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Physics 30 > Light and Optics > Flashcards

Light and Optics Flashcards

1
Q

What are the three basic observable properties of light?

A
  1. Light travels in straight lines
  2. Light rays obey the laws of geometry
  3. Light travels at a constant speed in a specific medium
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2
Q

Light can either be ___________(1) or _______________(2)

A

(1) Emitted from a source in every direction(sun, stars, light bulb)

(2) Reflected off an object(Mirror, whiteboard, planet)

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3
Q

What evidence is there to prove the light travels in straight lines?

A
  • Light creates shadows
  • Light does not appear to bend around corners
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4
Q

What is the Law of Reflection?

A

The law of reflection states that the angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection.

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5
Q

What did Galileo Galilei do?

A
  • Attempted to find c by measuring the time required for light to travel a known distance between two loops
  • Futile experiment because the human reaction rate is far too slow to be able to measure the extremely fast speed of light
  • Concluded that c was very fast, possibly infinitely fast
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6
Q

What did Ole Romer do?

A
  • Did not do anything to actually determine the speed of light
  • Observed that the period of revolution(the time it takes to complete one full cycle) of Jupiter’s moon Io varied slightly depending on the relative motion between the Earth and Jupiter
    • When the Earth is moving away from Jupiter, T is larger
    • When the Earth is moving towards Jupiter, T is smaller

Note: T does not get significantly larger or smaller; the difference is quite small.

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7
Q

What did Christian Huygens do?

A
  • Took Romer’s idea and use it to determine a value for the speed of light
  • Determined that the speed of light has a finite value and isn’t infinitely small
  • Reasoned that there should be a time difference(for when Io was expected to first appear) based on the position of the Earth(in its orbit around the sun) relative to Jupiter.
  • Number was closer to the speed of light in water so it was not totally accurate
  • cause of error: not having sophisticated enough equipment to measure, the fact that Jupiter also moves in its orbit when the earth is closest/furthest from Jupiter(i.e. Jupiter is not in a stationary position so the distance would not be from the same point)
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8
Q

What did Albert Michelson do? What equation did he derive in terms of d, n, and f

A
  • Used a rotating mirror apparatus with n sides
  • An observer will always view the returning beam of light through a small telescope only if the rotating mirror turns at a specific frequency

equation derivation:

c= d/t
= 2d/(T/n)
= 2dn/T
= 2dnf

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9
Q

What is a centre of curvature?

A

The centre of the sphere

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10
Q

What is the vertex?

A

The geometric centre of the curved mirror surface

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11
Q

What is the principal axis?

A

An imaginary line that extends outwards from the vertex to the centre of curvature

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12
Q

What is the focal point?

A

Half the distance from vertex to curvature

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13
Q

What is the normal line?

A

Always represented by the radius of the sphere

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14
Q

What is a virtual image?

A

Images that exist inside of the mirror(i.e. you can not physically touch these images)

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15
Q

What is a real image?

A

Are formed as a result of light reflecting off of a mirror and onto a screen outside of the mirror(i.e. projector)

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16
Q

What is a concave mirror and how do light rays reflect off this type of mirror?

A

With a concave mirror, or a converging mirror, light rays strike the inner surface of the surface and reflect towards a real focal point

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17
Q

What is a convex mirror and how do light rays strike/reflect off this type of mirror?

A

With a convex mirror, or a diverging mirror, light rays strike the outer surface of the sphere and reflect away from a virtual focal point.

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18
Q

What are the three rays that can be used to create an image?

A
  1. An incident ray parallel to the principal axis will reflect through(or away from) the focal point
  2. An incident ray that passes through(or is headed for) the focal point will reflect parallel to the principal axis
  3. An incident ray that passes through(or is headed for) the centre of curvature will reflect back through(or away from) the centre of curvature
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19
Q

What is the sign convention for the focal length f with mirrors?

A
  • Positive for concave or converging mirrors
  • Negative for convex or diverging mirrors
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20
Q

What is the sign convention for d(o) with mirrors?

A

Always positive because the object is always on the real side

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21
Q

What is the sign convention for d(i) with mirrors?

A
  • Positive fro real images
  • Negative for virtual images
22
Q

What is the sign convention for h(o) with mirrors?

A

Always positive since the object is always assumed to be erect

23
Q

What is the sign convention for h(i) with mirrors?

A
  • Positive for erect images
  • Negative for inverted images
24
Q

What is magnification?

A

A ratio of the size of the image to the size of the object

25
Q

(n)What is the index of refraction? What is the equation used to calculate it

A

A ratio of the speed of light in a vacuum to the speed of light in a specific medium

n = c/v

26
Q

(n)What is refraction?

A

The change in speed, wavelength, and direction of light that occur when light passes from one medium to another

27
Q

(n)When light enters a faster(less dense) medium, does light bend away or towards the normal line?

A

Light bends away from the normal line

28
Q

(n)When light enters a slower(denser) medium, does light bend away or towards the normal line?

A

Light bends towards the normal line

29
Q

(n)What happens when a ray of light refracts through object with parallel sides?

A

When light passes through a medium with parallel sides and returns to the same medium, the original ray is paralle with the emerging ray

30
Q

(n)What is total internal reflection?

A
31
Q

(n)What is d(o)?

A

The distance from the vertex to the object

32
Q

(n)What is d(i)?

A

The distance from the vertex to the image

33
Q

(n)What is h(o)?

A

The height of the object relative to the principal axis

34
Q

(n)What is h(i)?

A

The height of the image relative to the principal axis

35
Q

(n)If an image has an inverted orientation, what type of image is it?

A

a real image

36
Q

(n)If an image has an erect orientation, what type of image is it?

A

a virtual image

37
Q

(n)What is something that remains constant when light travels from one medium to another?

A

Frequency
- only affected by the source of light

38
Q

(n)As an object gets closer to a convex mirror, what will happen to its size?

A

Size will increase

39
Q

A convex lens is also known as a ______________(1) lens and a concave lens is also known as a ______________(2) lens.

A

(1) Converging
(2) Diverging

40
Q

How do light rays refract through a convex lens?

A

Light rays refract and converge towards a real; focal point

41
Q

How do light rays refract through a concave lens?

A

Light rays refract and diverge from a virtual focal point
- Always get a virtual image

42
Q

With a convex lens, an incident ray parallel to the principal axis will refract _________(1) the _________(2) focal point.

A

(1) through
(2) real

43
Q

With a lens, the real focal point is located __________________________.

A

opposite to the side that the light source is on

44
Q

With a concave lens, an incident ray parallel to the principal axis will refract _________(1) the _________(2) focal point.

A

(1) away from
(2) virtual

45
Q

With a convex lens, an incident ray that _________(1) the _________(2) focal point will refract parallel to the principal axis

A

(1) passes through
(2) virtual

46
Q

With a concave lens, an incident ray that _________(1) the _________(2) focal point will refract parallel to the principal axis

A

(1) is headed for
(2) real

47
Q

What ray is drawn the same for both a concave and convex lens?

A

An incident ray that passes through the optic centre(centre of the lens) will move through undeflected along the same line

48
Q

What is the sign convention for f for a thin lens?

A
  • f is positive for a converging(convex) lens
  • f is negative for a diverging(concave) lens
49
Q

What is the sign convention for d(i) for a thin lens?

A
  • d(i) is positive when real
  • d(i) is negative when virtual
50
Q

What is the sign convention for h(i) for a thin lens?

A
  • h(i) is positive when erect
  • h(i) is negative when inverted

Physics 30 (8 decks)

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