Optics Flashcards
What is the wavelength range of UVA?
320-400nm
What is the wavelength range of UVB?
280-320nm
What is a diverging pencil of light rays?
A set of light rays that emerges from a point source
What is a converging pencil of light rays?
A set of light rays focused at a point
What is the nature of light rays generated by an object at infinity?
An object at infinity produces a parallel pencil of light rays
Are light rays perpendicular or parallel to wavefronts?
perpendicular
What is vergence?
A measure of the curvature of a wavefront
What is the sign convention for the vergence of diverging light?
Negative
What is the sign convention for the vergence of converging light?
Positive
Is the magnitude of vergence smaller or larger as one approaches a light source or focal point?
larger
What are the units for vergence?
diopters = 1/meters
What is the vergence of a light source located infinitely far away?
0 (Zero). The curvature of the wavefront goes to 0 as the distance from the source goes to infinity.
What is considered the cutoff for being “infinitely far away” for clinical purposes?
20 ft (6m)
What is the refractive index of air?
1.00
What is the refractive index of water?
1.33
What is the refractive index of polycarbonate?
1.59
How does the speed of light change as it enters a more optically dense medium?
The speed of light slows
What is a refractive index?
The ratio of the speed of light in a vacuum to its speed in a given medium.
What is the phenomenon of refraction?
The deviation of a ray of light as light travels from one optical medium into another medium of different optical density. It is related to the change in the speed of light due to differing optical densities.
When a light ray travels into a material with a higher index of refraction, is it deviated toward or away from the surface normal?
Toward the surface normal
What is a “critical angle?”
The angle of incidence beyond which a light ray undergoes total internal reflection when entering one medium from another.
How can the critical angle be derived?
arcsin (n_2/n_1)
What is Snell’s Law?
n_1 sin (theta_1) = n_2 sin (theta_2)
What is the secondary focal point of light traveling from one medium into another?
The point to which the light converges or from which the light appears to diverge as light enters the “secondary” medium from the primary medium.
What is the primary focal point of light traveling from one medium into another?
The point to which the light converges or from which the light appears to diverge as light enters the “primary” medium from the secondary medium.
What is the secondary focal length?
The distance from the surface apex to the secondary focal point
By what expression is the dioptric power (or refractive power) of a spherical surface given?
F = | n_2/f_2 |
Is the power of a converging optical system positive or negative?
Positive
What is a common sign convention for solving optical problems?
Light is assumed to travel from left to right. Distances to the right of a surface are positive, and those to the left are negative.
Does the primary focal length equal the secondary focal length of a spherical surface?
No. Power is “conserved,” since F = | n_1/f_1 | = | n_2/f_2 |. That is, the spherical surface has the same power regardless of the direction of the light rays. This indicates that focal length scales with index of refraction.
What is the sign convention for the radius of curvature of a spherical surface?
If the center of curvature is to the right of the apex of the surface, the radius of curvature is positive. If the center of curvature is to the left of the apex of the surface, the radius of curvature is negative.
Is a real image formed by converging or diverging light rays?
Converging light rays
Is a virtual image formed by converging or diverging light rays?
Diverging
Is an image formed by diverging light rays able to be focused on a screen?
No. This means that a virtual image cannot be focused on a screen.
Are real images upright or inverted?
Always inverted. Consider the light ray from the tip of the object through the center of curvature of a spherical surface (this ray does not deviate since it is normal to the surface) for intuitive confirmation of this.
Are virtual images upright or inverted?
Always upright
What is another term for the “vergence relationship?”
The “paraxial relationship.” This term derives from the use of the assumption that rays are paraxial (i.e., in relatively close proximity to the optical axis of the surface). This assumption is required to derive the paraxial or vergence relationship.
What is the expression for the vergence of the light rays emanating from an object in a medium with index of refraction n_1 at distance l_1?
L_1 = n_1 / l_1
What is the expression for the vergence of an image at distance l_2 from the apex of a spherical surface in medium with index of refraction n_2?
L_2 = n_2 / l_2
What is the vergence relationship?
image vergence = object vergence + surface power; L_2 = L_1 + F
What does the sign of image vergence indicate?
Whether the image is real or virtual (if positive, converging rays, then real; if negative, virtual)
What is the dioptric power of a flat surface?
0 diopters. Its radius of curvature is infinite.
What is the magnification of an optical system in terms of vergence?
M_L = L_1 / L_2. That is, vergence of object / vergence of image. Alternative notation could be M_L = L_o/L_i (mnemonic: lowly).
What is the term used for the back surface of an ophthalmic lens?
The ocular surface
What is the nominal or approximate power of a thin lens?
F_T = F_1 + F_2, where F_1 and F_2 are the powers of the front and back surfaces of the lens, respectively.
How do the primary and secondary focal points of a thin lens compare if the media on both sides of the lens are the same?
The primary and secondary focal points are equidistant from the lens.
How is a ray passing through the optical center (intersection of lens and optical axis) of a thin lens deviated?
It is NOT deviated
Is the image formed by an object greater than 1 focal length but less than 2 focal lengths away from a thin lens real or virtual?
Real, inverted, minified
Is the image formed by an object less than 1 focal length away from a thin lens real or virtual?
Virtual, upright, magnified
Is the image formed by an object greater than 2 focal lengths away from a thin lens real or virtual?
Real, inverted, magnified
What kind of image of an object is formed by a minus lens?
Virtual (on same side of lens as object), upright, minified
If the media on both sides of a thin lens is the same, what is a simplified expression for the lateral magnification?
