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Physics & Math > Chapter 8 Light & Optics > Flashcards

Chapter 8 Light & Optics Flashcards

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1
Q

Electromagnetic waves are transverse waves because

A
  • Because the oscillating electric and magnetic field vectors are perpendicular to the direction of propagation.
  • The electric field and the magnetic field are also perpendicular to each other
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2
Q

Electromagnetic spectrum from lowest frequency to highest

A

-Radiowaves, microwaves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, and x ray

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3
Q

Speed of Light

A

-Electromagnetic waves vary in frequency and wavelength, but in a vacuum & in air all electromagnetic waves travel at the same speed

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4
Q

Speed of Light Equation

A

c=fλ
c= speed of light in a vacuum/air
f=frequency
λ=wavelength

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5
Q

Visible Region

A
  • only part of the spectrum that is perceived as light by the human eye
  • different wavelengths perceived as different colors
  • violet at one end (400nm) and red at the other (700nm)
  • Light that contains all the colors in equal intensity is perceived as white
  • Object that appears red is one that absorbs all the colors of light except red
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6
Q

Blackbody

A
  • refers to an ideal absorber of all wavelengths of light

- would appear completely black if it were at a lower temperature than its surroundings

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7
Q

Rectilinear Propagation

A

-When light travels through a homogeneous medium, it travels in a straight line

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8
Q

Theory of Geometrical Optics

A
  • The behavior of light at the boundary of a medium or interface between two media
  • Explains reflection and refraction
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9
Q

Reflection

A

The rebounding of incident light waves at the boundary of a medium
-light waves that are reflected are not absorbed into the second medium; they bounce off the boundary and travel back through the first medium

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10
Q

Real vs Virtual images created by a mirror

A
  • Real if the light converges at the position of the image
  • Virtual if the light only appears to be coming from the position of the image but doesn’t actually converge there
  • Distinguishing feature of real images: ability of the image to be projected onto a screen
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11
Q

Plane mirrors

A
  • flat, reflective surfaces cause neither convergence nor divergence of reflected light rays
  • since the light doesn’t converge, plane mirrors will always create virtual images
  • Create the appearance of light rays originating behind the mirrored surface
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12
Q

Spherical mirrors

A
  • Center of curvature: a point on the optical axis located at a distance equal to the radius of curvature from the vertex of the mirror
  • Concave(converging) mirror: center of curvature and radius of curvature are located in front of the mirror
  • For all spherical mirrors: f=r/s (r=radius of curvature, the distance between C and the mirror)
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13
Q

Focal Length (f)

A

The distance between the focal point (F) and the mirror

-

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14
Q

Image distance equation

A

1/f=1/o+1/i=2/r
f=focal length
o=distance between object and mirror
i=distance between image and mirror
r=radius of curvature
-if the image has a positive distance (i>0), it is a real image which implies that the image is in front of the mirror
-if the image has a negative distance (i<0), it is virtual and located behind the mirror
-plane mirrors: r=f=infinity and the equation becomes 1/o+1/i=o

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15
Q

magnification (m) and equation

A

-Dimensionless value that is the ratio of the image distance to the object distance
m=-i/o
-Also gives the ratio of the size of the image to the size of the object
-negative magnification=inverted image
-positive magnification=upright image
-|m|1 image is larger than object. |m|=1 image is the same size as the object

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16
Q

Refraction

A
  • The bending of light as it passes from one medium to another and changes speed
  • Speed of light through any medium is always less than its speed through a vacuum
17
Q

Numerical value for the speed of light through a vacuum/air

A

3.00x10^8 m/s

18
Q

Snell’s Law Equation

A

n=c/v
-c=speed of light in a vacuum (3.00 x10^8 m/s)
-v=speed of light in a medium
-n=dimensionless quantity called index of refraction of the medium
index of refraction of a vacuum/air=1 and all other materials will be greater than 1

19
Q

Snell’s Law

A

When light is in any medium besides a vacuum, its speed is less than c.

