Lecture 3 Geometric Optics PDF
Lecture 3 Geometric Optics PDF
Laws of Reflection
❑ The angle of reflection is equal to the angle of incidence θi = θr
❑ The incident ray, the reflected ray and the normal are all in the
same plane
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The Refraction of Light: Snell’s Law
❑ For a given material, the index of refraction varies with the wavelength
of the light passing through the material
❑ This dependence of n on λ is called dispersion
❑ Snell’s law indicates light of different wavelengths is bent at different
angles when incident on a refracting material
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Total Internal Reflection
• A real image is one in which light actually passes through the image point: Real
images can be displayed on screens
• A virtual image is one in which the light does not pass through the image point
• Virtual images cannot be displayed on screens
• The light appears to diverge from that point
• To find where an image is formed, it is always necessary to follow at least two rays
of light as they reflect from the mirror
❑ Different wavelengths of
light refracted by a lens
focus at different points
• Violet rays are refracted more
than red rays
• The focal length for red light
is greater than the focal
length for violet light
❑ Chromatic aberration can be
minimized by the use of a
combination of converging
and diverging lenses