M_L = l_i / l_o = l_2 / l_1
Where are the object vergence and lens power commonly noted in a lens diagram?
Above the lens. The image vergence is commonly noted below the lens.
For what purpose is Newton’s relation used?
Newton’s relation can be used to locate an object and its image with respect to the focal points of a plus lens.
What is Newton’s relation?
xx’ = f^2, where x is the distance of the object from the primary focal point (F), x’ is the distance of the image from the secondary focal point (F’), and f is the focal length
What is the total power of a set of thin lenses without significant distance between the lenses?
The sum of the powers of the individual lenses.
What is the total lateral magnification of a system of lenses?
The product of the magnifications for each lens:
What is a virtual object?
An object that would have been formed by a converging lens if a second lens were not in the way. A virtual object always has positive vergence and can only be created by a converging surface.
What is a thick lens?
A lens whose thickness istaken into account in calculating its impact on light rays.
In which medium do refracted rays of light exist after passing through the first surface of a thick lens?
In the medium of the lens material.
For a thick lens, what constitutes the object space for the second surface of the lens?
The image space of the first surface (from left to right) of the lens.
What is the lateral magnification for an optical system with two surfaces?
The product of the mangification for each surface:
What is an equivalent lens?
An alternative representation of a thick lens involving the superposition of 2 thin lenses located at “principal planes.” The planes are referred to as H and H’
What are the “equivalent” focal lengths of a thick lens?
The focal lengths (f_e and f’_e) measured from the equivalent planes H and H’ to the primary and secondary focal points, respectively.
What is the back vertex focal length of a thick lens?
The distance, f_v, from the back surface of the lens to the secondary focal point.
What is the front vertex focal length of a thick lens?
The distance, f_n, measured from the front surface of the lens to the primary focal point.
When using a lensometer to neutralize the distance prescription in a patient’s spectacle lenses, what power are we measuring?
The back vertex power, F_v.
By what expression can back vertex power be given?
F_1 = first surface power
F_2 = second surface power
t = thickness of lens in meters
n = index of refraction of lens
By what expression can front vertex power be given?
How do the front and back vertex powers (F_n and F_v) differ from the powers of the front and back surfaces (F_1 and F_2) of a thick lens?
The front and back vertex powers are two different approximations of the overall power of the thick lens. F_1 and F2 are the individual powers of the first and second surfaces of the thick lens.
By what expression is Equivalent Power of a thick lens given?
What are the nodal points of a thick lens?
A pair of points such that a light ray directed at one nodal point emerges from the other nodal point at an angle equal to the angle of incidence. For a thick lens surrounded by a single medium, the primary and secondary nodal points are located at the intersections of the of the prinicipal planes (H and H’) with the optical axis.
What is the nodal point of a thin lens?
The intersection of the lens plane with the optical axis.
What is the nodal point of a spherical refracting surface?
The center of the radius of curvature (rays passing through the center of the radius of curvature are normal to the surface and thus are not deviated).
What are the locations of the principal planes with regard to the apices of the first and second surfaces (A_1 and A_2)?
What is the refracting surface in the “reduced eye?”
There is a single spherical refracting surface in the reduced eye, with a radius of curvature of 5.55mm. The surface separates air from aqueous humor, with index of refraction 1.333.
Where is the nodal point of the reduced eye?
At the center of curvature of the spherical refracting surface. The axial length of the reduced eye is approximately 22.22mm, and the location of the nodal point is often approximated as being 17mm in front of the retina.
What is the power of the reduced eye?
60 D
Is the reduced eye emmetropic?
Yes
What is the axial length of the reduced eye?
approximately 22.22mm
What are the secondary and primary focal lengths of the reduced eye?
f’ = 22.22mm; f = -16.67
What is emmetropia?
A state of an eye such that an infinitely distant object is focused on the retina.
What is ametropia?
A state of an eye such that an infinitely distant object is not focused on the retina. Two common forms of ametropia are myopia and hyperopia.
What does it mean that the Far Point (FP) of the eye is conjugate with the retina?
An object placed at the far point is focused on the retina. For the emmetropic eye, the far point is at infinity. For the hyperopic eye, the far point is behind the eye. For the myopic eye, the far point is in front of the eye, but not infinitely distant.
What is the far-point vergence of an eye?
The vergence required of an eye in order for the image of the object to be focused on the retina. The far point vergence is equivalent to the correction required (in the plane of the refracting surface of the reduced eye) to achieve emmetropia (focusing of object at infinity onto the retina)
Is the far point vergence for a myope positive or negative?
Negative. Far point vergence for a hyperope is positive.
How can ametropia be corrected with a lens in the plane of the eye’s refracting surface?
With a lens that focuses objects at infinity at the far point of of the eye. That is, the secondary focal point of the lens must be coincident with the far point of the eye.
What is the vertex distance?
The distance between the cornea and the back (ocular) surface of a (spectacle) lens.
What is a common range for vertex distance?
12-15mm
Is greater lens power required to correct myopia in the spectacle plane than in the corneal plane?
Yes (more minus power)
Is a spectacle lens or closer or farther from the far point of the myopic eye than a contact lens?
Closer. Thus, it needs to be stronger (more minus) to achieve emmetropia.
Is a spectacle lens closer or farther from the far point of the hyperopic eye than a contact lens?
Farther. Thus, the power required of a spectacle lens for hyperopic correction is smaller (less plus) than that of a contact lens.
What is accommodation (for the purpose of optics)?
The process by which the refractive power of the eye can be increased.
What is the typical amplitude of accommodation for a 10 year old?
12.5 D
What is the typical amplitude of accommodation for a 30 year old?
9.75 D