Ray Optics and Optical Instruments

CHAPTE R

09
RAY OPTICS AND OPTICAL
INSTRUMENTS

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CONTENTS
Introduction

Reflection
Ray Optics AND oPTICAL INSTRUMENTS

Refraction

Prism

Refraction at Spherical Surfaces

Thin Lens

Power of a Lens

Optical Instruments

“If learning the truth is the scientist’s

“If learning the truth goal,
is thethen he must
scientist’s make
goal, thenhimself
he
the enemy of all that he reads.”
must make himself the enemy of all that he reads.”
  —­‑­IIbn
bn Al-Haytham
Al-Haytham

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Ray Optics and Optical Instruments

9.1 Introduction
9.1.1 RAY OPTICS
Optics is a discipline of physics which is concerned with the behaviour and properties of light,
as well as its interactions with matter and the instruments used to detect it.

Reflection Absorption

Refraction
Scattering
Fig. 9.1.1 Various phenomena of light

9.1.2 REFLECTION AND REFRACTION

When a light ray strikes a surface The change in the direction of a light
which is separating two different ray travelling from one medium to
media, a part of it gets reflected, i.e., another caused by the change in its
returns back to the initial medium. It speed is known as refraction.
Refraction
Reflection

is known as reflection.

9.1.3 TYPES OF REFLECTING SURFACES

Woman Image of woman

C F
Mirror

Plane mirror Convex mirror Concave mirror

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9.2 Reflection
When a light ray strikes a surface which is separating two different media, a part of it gets
reflected, i.e., returns back to the initial medium. It is known as reflection.

 (NEET 2018, NEET 2017, NEET 2016)

9.2.1 TYPES OF REFLECTION

Regular reflection
1. Reflection from a polished surface is called regular
reflection.
2. Parallel rays remain parallel after reflection.

Diffused reflection
1. R
 eflection from a rough surface is called diffused
reflection.
2. P
 arallel rays do not remain parallel after reflection.

9.2.2 SOME IMPORTANT TERMS

A. Object is defined on the basis of

the incident ray.
B. A point from which incident rays
Virtual
object actually diverge is called a real
object. A point at which incident
Real
object rays appear to converge is called
a virtual object.
C. Minimum of two rays are required
to show the position of an object.

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Ray Optics and Optical Instruments

A. 
A point at which reflected or
refracted rays actually converge
is called a real image. A point
Virtual
from which reflected or refracted Image
rays appear to diverge is called a Real
Image
virtual image.
B. 
Minimum of two reflected or
refracted rays are required to
determine the position of the image.

9.2.3 LAWS OF REFLECTION

A. 
The incident ray, reflected ray, and the normal falling
on a reflecting surface at the point of incidence all lie
i r in the same plane.
B. The angle of reflection is equal to the angle of incidence,
i.e., ∠i =∠r

A plane mirror makes an angle of 30⁰ with horizontal.

If a vertical ray incident on it, then what will be the
angle between the mirror and the reflected ray?
SOLUTION

Angle between the incident ray and mirror

= 90⁰ – 30⁰ = 60⁰
By law of reflection, ∠i = ∠r = 90⁰ – 60⁰ = 30⁰ 60º
So, angle of reflection ∠r = 30⁰,
30º
60º
Hence, the angle between mirror and the
reflected ray = 90⁰ – 30⁰ = 60⁰

9.2.4 IMAGE FORMATION IN PLANE MIRROR

Woman Image of woman ‹ The image formed in a plane mirror is virtual.
‹ The image is erect and of the same size as that of the object.
Mirror
‹ The perpendicular distance of the image from the plane
mirror is the same as the perpendicular distance of the
object from the plane mirror.

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Keeping the incident ray N N'

fixed and the mirror is rotated I R
by an angle q, about an axis
θ R'
in the plane of the mirror, 2θ
the reflected ray gets rotated θ
through an angle 2q. θ M
O
M'

FANTA FACT
The minimum height of a plane mirror needed to form a full size image
H
is equal to half of the height of the object, that is, h = .
2

9.2.5 CURVED MIRROR AND ITS TYPES

The curved mirror is a smooth reflecting part (in any shape) of a symmetrically curved surface
such as paraboloidal, ellipsoidal, cylindrical or spherical.
Note: Here, we shall discuss only spherical mirrors.

