4 m away, but the mirror is only
2 m away since the rays will appear to come from
a point 2 m behind the mirror.
36
X23.8 Spherical Mirrors
A convex (or diverging) mirror curves
away from the observer.
Principal
axis
vertex
Center of
curvature
The focal point
37
A ray parallel to
the principle axis is
reflected, and it
appears to have
come from point F,
the focal point of
the mirror.
For a convex mirror, the focal point is on the axis and is
located a distance 0.5R behind the mirror, where R is the
radius of curvature.
38
Drawn in green, red, and blue are the principal rays.
1. A ray parallel to the principal axis is reflected as if it came
from the focal point. (green)
2. A ray along a radius is reflected back upon itself. (red)
3. A ray directed toward the focal point is reflected parallel to
the principal axis. (blue)
39
For the pencil in the previous figure, the image is upright,
virtual, smaller than the object, and closer to the mirror
than the object.
40
Principal
axis
vertex
Center of
curvature
The focal point
A concave (or converging) mirror
curves toward the observer.
41
1. A ray parallel to the principal axis is reflected through the
focal point. (green)
2. A ray along a radius is reflected back upon itself. (red)
3. A ray along the direction from the focal point to the mirror is
reflected parallel to the principal axis. (blue)
Drawn in green, red, and blue are the principal rays.
42
The magnification is defined as
.
size object
size image
h
h
m
'
= =
An inverted image has m < 0 and an upright image
has m > 0.
The expression for magnification can also be written as
p
q
m =
where p is the object distance and
q is the image distance.
43
The mirror equation:
f q p
1 1 1
= +
where f is the focal length of the mirror.
f < 0 when the focal point is behind the
mirror.
44
Example (text problem 23.46): An object 2.00 cm high is
placed 12.0 cm in front of a convex mirror with a radius of
curvature of 8.00 cm. Where is the image formed?
f q p
1 1 1
= +
where p = 12.0 cm, f = 0.5R = 4.00 cm, and q is the
unknown image distance. Solving gives q = 3.00 cm.
The image is behind the mirror.
45
Example: A concave mirror has a radius of curvature of
10 cm. (a) Describe the image formed if the object is
placed between the mirror and the focal point.
p (cm) q (cm) m
1 -1.25 1.25
2 -3.33 1.67
3 -7.5 2.5
4 -20 5
f q p
1 1 1
= +
Using the mirror equation for a
range of p values, the values of
q and m can be determined.
The image is
virtual, upright,
and magnified.
46
(b) Describe the image formed if the object is placed
between the focal point and a distance of twice the focal
length.
Example continued:
p (cm) q (cm) m
6 30.00 -5.00
7 17.50 -2.50
8 13.33 -1.67
9 11.25 -1.25
10 10.00 -1.00
The image is real,
inverted, and magnified.
Note that at p = 2f the
image is the same size
as the object.
47
(c) Describe the image formed if the object is placed at a
distance greater than twice the focal length.
Example continued:
The image is
real, inverted,
and diminished.
p (cm) q (cm) m
11 9.17 -0.83
12 8.57 -0.71
13 8.13 -0.63
14 7.78 -0.56
15 7.50 -0.50
48
(d) Describe the image formed if the object is placed at
the focal point.
Example continued:
When p = f, q = .
f q p
1 1 1
= +