Document by Samaksh Rawal

Light
Light is a form of energy, which induces the sensation of vision in our eyes and makes us able to see
various things present in our surrounding. The light ray may be objects self-light or reflected light.

Luminous objects are objects which emit light of their own. E.g., sun, bulb, tube light, glow worms.

Non-luminous objects are objects which reflect light from other sources. They do not emit light of their
own. E.g., Moon, tree, table, painting.

Light

1. It is form of energy.
2. It travels in straight line.
3. Light can form shadows.

REFLECTION OF LIGHT
The bouncing back of rays of light from a polished and shiny surface is called reflection or reflection of
light. It is similar to bouncing back of a football after colliding with a wall or any hard surface

A highly polished surface, such as a mirror, reflects most of the light falling on it. Similarly,
Shiny/smooth surfaces reflects more light whereas dull/rough surfaces reflects less light

A plane mirror is a flat mirror that is usually made of glass with a very thin layer of silver on the back.
The reflection occurs at the silver and this is protected by a layer of paint.

Sign Convention for spherical lenses

 The sign convention for spherical lenses is the same as in spherical mirrors except that the
distances are measured from the optical centre (0)
 The focal length of a convex lens is positive (+ve) and the focal length of a concave lens is
negative (-ve) Height upwards (+ve)

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Light hitting a plane mirror is reflected back and if you look into such a mirror you will see an image of
yourself.

Some mirrors have the silvering at the back like the ones used by us (normal use)

Silvered surface Silvered surface

The way the light reflects is shown in the following diagram. (It is usual to show the shiny surface by a
line and the back of the mirror by a shaded section).

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General terms related to plane mirrors:

Incident ray- An incident ray is a ray of light that strikes a surface.

Reflected ray- A ray that represents the light reflected by the surface.

Point of incidence- The point of incidence is the point where the ray of incidence strikes the mirror.

Normal- Normal is a line perpendicular to mirror drawn at point of incidence. Thenormal is a line
perpendicular to the surface at the point where the incident ray reflects. The angles of the incident and
reflected rays are always measured from the normal.

Angle of incidence- Angle between incident ray and normal. Denoted using I'. Angle of reflection-
Angle between reflected ray and normal .Denoted using `r'

Laws of Reflection of light:

The two laws of reflection are:

1. The angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection,

2. The incident ray, the normal to the mirror at the point of incidence and the reflected ray, all lie in
the same plane.

These laws of reflection are applicable to all types of reflecting surfaces including spherical surfaces.

Types of reflection

Light undergoes either diffuse or regular reflection.

Regular and diffused Reflection:

: When the reflection surface is smooth and well-polished, the parallel rays falling on it are
reflected parallel to another one; the reflected light goes in one particular direction and are also parallel to
each other. This is regular reflection. E.g., plane mirror, reflection from still water etc

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Diffused Reflection: When the reflecting surface is rough, the parallel rays falling on it are reflected in
different direction. Such a reflection is known as diffuse reflection or irregular reflection For example,
reflection of light from the wall of a room or tree etc

Formation of image by plane mirror:

The light rays from the object spread out, hit the mirror and then reflect - they seem to have come from a
point behind the mirror. This is the image of the object. Image is denoted as-I

Light rays from an object hit the mirror after reflection they appear to meet at

(I). Image is seen at I

(i) Image is formed behind the mirror

(ii) Distance of object from mirror = Distance of image from the mirror. In other words, distance
of object and image is the same from the mirror. (Shown as distance `.d' in fig shown above)

Image of extended object:

An extended object AB is placed in front of a plane mirror MM1 From the points A and B of the object,
rays of light travel in all directions,

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Two rays (AP and AQ) starting from A, incident on the mirror gets reflected as PP' and QQ' respectively
from the mirror. These reflected rays when produced backwards meet at the point A'. In other words, for
an observer these reflected rays appear to come at A. Thus A' is the virtual image of the point A.

In the same way, two rays (BR and BS) starting from B, incident on the mirror gets reflected as RR' and
SS' respectively from the mirror.

Thus, B' is the virtual image of the point B.

Thus A`B. is the virtual image of the object AB. It is erect and of size equal to that of the object. It is
formed far behind the plane mirror as the object is in front of it. i.e., the distance of object and image is
the same from the mirror

Lateral inversion:

"Lateral inversion" means the apparent reversal of the mirror image's left and right when compared with
the object. In other words, when an object is placed in front of the plane mirror, sides are reversed. Right
becomes left and left becomes right. This reversal is only in the direction perpendicular to the surface of
the mirror.

