Optics

Centre of curvature = Centre of the sphere of which the spherical mirror is a part

Pole = Mirror centre

Focus = Where parallel rays meet or appear to meet after reflection.

Principal Axis = The imaginary line that runs through the pole and the centre of curvature of a spherical mirror.
Distance of focus from the pole is half the radius of curvature.

Types of spherical mirrors

Concave spherical mirror A spherical mirror whose reflecting surface is towards the centre of the sphere is
called concave spherical mirror.
Convex spherical mirror A spherical mirror whose reflecting surface is away from the centre of the sphere is
called convex spherical mirror.

Focal length The distance between the pole and the principal focus of the mirror is called the focal length (f) of
the mirror. For both the spherical mirrors, f = R/2.

where, R is the radius of curvature.

Mirror formula for both the mirrors is
 For convex mirror:
Position of object Position of object
At infinity At the Focus behind the mirror

Between infinity and the pole Between the pole and the focus
behind the mirror
For concave mirror:
Position of object Position of object
At infinity C
Beyond C Between F and C
At C At C
Between C and F Beyond C
Beyond C At infinity
Between P and F Behind mirror

Point to remember:

The image formed by a convex mirror is erect and diminished. It is formed behind the mirror.
The image formed by a concave mirror can be erect as well as inverted, diminished as well as magnified,
behind the mirror as well as in front of the mirror, depending on the distance of the object from the mirror.
The image that can be obtained on a screen is called real image. The image that cannot be obtained on a screen
is called virtual image.
The image formed by a convex mirror is always virtual. The image formed by a concave mirror can be real as
well as virtual.

Sign Conventions for spherical Mirrors:

Magnification

Magnification =
For real image, v = ve
Virtual image, v = +ve

Application
Concave mirror is used as the reflector of a torch, dentist mirror, etc. It is also used in solar furnaces.
Convex mirror is used as a rear view mirror in vehicles.

It is the phenomenon of the change in the path of light, when it passes from one medium to another.

Refraction Laws
 AO, OB, and MON are co- Incident ray, refracted ray, and normal to
planar the interface at incident point are co-
planar
(Snells law)

Refractive index

Absolute refractive index of a medium =

Refractive index of the medium 1 with respect to the medium 2 is equal to the reciprocal of the refractive index
of the medium 1 with respect to the medium 2.

Snells law :

Medium =>1

Optically rarer = < 1

path of a ray when there is no

change in medium.

On account of refraction of the light, a tank of water appears to be less deep than what it actually is,

, is refractive index of water with respect to air.

Differences between a spherical mirror and a lens:

Spherical mirror Spherical lens

Image is formed by reflection of light. Image is formed by refraction of light.
A spherical mirror has only one focus. A spherical lens has two foci.
The centre of the spherical mirror is termed as its pole. The centre of the spherical lens is termed as its optical centre.

Centre of curvature = Centre of the sphere of which the lens surfaces is a part of
Optical centre is a point at the centre of the lens. It always lies inside the lens and not on the surface
The straight line joining the two centres of curvature and the optical centre is called the principal axis of the lens.
Focus = Where parallel rays meet after refraction
Sigh Convention for Lenses:

Lens Formula

For concave lens f = ve

convex lens f = +ve

Magnification

Power of Lens
It is defined as the ability of the lens to converge or diverge a beam of light falling on the lens.
Mathematically, power of lens is expressed as using lens maker's formula .
SI unit of lens power is Dioptre (f should be taken in meters)
For the combination of n thin lenses of focal length f1, f2,f3,......fn the power is given as:

Convex lens and Image

Virtual and erect images when the object is placed between F1 and the optical centre
Image size = object size when object at 2F

Concave lens and Image

Virtual and erect at all object positions

Composition of white light:

White light is composed of seven colours red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.
A rainbow consists of all the seven colours of white light.
A prism splits white light into its seven constituent colours.

Refraction through prism:

Light bends because of refraction that takes place at points B and C.

 The net deviation suffered by the ray when it passes through the prism of angle A is given by .

Relation between the angle of incidence i , angle of emergence e, the angle of prism and the net deviation is given
by .

The deviation of the light ray through the prism is minimum when angle of incidence is .

For the minimum deviation, angle of incidence at both the surfaces of the prism are equal.

The prism formula is given as .

where m is the minimum deviation of the light when passed through prism.

Dispersion through prism:

The splitting of a beam of white light into its seven constituent colours, when it passes through a glass prism, is
called the dispersion of light

Red Disperses least

Violet Disperses most
Yellow Average of all lights

It is the phenomenon of splitting of light into its constituent colours.

A band of seven colours is obtained known as visible spectrum.

Formation of rainbow is a natural phenomenon in which white sunlight splits into beautiful colours by water
droplets.

The reason for the dispersion is difference in refractive index for components of different wavelengths.

The component with less wavelength bends more.

The component with high wavelength bends less.

Human eye

The image forms on retina.

Iris controls the size of pupil.
Pupil controls the amount of light.
Blind spot
The junction of optic nerve and the retina is called blind spot.
No sensory cells are there. Therefore, no vision is possible.
 Impression of an image persists for second in our brain.
Cone cells are sensitive to bright light and rod cells are sensitive to dim light.

The eye

It has a convex lens of focal length about 2.5 cm.

The focal length of can be varied somewhat so that the image is always formed on the retina.

The ability of the eye to vary its focal length is called accommodation.

The minimum distance upto which the eye can see the object distinctly and clearly is known as near point, it is
at 25 cm from the eye for human eye.