If the reflection takes place from the If the outer surface of a spherical
inner surface of a spherical mirror, mirror acts as a reflector, then the
then the mirror is called a concave mirror is called a convex mirror.
mirror.
CONCAVE MIRROR

CONVEX MIRROR

F C
C F

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9.2.6 BASIC TERMS

Light comes from this side

Pole

Focus Principal axis

Center of
curvature f
Focal length

2f

Reflecting surface
Fig. 9.2.1 Terminologies of a spherical mirror (concave)

Centre of curvature It is defined as the centre of the sphere of which the mirror is a part.
Radius of curvature It is defined as the radius of the sphere of which the mirror is a part.
Pole It is the geometrical centre of the spherical reflecting surface.
Principal axis It is a straight line joining the centre of curvature to the pole.
When a narrow beam of light, parallel to the principal axis and close
to it (known as paraxial rays), is incident on the surface of a mirror,
Focus the reflected beam is found to converge (concave mirror) or appear
to diverge (convex mirror) from a point on the principal axis. This
point is called the focus.
Aperture It is the effective diameter of the reflecting surface of the mirror.

Find out the angle of incidence of a ray which passes

through the pole after reflection, given that MI || CP.

I
MI  CP ∠MIC =
∠CIP =
θ
SOLUTION

M 
= = R
CI CP 

∠CIP =
∠CPI =
θ
P
∴ In ∆ CIP all angles are equal C

3q = 180° ⇒ q = 60°

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The relation between the focal length and the radius of

curvature for spherical mirrors is, f = R/2.

9.2.7 SIGN CONVENTION

All distances are measured Distances above the

Incident +
from the pole, and thus the principal axis are taken as
pole is the origin. Ray positive.

–
Distances measured in the + Angles measured from the
direction of incident rays are normal in the anticlockwise
taken as positive. –
sense are positive.

9.2.8 FORMATION OF IMAGES BY A CONCAVE MIRROR

Position of object Ray diagram Position and nature of Image

from 

When the object is situated at B

Real, inverted, highly
P
infinity C F diminished image at focus.
A

A
B1 Real, inverted, and
Object beyond C P
B C F
A1 diminished between C and F

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Ray Optics and Optical Instruments

A
Real, inverted and image is
B
Object at C P of the same size as object
B1 C F
formed at C
A1

A
B1 C Real, inverted, enlarged
Object between C and F B F P
image formed beyond C

A1

A
Real, Inverted, highly
B
Object at F C F
P enlarged image formed at
infinity

A
A Virtual, erect, enlarged
Object between F and P C F B P B
image formed behind the
mirror

9.2.9 FORMATION OF IMAGES BY CONVEX MIRROR

M
a) When an object is placed at infinity in
front of a convex mirror, then the image
is formed at the focus of the mirror. The P F C
nature of the image is virtual, erect and At
infinity
highly diminished. N

b) When an object is placed between infinity M

A
and the pole of a convex mirror, then the
A1
image is formed between the pole and
B P B1 F C
the focus of the mirror. The nature of the
image is virtual, erect, and diminished. N

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9.2.10 MIRROR FORMULA

1 1 1
In terms of Cartesian sign convention, the mirror formula may be expressed as = + , where
f v u
u, v and f represent object distance, image distance and focal length from the pole, respectively.

Object Focal
point
Principal Pole
axis Image

Mirror

f
u

Fig. 9.2.2 Ray diagram for reflection of a concave mirror

9.2.11 MAGNIFICATION

Linear magnification is defined as the ratio of the size of

the image to the size of object
A
B1 C o
I B F P
m= u
o I
I −v A1 v
It is also given by, m= =
o u

When an object is placed along the principal axis, then linear

magnification is called longitudinal magnification or axial
magnification. It is given by:
object
image length of image v 2 − v1
u2 u1=mL =
v2 length of object u2 − u1
v1
For small objects only, mL = m 2

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If a 2-D object is placed with its plane perpendicular to

the principal axis, its magnification is called superficial
ma × mb
magnification; it will =be, ms = m 2 = Area of
a×b b mb
image/Area of an object, m is linear magnification. a
ma

A 0.2 cm high object is placed at 15 cm from a concave mirror of

a focal length of 5 cm. Find the position and size of the image.

1 1 1
= +
f v u
uf ( −15)( −5)
SOLUTION

I ∴v = = =−7.5 cm
P u −f −15 + 5
F C O
Negative sign shows the image is on
2 the same side as the object
And magnification
1
I −v −7.5 1
(m) ===
− =
−
Object distance (u ) = −15 cm o u −15 2
0.2
Focal length (f) = -5 cm Height of image ( I ) =m × o = =−0.1 cm
−2
Object height (o) = 0.2 cm Negative sign shows a real and inverted
image

A 0.5 cm high object is placed at 30 cm from a

convex mirror whose focal length is 20 cm. Find
the position, size and nature of the image.

