Optics Applied Physics
Optics Applied Physics
Optics
Presented By
Dr. Arifa Mirza
Faculty of Computing & Information Technology
What Is Light?
1) Properties of light
2) Reflection - Mirrors
3) Refraction - Lenses
Properties of Light
Light travels in waves: A wave is a
disturbance that transfers energy from
place to place.
Light travels in straight lines
Laser
Light travels much faster than sound. For example:
1) Thunder and
lightning start at the
same time, but we
will see the lightning
first.
Light travels VERY FAST – about 300,000 kilometers
per second or 186,000 miles per second.
Homework
Properties of Light summary
Diffuse reflection is
when light is scattered
in different directions
Refraction
Refraction is the bending of light (it also happens with sound,
water and other waves) as it passes from
one transparent substance into another.
Refraction of light waves
•Refraction is when waves speed up or slow
down due to travelling in a different medium
•A medium is something that light waves will
travel through
•Light rays are slowed down by the water
•Causes the ruler to look bent at the surface
• The mediums in this example are water and
air
Light hitting
Light hitting at an
straight on is
angle is bent
not bent
The Law of Refraction
Total internal reflection
Optics Lab
Light interference
Light interference
• It is the phenomenon in which two waves superpose to form
the resultant wave of the lower, higher or same amplitude. The
most commonly seen interference is the optical interference or light
interference. This is because light waves are randomly generated
every which way by most sources. This means that light waves
coming out of a source do not have a constant amplitude,
frequency or phase.
• The most common example of interference of light is the soap
bubble which reflects wide colours when illuminated by a light
source.
• Example, incandescent bulbs generate a wide range of frequencies
of light, including all colours of the rainbow. Moreover, the light
coming out of the bulb is randomly generated every moment in all
directions. This means that the starting point of the wave generated
may be a maximum, a minimum or any point in between. There is
no way of predicting which phase the wave will start. Such a source
is said to be incoherent.
Diffraction
Diffraction refers to various phenomena that occur when
a wave encounters an obstacle or opening. It is defined as the bending of
waves around the corners of an obstacle or through an aperture into the
region of geometrical shadow of the obstacle/aperture. The diffracting
object or aperture effectively becomes a secondary source of
the propagating wave.
Two source interference
Double Slit interference
Interference from thin films
Diffraction and the wave theory
Diffraction refers to various phenomena that occur when
a wave encounters an obstacle or opening. It is defined as the bending of
waves around the corners of an obstacle or through an aperture into the
region of geometrical shadow of the obstacle/aperture. The diffracting
object or aperture effectively becomes a secondary source of
the propagating wave.
Single-Slit Diffraction
Diffraction of light is defined as the
bending of light around corners such that
it spreads out and illuminates areas
where a shadow is expected.