For example, the word AMBULANCE is painted left-right inverted on the ambulance so that when the
driver of a vehicle in front looks into his rear-view mirror, he can make out the word AMBULANCE
quickly and give way.

Object: - Something from which light rays start is called object. The light rays may be the self or
reflected rays of object (i.e., they can either be luminous or non-luminous)

Image: Image is the point where light rays meet or appear to meet.

Image can be of two types:

1, Real image— A real image occurs where rays converge, i.e., light rays actually meet at image.
They can be projected on screen

2. Virtual image -virtual image occurs where rays only appear to converge, i.e., light rays appear
to meet at image. They cannot be projected on screen

Property of image formed by plane mirror:

(i) Image is virtual and cannot be projected on screen

(ii) Image is erect
(iii) Image is of the same size as the object
(iv) Laterally inverted
(v) Distance of image and object from the plane mirror is same

Uses of plane mirror

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1. To see ourselves

2. To make some instruments like periscope

3. In shops for decoration

For light rays striking a plane mirror, the angle of reflection equals the angle of incidence.

Spherical Mirrors:

The curved surface of a shining spoon could be considered as a curved mirror. The most commonly used
type of curved mirror is the spherical mirror. The reflecting surface of such mirrors can be considered to
form a part of the surface of a sphere. Such mirrors, whose reflecting surfaces are spherical, are called
spherical mirrors.

Types of Spherical Mirror:

The reflecting surface of a spherical mirror may be curved inwards or outwards.

1. A spherical mirror whose outer surface is polished and inner side is the reflecting surface is called
concave mirror. A concave mirror is also known as converging mirror as it converges the incident
rays after reflection.
2. A spherical mirror, spherical mirror whose inner is polished and outer side is

the reflecting surface is called convex mirror. A convex mirror is also known as diverging mirror
as it diverges the incident rays after reflection.

Laws of reflection are applicable to all types of mirrors.

Important terms in the case of spherical mirror:

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1. Pole: The centre of reflecting surface of a spherical mirror is known as Pole. Pole lies on the
surface of spherical mirror. Pole is generally represented by 'P'. The middle point of the mirror is
called pole of the mirror.
2. Centre of Curvature: The reflecting surface of a spherical mirror forms a part of a sphere.
This sphere has a centre. This point is called the centre of curvature of the spherical mirror. It is
represented by the letter C.

In the case of concave mirror centre of curvature lies in front of the reflecting surface. On the other hand,
centre of curvature lies behind the reflecting surface in the case of convex mirror.

3. Radius of Curvature: The radius of sphere of which the reflecting surface of a spherical
mirror is a part is called the Radius of Curvature of the spherical mirror. The radius of curvature
of a spherical mirror is denoted by letter 'R'.

Similar to centre of curvature, radius of curvature lies in front of concave mirror and lies behind the
convex mirror and is not a part of the mirror as it lies outside the mirror.

4. Aperture: The diameter of reflecting surface of a spherical mirror is called aperture (shown
as MM'.i.e., vertical line joining M and M')

5. Principal Axis: Imaginary line passing through the centre of curvature and pole of a
spherical mirror is called the Principal Axis.

6. Focus or Principal Focus: Point on principal axis at which parallel rays coming from
infinity converge after reflection is called the Focus or Principal Focus of the spherical mirror.
Focus is represented by letter SF'.

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Focal plane: - The plane through the focus perpendicular to the axis of a mirror or lens. In other words,
the vertical plane in which the focal point lies is the focal plane

If parallel rays traveling toward a converging mirror are not parallel to the main axis, they still come to a
point after reflection, but not at the main focal point F. We can visualize a plane that passes through F and
is perpendicular to the main axis, as shown. It is called the "focal plane." Parallel rays that are not parallel
to the main axis gather at a point (such as F1) on the focal plane.

In the case of a diverging (convex) mirror, rays reflect in a manner that they appear to have come from a
point on the virtual focal plane

A concave mirror can be used to focus light of the sun to burn a hole in paper. The light from the Sun is
converged at a point, as a sharp, bright spot by the mirror, This spot of light is the image of the Sun on the
sheet of paper. This point is the focus of the concave mirror. The heat produced due to the concentration
of sunlight ignites the paper. The distance of this image from the position of the mirror gives the
approximate value of focal length of the mirror

Rays parallel to principal axis meet at focus on reflection from concave mirror.

In the case of a concave mirror, parallel rays coming from infinity converge after reflection in front of the
mirror. Thus, the focus lies in front of a concave mirror.