1 1 1
= +
f v u
O
SOLUTION

uf ( −30)(20)
I ∴v = = =+12 cm
u −f −30 − 20
C F P
And magnification
I −v −12 2
(m) = == − =
o u −30 5
Object distance (u) =-30 cm Height of image
Focal length (f) = +20 cm 2
Object height (o) = 0.5 cm (I ) = m × o = × 0.5 = 0.2 cm
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(Virtual and Erect image)

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9.3 Refraction 
The change in the direction of a light ray travelling from one medium to another caused by
its change in speed is known as refraction.

Absolute Refractive Index: It is defined as the ratio of the speed of light in vacuum (c)
to the speed of light in medium (v).
c
n=
v

Relative Refractive Index: T

 he relative refractive index of two media is equal to the ratio
of their absolute refractive indices.
n2 v1
Refractive index of medium 2 with respect to medium 1 (n21=
) =
n1 v 2

= velocity of light in medium 1 / velocity of light in medium 2

Incident ray
9.3.1 LAWS OF REFRACTION
1. The incident ray, the refracted ray, and the
i Angle of incidence
normal to the interface of two media at the
point of incidence, all lie on the same plane
and at the same point. Rarer medium Interface
2. Snell’s law is defined as “The ratio of the
Denser medium
sine of the angle of incidence to the sine
of the angle of refraction is a constant, for Angle of refraction

the light of a given colour and for a given r

pair of media”. The expression for Snell’s
Refracted ray
law is given as:
n2 sin i
n=
21 = = constant
n1 sin r Fig. 9.3.1 Refraction of light

9.3.2 TOTAL INTERNAL REFLECTION AND CRITICAL ANGLE

The bouncing back of light rays in the same denser medium after reflection from an interface
with a rarer medium, is termed as total internal reflection.

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Ray Optics and Optical Instruments

Total internal
Critical angle reflection

Air

y
ra
r

d
n2 te
c
fra
Re

r = 90⁰
n1 Re
Refracted ray
ay

fle
cte
nt r

y dr
ra
y i ay
ide

c a r
tr
t

Water i
en

en
Inc

cid

id
Inc
In

Critical angle: It is the angle of incidence for which the angle of refraction is 90⁰.
Using Snell's law, we get,
sin θc n2 sin 90°
n1 =
n 
θc =sin−1  2 
 n1 

9.3.3 CONDITIONS FOR TOTAL INTERNAL REFLECTION

‹ The light ray must travel from a denser medium to a rarer medium.
‹ The angle of incidence must be greater than the critical angle.

9.3.4 APPLICATIONS OF TOTAL INTERNAL REFLECTION

‹ Sparkling of diamond
‹ Optical fibre
‹ Mirage and optical looming

An optical fibre, made up of glass with a refractive index,

n1 = 1.5 is surrounded by another glass of refractive index,
n2 . Find the refractive index, n2 of the cladding such that
the critical angle between the two cladding is 80°.
SOLUTION

Critical angle, θc = 80° n2 sin θc sin 80°

(n21=
) = = = sin 80°
Refractive index, n1 = 1.5 n1 sin r sin 90°
Refractive index n2 = ? ⇒ n2 = 1.5 × sin 80° = 1.48
Using the below formula, we can
calculate n2:

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Find the angle θa made by the light ray when it gets refracted
from water to air, as shown in the figure.

Air
 1
SOLUTION

Snell’s law, µw sin θw =µa sin θa

4 2 a
⇒ × = 1sin θa
3 5
8  4/3
⇒ sin θa =
15 Water
 8  sin 1 2
⇒ θa =sin−1   5
 15 

9.3.5 REAL AND APPARENT DEPTH

K
The relation between apparent depth and real N
depth is:
Real depth d
Apparent
= depth =
n n A B Air Q
P
where, n is the refractive index of water. Apparent
Normal shift = real depth - apparent depth depth

Water
Real
= d - d/n depth Normal
shift
where, d is real depth O N

An object lies 140 cm inside the water (µ = 4/3). It is viewed from

the air nearly normally. Find the apparent depth of the object.

Here, an object is placed inside water, and the observer is situated in air. Hence,
SOLUTION

apparent depth
d d d 140
d′
= = = = = 105 cm
(ni / nr )  nwater  nrelative 4 /3
  1
 nair 

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9.3.6 LATERAL SHIFT

A N

The perpendicular distance between the incident and

i
emergent ray is known as lateral shift.
0 µ
t sin(i − r )
r
i– dL =
r
C t cos r
dL
where, t is the thickness of the glass slab.
D B

NORMAL SHIFT FOR NORMAL SHIFT FOR

DIVERGING BEAMS CONVERGING BEAMS

O I n2 n1 I O n1 n2

t t

For air, n1 = 1 and n2 = n For air, n1 = 1 and n2 = n

 1  1
Normal shift = 1 -  t Normal shift = 1 -  t
 n  n

A glass plate, 4 mm thick, is viewed from the above through a

microscope. The microscope must be lowered by 2.58 mm as the
operator shifts from viewing the top surface to viewing the bottom
SOLUTION

surface through the glass. What is the index of refraction of the glass?