Power of accommodation
Ability of the lens to adjust its focal length
Thickness of the lens is controlled by ciliary muscles
Nearest focal distance of lens = 25 cm
Defects
Myopia/near-sightedness
Problem: Distant objects cannot be seen clearly
Image is formed in front of the retina
Correction concave lens
Hypermetropia/far-sightedness
Problem: Near objects are not seen clearly
Image formed beyond the retina
Correction convex lens
Presbyopia Near-focus distance increases with age
Power of accommodation decreases
Correction bi-focal lens

Camera

Used for capturing images

Comprises a convex lenswhich focuses the rays onto the fil
Film is used for storing the image.
To focus distant objects: Decrease the distance between the lens and the film
To focus nearby objects: Increase the distance between camera lens and the film
When the shutter opens, the image of the object is formed on the film.

Microscope

Simple Microscope
Consists of a single convex lens
Cannot view very small objects like bacteria
Object is placed between the focus and the lens
Compound microscope
Consists of two lenses.
One with the lesser focal length is called the objective.
Other with the greater focal length is called the eyepiece.
 Telescope
Used for getting a magnified image of distant objects
Astronomical telescope is used for getting a view of heavenly objects.
Consists of two lenses
Fixed at the two ends of a long cylindrical tube
Objectivelens with a greater focal length
Eyepiecelens with the lesser focal length
Inverted, but magnified image is formed.
Extra lens is added if an erect image is required.

Doppler's effect of Light

There is an apparent change in the frequency of a wave whenever there is a relative motion between the source
and the observer. This effect is known as the Doppler effect, which holds good for all kinds of waves.
The fractional change in the frequency is found by, (where, v is the speed of source)

We can also write the above expression in terms of wavelength as, (where is the change in
wavelength)
The Doppler effect is used in determining the velocity of the submarine, in tracking of artificial satellite ,in Radar
gun, to study the binary stars, Saturn rings, galaxies.

Light travels only in a straight line in all directions.

This phenomenon is called the rectilinear propagation of light.
Light emanating from a source travels in all directions.
The formation of image in a pinhole camera is a proof of rectilinear propagation of light.
The objects that give out or emit light of their own are called luminous objects. Example: Sun.

Types of objects

Transparent objects Translucent objects Opaque objects

These objects allow light to pass
through them.
One can see clearly through
transparent objects.
Transparent objects do not cast a
shadow because they do not block
the light.
These objects allow light to pass
through them partially.
One can see through translucent
objects but not very clearly.
Translucent objects cast faint shadows
as they block the light partially.
These objects do not allow light
to pass through them.
One cannot see through opaque
objects.
Opaque objects cast dark
shadows as they block light
completely.

Classification of objects by sense of vision

 Object/material See-through Shadow cast by it Classification
Pencil Not at all Dark Opaque
Paper Not at all Dark Opaque
Ordinary Glass Fully No shadow Transparent
Water Fully No shadow Transparent
Smoke Partially Light Translucent
Butter paper Partially Light Translucent

Reflection of light:

i =r
AO, OP, and OB lie on the same plane.
Laws of reflection:
The angle of incident is equal to the angle of reflection
The incident ray, the normal at the point of incidence and the reflected ray all lie in the same plane.
Image formation by a plane mirror

Left part of the candle appears on the right and its right part appears on the left. This is known as lateral inversion.

Regular reflection Irregular and diffused reflection

Regular reflection Diffused reflection

The laws of reflection are valid in regular as well as irregular or diffused reflections.

Smooth or polished surfaces gives regular reflection.

Kaleidoscope works on the principle of multiple reflections.
Periscope is an optical device used to see objects that are not along the line of sight.

Number of image formed in multiple reflection =

Uneven of unpolished surfaces gives irregular reflection.
Scattering of light

Scattering of the light takes place when the size of the scattering object is very, very small as compared to the
wavelength of the light.

Amount of scattering

The blue colour has the smallest wavelength among the visible range so it has maximum scattering.

Flickering of objects - this is because the air above the fire is relatively hotter than the air further up in the
atmosphere.

Twinkling of stars caused by changing air density in the atmosphere

Early sunrise and delayed sunset caused by refraction of light through the atmosphere

The sun and the planets do not twinkle because they are not seen as point sources like stars, but are considered
as extended sources.
The phenomenon of scattering of light by the colloidal particle gives rise to Tyndall effect.
Atmospheric particles, smoke, tiny water droplets, suspended particles of dust, and air molecules scatter sunlight.
Therefore, the path of light becomes visible.
Sky is blue- because light near blue wavelength scatters most.
Danger signs are red in colour- because red light scatters least.

Newtons colour disc

Newtons colour disc is a disc that consists of sections of seven colours of the rainbow, arranged sequentially and
in a circular order.
When we rotate the disc with at a high speed, it appears white because of the persistence of vision.
Persistence of vision is the phenomenon of eye by which an image formed is considered to remain for
approximately 1/16th of a second on the retina.
Primary colours are the three colours that combine to give white colour. They are not formed by combining colours.
Red, blue and green are primary colours.
Colours that form by combining of two primary colours are called secondary colours.
Secondary colours are known as complementary colours if their combination with primary colours gives a white
light.

Raman effect:

When a beam of light is passed through organic liquids, like benzene, toluene, etc., the scattered light is found to
be no longer monochromatic. The scattered light has higher and lower frequencies in addition to the frequency of
the incident light. This phenomenon is known as the Raman effect.

Spectroscope:

Spectroscope can be defined as an instrument to obtain the spectrum of a composite light using a prism.
Different types of spectrum observed by spectroscope:
Continuous emission spectrum
Line emission spectrum
Absorption spectrum