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Physics and Math > Light and Optics > Flashcards

Light and Optics Flashcards

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1
Q

radio waves

A

on one end of the electromagnetic spectrum; long wavelengths, low frequency, and low energy

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2
Q

gamma rays

A

on one end of the electromagnetic spectrum; short wavelength, high frequency, and high energy

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3
Q

order of waves from lowest to highest energy

A

radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, x-rays, and then gamma waves

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4
Q

visible spectrum

A

400 nm (violet) to 700 nm (red)

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5
Q

electromagnetic waves

A

are transverse waves that consist of an oscillating electric field and an oscillating magnetic field; these two fields are perpendicular to each other and the direction of propagation of the wave

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6
Q

units for wavelengths

A

Angstrom (A)= 10^-10 m

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7
Q

speed of electromagnetic waves in a vacuum

A

speed of light; 3.00x10^8 m/s
c=f(lambda)

(for the test, this is how fast it moves in air)

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8
Q

blackbody

A

refers to an ideal absorber of all wavelengths of light

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9
Q

rectilinear propagation

A

light traveling in a homogeneous medium will travel in a straight line

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10
Q

reflection

A

the rebounding of incident light waves at the boundary of a medium

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11
Q

law of reflection

A

states that an incident angle will equal the angle of reflection, as measured from the normal

theta1 = theta2

both are measured from the normal

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12
Q

normal

A

a line drawn perpendicular to the boundary of a medium; all angles in optics are measured from the normal, not the surface of the medium

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13
Q

real images created from a mirror

A

when the light actually converges at the position of the image; will have a positive distance (i>0)

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14
Q

virtual image created from a mirror

A

when the light only appears to be coming from the position of the image but does not actually converge there; ex: looking into a mirror, the reflected light is in front of the mirror but the image appears to be behind it; will have a negative distance (i<0)

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15
Q

plane mirrors

A

flat reflective surfaces, causes neither convergence nor divergence of reflected light rays; always create virtual, upright images and the image is always the same size as the object; r=f=infinity

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16
Q

spherical mirrors

A

have centers and radii of curvature as well as focal points; are either concave or convex

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17
Q

center of curvature

A

a point on the optical axis located at a distance equal to the radius of curvature from the vertex of the mirror; it would be the center of the spherically shaped mirror if it were a complete sphere instead of just a piece

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18
Q

concave mirrors

A

converging systems and can produce real, inverted images or virtual, upright images, depending on the placement of the object relative to the focal point; the center and radius of curvature are in front of the mirror

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19
Q

convex mirrors

A

diverging systems and will only produce virtual, upright images; the center and radius of curvature are behind the mirror

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20
Q

focal length (f)

A

f=r/2
it is the distance between the focal point and the mirror
and r is the distance between the center and the mirror-radius

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21
Q

optics equation

A

1/f= 1/o + 1/i =2/r

often used to calculate the image distance

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22
Q

optics equation for plane mirrors

A

1/o + 1/i = 0 or i=-o

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23
Q

magnification (m)

A

a dimensionless value that is the ratio of the image distance to the object distance: m=-i/o

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24
Q

negative magnification

A

signifies an inverted image

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25
Q

positive magnification

A

signifies an upright image

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26
Q

|m|<1

A

image is smaller than the object

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27
Q

|m|>1

A

image is larger than the image

28
Q

|m|=1

A

the image is the same size as the object

29
Q

ray diagram rules for concave mirrors

A
  1. ray that strikes the mirror parallel to the axis is reflected back through the focal point
  2. a ray that passes through the focal point before reaching the mirror is reflected back parallel to the axis
  3. a ray that strikes the mirror at the point of intersection with the axis is reflected back with the same angle measured from the normal
30
Q

what happens to the image if the object is placed at the focal point?

A

there is no image, the image will be at infinity (i=infinity)

31
Q

ray diagram rules for convex mirrors

A

the further away the object, the smaller the image is

32
Q

refraction

A

the bending of light as it passes from one medium to another and changes speed

33
Q

index of refraction (n)

A

n=c/v

c=speed of light in a vacuum
v=speed of light in the medium
n=the index of refraction of the medium, dimensionless

34
Q

Snell’s law

A

n1 sin(theta1)=n2 sin(theta2)

theta is in respect to the normal

35
Q

how is light bent when the light enters a medium with a higher index of refraction?