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Fig: Converging Mirror (concave)

Rays parallel to principal axis meet at focus on extending on reflection from convex mirror.

In the case of a convex mirror, parallel rays coming from infinity appear to be diverging from behind the
mirror. Thus, the focus lies behind the convex mirror.

7. Focal length: The distance from pole to focus is called focal length. Focal length is denoted by letter
T. Focal length is equal to half of the radius of curvature.

Rules for making ray diagrams by spherical mirror

(i) A ray parallel to the principal axis, after reflection, will pass through the principal focus in case of
a concave mirror or appear to diverge from the principal focus in case of a convex mirror.

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(ii) A ray passing through the principal focus of a concave mirror or a ray which is directed towards
the principal focus of a convex mirror, after reflection, will emerge parallel to the principal axis.

(iii) A ray passing through the centre of curvature of a concave mirror or directed in the direction of
the centre of curvature of a convex mirror, after reflection, is reflected back along the same path.

(iv) A ray incident obliquely to the principal axis, towards a point P (pole of the mirror), on the
concave mirror or a convex mirror, is reflected obliquely. The incident and reflected rays follow
the laws of reflection at the point of incidence (point P), making equal angles with the principal
axis.

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Ray diagrams for images formed by concave mirror

(i) When object is at infinity

Image Position - At 'F'

Nature of image - Real, inverted

Size - Point sized or highly diminished M

(ii) When object is beyond 'C'

Image Position - Between 'F' and 'C'

Nature of image - Real, inverted

Size – Diminished

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(iii) When object is at 'C'

Image Position - At 'C'

Nature of image - Real, inverted

Size - Same size as that of object

(iv) When object is placed between 'F' and 'C'

Image Position - Beyond 'C'

Nature of image- Real, inverted

Size - Enlarged

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(v) When object is placed at 'F'

Image Position - At Infinity

Nature of image - Real, inverted

Size - Highly enlarged

(vi) When object is between `P' and 'F'

Image Position - Behind the mirror

Nature of image - Virtual, erect

Size - Enlarged

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Uses of Concave Mirror

(i) Used in torches, search lights and vehicles headlights to get powerful parallel beam of light.
(ii) Concave mirrors are used by dentists to see large image of teeth of patients. (Teeth have to be
placed between pole and focus).
(iii) Concave mirror is used as shaving mirror to see a larger image of the face.
(iv) Large concave mirrors are used to concentrate sunlight to produce heat in solar furnace.

Ray diagrams of images formed by convex mirror

(i) When object is placed at infinity

Image Position - At 'F'

Nature of image - Virtual, erect

Size - Point sized

(ii) When object is placed between pole and infinity

Image Position - Between 'P' and 'F'

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Nature of image- Virtual, erect

Size - Diminished

A full length image of a tall building/tree can be seen in a small convex mirror.

Uses of Convex Mirror

(i) Convex mirrors are used as rear view mirrors in vehicles because
 They always give an erect though diminished image.
 They have a wider field of view as they are curved outwards.

(ii) Convex mirrors are used at blind turns and on points of merging traffic to facilitate vision of both
side traffic.

(ii) Used in shops as security mirror.

Sign Convention for Reflection by Spherical Mirror

(i) The object is placed to the left of the mirror.
(ii) All distances parallel to the principal axis are measured from the pole of the mirror.
(iii) All distances measured in the direction of incident ray (along + X-axis) are taken as positive and
those measured against the direction of incident ray (along — X-axis) are taken as negative.
(iv) Distance measured perpendicular to and above the principal axis are taken as positive.
(v) Distances measured perpendicular to and below the principal axis are taken as negative.

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 Object distance = 'u' is always negative.

 Focal length of concave mirror = Negative
 Focal length of convex mirror = Positive

Mirror Formula
1/v + 1/u = 1/f

where, v = Image distance

u = Object distance

f = Focal length

Magnification of Spherical Mirrors

It is the ratio of the height of image to the height of object.

m = Height of image/Height of object

 m = hi/ho

Also, m = -v/u

 If 'm' is negative, image is real.

 If 'm' is positive, image is virtual.
 If hi = h, then m = 1, i.e., image is equal to object.
 If hi > h, then m > 1 i.e., image is enlarged.
 If hi < h, then m < 1 i.e., image is diminished.

• Magnification of plane mirror is always + 1.

'+' sign indicates virtual image.

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'1' indicates that image is equal to object's size.

• If 'm' is '+ve' and less than 1, it is a convex mirror.

• If 'm' is '+ve' and more than 1, it is a concave mirror.

• If 'm' is '-ve', it is a concave mirror.

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