20
Q

Snell’s Law equation for when light is passing from one medium to another

A

n1sinθ1=n2sinθ2

-n1 and θ1 refer to the medium where the light is coming and n2 θ2 refer to the medium where the light is entering

21
Q

Critical Angle

A
  • Refracted angle θ2 equals 90 degrees.
  • when light travels from a medium with a higher index of refraction to a medium with a lower index of refraction (like water to air) the refracted angle is larger than the incident angle and the refracted light ray bends away from the normal
22
Q

Critical Angle Equation

A

θc=sin^-1(n2/n1)

-θ2=90 degrees

23
Q

Total internal reflection

A

-Phenomenon in which all the light incident on a boundary is reflected back into the original material, results with any angle of incidence greater than the critical angle θc (greater than 90 degrees)

24
Q

Lenses

A
  • refract light while mirrors reflect it.

- has two focal points with one on each side

25
Q

Lensmaker’s equation

A
  • used where thickness cannot be neglected
  • focal length in relation to the curvature of the lens surfaces
  • 1/f=(n-1)(1/r1-1/r2)
  • n=the index of refraction of the lens material
  • r1=the radius of curvature of the first lens surface
  • r2=the radius of the curvature of the second lens
26
Q

Lens power equation

A

P=1/f

-P has the same sign as f, therefore positive for a converging lens and negative for a diverging lens

27
Q

Hyperopia

A

Causes convergence of light to correct farsightedness

28
Q

Myopia

A

Causes divergence of light to correct nearsightedness

29
Q

Spherical aberration

A
  • A blurring of the periphery of an image as a result of inadequate reflection of parallel beams at the edge of a mirror or inadequate refraction of parallel beams at the edge of a lens
  • Parallel rays are not perfectly reflected or refracted through the focal point, leading to blurriness at the periphery of the image
30
Q

Dispersion

A

When various wavelengths of light separate from each other

-most common example: splitting of white light into its component colors using a prism (rainbow)

31
Q

Chromatic aberration

A

Dispersive effect within a spherical lens

32
Q

Diffraction

A

The spreading out of light as it passes through a narrow opening or around an obstacle
-light that spreads out diffracts

33
Q

Location of dark fringes Equation

A

asinθ=nλ
a=width of slit
θ=angle between the line drawn from the center of the lens to the dark fringe and the axis of the lens
n=integer indicating the number of the fringe
λ=wavelength of the incident wave

34
Q

Interference

A
  • The displacements of waves add together when waves interact with each other
  • Regions of constructive interference between the two light waves appear as bright fringes (maxima), regions where light waves interfere destructively appear as dark fringes (minima)
35
Q

Appearance of dark fringes equation

A

dsinθ=(n+1/2)λ
d=distance between the two slits
θ=angle between the line drawn from the midpoint between the two slits to the dark fringe
n=integer indicating the number of the fringe
λ=wavelength of the incident wave

36
Q

Diffraction gratings

A
  • Consist of multiple slits arranged in patterns
  • can create colorful patterns similar to a prism as the different wavelengths interfere in characteristic patterns (like organization of the grooves on a CD act like a diffraction grating, creating an iridescent rainbow pattern on the surface of the disk
37
Q

x-ray diffraction

A

Uses the bending of light rays to create a model of molecules
-often combined with protein crystallography during protein analysis, dark and light fringes do not take on a linear appearance, but a complex two dimensional image

38
Q

Plane-polarized light

A

Light in which the electric fields of all the waves are oriented in the same direction (electric field vectors are parallel)

  • unpolarized light has a random orientation of its electric field vectors (sunlight and light bulbs)
  • Plane polarized: stereoisomers, optical activity of a compound due to the presence of chiral centers causes plane-polarized light to rotate clockwise or counterclockwise by a given number of degrees relative to its concentration

Physics & Math (3 decks)

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