Mirrors and Lenses Flashcards
Virtual Images
-Upright
-Can not be projected because it does not exist in space
-Plane Mirrors
-Convex Mirrors
-Divergent Mirrors
-Concave Mirrors and Convergent Lenses (when within the focal point)
Real Images
-Inverted
-Can be projected onto a screen because they exist in space
-Concave mirrors
-Convergent lenses (when beyond the focal point)
Huygens Principle and how it explains the Law of Reflection
Huygen’s Principle states that every wavefront acts as a source of secondary wavelets, which spread out at the same speed as the wave itself. The new wavefront is parallel to the wavelets, showing the Law of Reflection.
How Illuminance “brightens” a room?
Illuminance refers to the amount of light that falls on a surface measured in lux. When light is produced, illuminance increases by dispersing light throughout space. The higher the illuminance, the brighter a room is.
How does spherical aberration occur?
When light rays passing through the edges of a spherical mirror or lens focus at different points than rays passing through the center, resulting in a blurry image. To reduce it, mirrors can be designed with aspherical surfaces or a combination of parabolic and hyperbolic mirrors/lenses.
Name one application of compound converging lenses, and describe how the image appears.
Microscopes, they use two converging lenses. The first lens creates a real, magnified image, while the second lens creates a virtual, upright, and further magnified image.
Describe how a mirage occurs
The ground heats the air directly above it, creating a temperature gradient. Hot air is less dense than cooler air. This causes a variation of refraction indexes. As light travels from cooler, denser air, to hotter, less dense air, it bends (refracts) upwards.
How does fiber optic light work?
Light is transmitted through the core of a fiber optic cable. The core has a higher refraction index than the surrounding cladding, causing light to refract internally. As light hits the core at a shallow angle, it reflects back to the core allowing it to travel without significant loss.