Apparent depth, A = 2.58 mm R

µ =
Real depth, R = 4 mm A
4
∴µ = 1.55
=
2.58

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Find the lateral shift of a light ray when it passes through

a parallel glass slab of thickness 20 cm placed in air.
The angle of incidence in the air is 60°, and the angle of
refraction in glass is 30°.
Lateral shift, dL
i = 60°
t sin(i − r )
SOLUTION

dL =
cos r
20 sin(60° − 30°)
=
cos 30° r = 30°
20 sin 30° 20 20 cm
= =
cos 30° 3
20
= = 11.55 cm
1.732 Lateral shift

9.4 Prism
‹ A prism is defined as a transparent wedge-shaped refracting medium bounded by two inclined
faces that refract light.

9.4.1 IMPORTANT CASES

A
L
Angle of of
gle n
prism An viatio
de
Deviation of light through a prism: M


(i + e − A)
P Q
δ= i
r1 r2
e Em
erg
y ray ent
t ra
id en
Inc N
B C R
O

const.
For minimum deviation:

1. i = e
2. r = A/2
min
δ + A
sin  min 
sin i  2 
3.=µ =
sin r  A
i sin  
i=e  2

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The deviation produced by a prism depends on

(i) Angle of incidence, i
(ii) Angle of prism, A
(iii) Refractive index of material, m and
(iv) Wavelength of light, λ

A ray of light is incident on a prism surface at an

δ + A
angle of 40º to form the minimum deviation
sin  min condition.

2
If the angle of the prism is 60º, µ = find the refractive
then 
 A
index of the prism and the angle of minimum sin  deviation.

2
SOLUTION

Angle of prism, (A) = 60º  δ + 60° 

sin  min 
angle of incidence, (i) = 90º -40º = 50º  2 
⇒ 1.532 =
sin i sin i sin 50° sin 30°
=µ = = = 1.532
sin r sin A sin 30°  δ + 60°  1
2 sin  min = 1.532 ×= 0.766
 2  2
 δmin + A 
sin  
2 δmin + 60°
µ =   = sin−1(0.766)
 A 2
sin   δmin + 60°
2 = 50°
2
 δ + 60° 
sin  min  δmin= 100° − 60°= 40°
 2 
⇒ 1.532 =
sin 30°
9.4.2 THIN PRISM
It is a glass prism that has a very small apex angle. A

For thin prism, the angle of deviation is given by:

δ = (µ − 1)A 

The above equation implies that deviation is less for thin

prism.

A glass prism of refractive index 1.5 and angle of prism 6º is placed in

contact with another prism of refractive index 1.6 when a ray of light
is made incident on this combination normally then it emerges out
SOLUTION

undeviated. The angle of the second prism will be

Refractive index of prism 1 ( µ1 ) = 1.5, δ1 =δ2

Refractive index of prism 2 ( µ 2 ) = 1.6 ( µ1 − 1) A1 = ( µ2 − 1) A 2
Prism angle of prism 1(A1) = 6º and ⇒ (1.5 − 1) 6 = (1.6 − 1) A 2
Prism angle of prism 2 (A2) = ? ∴ A 2 =°
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9.4.3 DISPERSION AND RAYLEIGH SCATTERING

Dispersion: Dispersion is described as the phenomenon

of splitting white light into distinct hues when it is passed
through a refracting medium like a prism. Therefore, it
can be said that the degree of deviation is dependent on
the wavelengths. The deviation in the path of the light is
inversely proportional to the wavelength.

Scattering of Light: The deflection of a light ray by fine particles of solids, liquids or gases
is known as the scattering of light. The intensity of scattered light depends on the size of
the particles and the wavelength of the light.

ht
red lig
Scatte
Rayleigh Scattering: Rayleigh scattering is the scattering
of electromagnetic radiation by particles with a radius of
less than one-tenth of the wavelength of light. The intensity
of scattered light varies inversely as the fourth power of
1
the wavelength of light, i.e., I ∝
λ4
Observer

Beyond NCERT
Angular dispersion: It is defined as the difference between
the angles of deviation for the violet colour and red colour. It
is given by:
θ = δV − δR = (µV − µR )A
It depends on the material of the prism and the angle of the prism.
Dispersive power: It is defined as the ratio of angular dispersion
to mean colour deviation and is given by:
θ µV − µR
=
ω =
δY µY − 1
It only depends on the material of the prism.

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