A

n2>n1

the light is bent toward the normal

36
Q

how is light bent when the light enters a medium with a lower index of refraction?

A

n2

37
Q

critical angel (theta c)

A

the refracted angle (theta2) equals 90 degrees; at this point the refracted light ray passes along the interface between the two media

theta c= sin-1(n2/n1)

38
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

39
Q

lenses

A

refract light to form images of objects

40
Q

thin symmetrical lenses

A

have focal points on each side, and the focal length is the same for both

41
Q

convex lenses

A

are converging systems and can produce real, inverted images or virtual, upright images

42
Q

concave lenses

A

are diverging systems and will only produce virtual, upright images

43
Q

Lensmaker’s equation

A

used for lenses where thickness is not neglected, the focal length is related to the curvature of the lens surfaces and the index of refraction of the lens

1/f = (n-1) [(1/r1)-(1/r2)]

n=index of refraction
r1= radius of curvature of the first lens surface
r2= radius of curvature of the second lens surface

44
Q

ray diagram rules for lens

A
  1. ray parallel to axis -> refracts through the focal point of front face of the lens
  2. ray through or toward focal point -> refracts parallel to the axis
  3. ray to center of lens -> continues straight through with no refraction
45
Q

power (P) of lenses

A

P=1/f

f=focal length
positive for converging lens and negative for diverging lens and it is measured in diopters

46
Q

hyperopia

A

farsightedness; people can see distant objects clearly and need converging lenses

47
Q

myopia

A

nearsightedness; people can see near objects clearly and need diverging lenses

48
Q

focal length of multiple lens system

A

1/f = 1/f1 + 1/f2 + 1/f3 + ……

49
Q

power of multiple lens system

A

P= P1+P2+P3+……

50
Q

magnification of multiple lens system

A

m= m1xm2xm3x……

51
Q

aberrations

A

errors

52
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 the lens; creates an area of multiple images with very slightly different image distances at the edge of the image

53
Q

dispersion

A

when various wavelengths of light separate from each other; ex: splitting of white light into its component colors using a prism

54
Q

chromatic aberration

A

a dispersive effect within a spherical lens; can result in rainbow halo around images depending on the thickness and curvature of the lens

55
Q

diffraction

A

the bending and spreading out of light waves as they pass through a narrow slit or around an obstacle

56
Q

single slit diffraction

A

light that goes through a narrow slit, on the order of the light wavelength, the light waves seem to spread out (diffract); as the slit is narrowed, the light spreads out more

57
Q

positions of dark fringes in slit-lens setup

A

(a)sin(theta) =n(lambda)

a= width of the slit 
theta= 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 
lambda= wavelength of the incident wave
58
Q

interference

A

when interacting waves result in the addition of the displacements of waves

59
Q

constructive interference of multiple slits

A

when the two lights waves resulting from the double slit show constructive interference and end up as bright fringes (maxima) on the plate behind it

60
Q

destructive interference of multiple slits

A

when the two lights waves resulting from the double slit show destructive interference and end up as dark fringes (minima) on the plate behind it

61
Q

position of dark fringes in double-slit setup

A

d sin(theta)= (n+0.5) (lambda)

d=distance between two slits
theta= angle between the line drawn from the midpoint between the two slits to the dark fringe and the normal
n=integer indicating the number of the fringe
lambda= wavelength of incident wave

62
Q

Young’s double slit experiment

A

shows the constructive and destructive interference of waves that occur as light passes through parallel slits, resulting in minima (dark) and maxima (bright) of intensity

63
Q

plane polarized light

A

light in which the electric fields of all the waves are oriented in the same direction (their electric filed vectors are parallel)

64
Q

polarizers

A

allow only light with an electric field pointing in a particular direction to pass through; they only let through the portion of the light parallel to the axis of the polarizer

65
Q

circular polarized light

A

created by exposing un-polarized light to special pigments of filters; has a uniform amplitude but continuously changing direction resulting in a helical orientation

Physics and Math (12 decks)

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