Refractions, Lenses, and Prisms Flashcards
What is Refracting?
The change in the direction of light when changing mediums.
How does the light path changes as light enters a medium?
The angle of the light direction is more towards ‘normal,’ and it goes farther from normal when leaving a medium.
How is a Mirage formed?
A mirage is a refraction in the atmosphere where a virtual image is created.
What is Critical Angle?
This is where the angle at which light rays meet becomes close enough together and the rays are reflected.
What type of Reflection is Critical Angle?
Total Internal Reflection.
How does a Fiber-Optic Cable work?
A Fiber-Optic Cable is made of many glass/plastic fibers and light is reflected constantly through it to get it across.
What is a Lens?
A transparent object that refracts light to create an image.
What is a Converging Lens?
A lens that bends multiple light waves inwards, this lens has a thicker middle that thins out towards the ends.
What is a Diverging Lens?
A lens that bends light outwards, this lens has thicker ends and a skinny middle.
What is a Magnifying Glass?
A different type of converging lens that sits sideways to make an object look larger when you look through the middle.
How is a Microscope able to zoom so much?
They have multiple lenses.
How do our Eyes work?
We have a lens behind our iris and pupil that refracts light to the back of the eye to get processed. The lenses in our eyes are converging lenses.
What is a Prism?
In optics, it is a transparent solid that has multiple sides and can split up white light into all of its component colors (Dispersion.
What is Dispersion?
The process of separating a wave of different frequencies into its individual component waves. (In optics).
How is a Rainbow formed?
It is formed by the dispersion and internal reflection of sunlight and raindrops.
