Reflection & Refraction of Light

Reflection and Refraction of
Light
Outline
• Light as E-M Wave; The E-M Spectrum
• The Ray Model of Light
• Reflection; Image Formation by a Plane Mirror
• Formation of Images by Spherical Mirrors
• Index of Refraction
• Refraction: Snell’s Law
•Visible Spectrum and Dispersion
• Total Internal Reflection; Fiber Optics
• Refraction at a Spherical Surface
31-6 Light as an Electromagnetic Wave
and the Electromagnetic Spectrum
The frequency of an electromagnetic wave

is related to its wavelength and to the
speed of light:
Electromagnetic waves can have any
wavelength; we have given different names to
different parts of the wavelength spectrum.
Example :
Calculate the wavelength
(a) of a 60-Hz EM wave,
(b) of a 93.3-MHz FM radio wave, and
(c) of a beam of visible red light from a
laser at frequency 4.74 x 1014 Hz.
The Ray Model of Light
Light very often travels in straight lines. We
represent light using rays, which are straight
lines emanating from an object. This is an
idealization, but is very useful for geometric
optics.
Reflection and Image Formation by a
Plane Mirror
Law of reflection: the angle of reflection
(that the ray makes with the normal to a
surface) equals the angle of incidence.
When light reflects from a rough surface, the law
of reflection still holds, but the angle of
incidence varies. This is called diffuse reflection.
With diffuse
reflection, your
eye sees reflected
light at all angles.
With specular
reflection (from a
mirror), your eye
must be in the
correct position.
Example 2 : Reflection from flat mirrors.
Two flat mirrors are perpendicular to each
other. An incoming beam of light makes an
angle of 15° with the first mirror as shown.
What angle will the outgoing beam make with
the second mirror?
What you see when you look into a plane (flat)
mirror is an image, which appears to be behind
the mirror.
This is called a virtual image, as the light does
not go through it. The distance of the image
from the mirror is equal to the distance of the
object from the mirror.
Example 3: How tall
must a full-length mirror
be?
A woman 1.60 m tall
stands in front of a
vertical plane mirror.
What is the minimum
height of the mirror, and
how close must its lower
edge be to the floor, if
she is to be able to see
her whole body? Assume
her eyes are 10 cm below
the top of her head.
Formation of Images by Spherical
Mirrors
Spherical mirrors are shaped like sections of
a sphere, and may be reflective on either the
inside (concave) or outside (convex).
Rays coming from a faraway object are
effectively parallel.
Parallel rays striking a
spherical mirror do not
all converge at exactly
the same place if the
curvature of the mirror
is large; this is called
spherical aberration.
i.e. Parallel rays striking
a concave spherical
mirror do not intersect
(or focus) at precisely a
single point. (This
“defect” is referred to as
“spherical aberration.”)
If the curvature is small, the focus is
much more precise; the focal point is
where the rays converge.
Using geometry, we find that the focal length is
half the radius of curvature:
Spherical aberration can be avoided by using a

parabolic reflector; these are more difficult and
expensive to make, and so are used only when
necessary, such as in research telescopes.
We use ray diagrams to determine where an
image will be. For mirrors, we use three key
rays, all of which begin on the object:
1. A ray parallel to the principal axis; after
reflection it passes through the focal point.
2. A ray through the focal point; after reflection
it is parallel to the axis.
3. A ray perpendicular to the mirror; it reflects
back on itself.
The intersection of these three rays gives the
position of the image of that point on the
object. To get a full image, we can do the
same with other points (two points suffice for
may purposes).
Geometrically, we can derive an
equation that relates the object
distance, image distance, and
focal length of the mirror:
We can also find the magnification (ratio of
image height to object height):
The negative sign indicates that the image is

inverted. This object is between the center of
curvature and the focal point, and its image is
larger, inverted, and real.
Example 4 : Image in a concave mirror.
A 1.50-cm-high diamond ring is placed 20.0
cm from a concave mirror with radius of
curvature 30.0 cm. Determine (a) the
position of the image, and (b) its size.
Formation of Images by Spherical
Mirrors
Concave Mirrors
If an object is outside the center of curvature of a
concave mirror, its image will be inverted,
smaller, and real.
Example 5:
A 1.00-cm-high object is placed 10.0 cm from a
concave mirror whose radius of curvature is 30.0
cm. (a) Draw a ray diagram to locate (approximately)
the position of the image. (b) Determine the position
of the image and the magnification analytically.
Convex Mirrors
For a convex mirror,

the image is always
virtual, upright, and
smaller.
A convex mirror
has a negative focal
length
Example 6:
An external rearview
car mirror is convex
with a radius of
curvature of 16.0 m.
Determine the location
of the image and its
magnification for an
object 10.0 m from the
mirror.
REFRACTION
Light changes direction when crossing a
boundary from one medium to another. This is
called refraction, and the angle the outgoing ray
makes with the normal is called the angle of
refraction.
The angle of refraction depends on the
indices of refraction, and is given by
Snell’s law:
Visible Spectrum and Dispersion
The visible spectrum contains the full
range of wavelengths of light that are
visible to the human eye.
The index of refraction of many transparent
materials, such as glass and water, varies
slightly with wavelength. This is how prisms
and water droplets create rainbows from
sunlight.
This spreading of light into the full
spectrum is called dispersion.
Total Internal Reflection; Fiber
Optics
If light passes into a medium with a smaller
index of refraction, the angle of refraction is
larger. There is an angle of incidence for which
the angle of refraction will be 90°; this is called
the critical angle:
Optical fibers also depend on total
internal reflection; they are therefore
able to transmit light signals with very
small losses.
EXAMPLE 7
A ray of light moving from a denser medium to a
less dense medium. Prove that the critical angle, C
is related with the refractive index of the denser
medium, n by
1
1
C  sin  
n
Assuming that the less dense medium is air.
Refraction at a Spherical Surface
Geometry gives the relationship

between the indices of refraction, the
object distance, the image distance, and
the radius of curvature:
For a concave spherical interface, the rays
will diverge from a virtual image.
Example 8:
A person looks vertically down into a 1.0-m-deep
pool. How deep does the water appear to be?
Summary
• Light paths are called rays.

• Index of refraction:
• Angle of reflection equals angle of incidence.
• Plane mirror: image is virtual, upright, and the
same size as the object.
• Spherical mirror can be concave or convex.
• Focal length of the mirror:
Summary
• Mirror equation:
• Magnification:
• Real image: light passes through it.

• Virtual image: light does not pass through.
Summary
• Law of refraction (Snell’s law):
• Total internal reflection occurs when angle of

incidence is greater than critical angle:

Reflection & Refraction of Light

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Reflection & Refraction of Light

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Reflection and Refraction of

The frequency of an electromagnetic wave

Spherical aberration can be avoided by using a

The negative sign indicates that the image is

For a convex mirror,

Geometry gives the relationship

• Light paths are called rays.

• Real image: light passes through it.

• Total internal reflection occurs when angle of

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