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Physics and Math > Light and Optics > Flashcards

Light and Optics Flashcards

1
Q

radio waves

A

on one end of the electromagnetic spectrum; long wavelengths, low frequency, and low energy

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2
Q

gamma rays

A

on one end of the electromagnetic spectrum; short wavelength, high frequency, and high energy

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3
Q

order of waves from lowest to highest energy

A

radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, x-rays, and then gamma waves

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4
Q

visible spectrum

A

400 nm (violet) to 700 nm (red)

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5
Q

electromagnetic waves

A

are transverse waves that consist of an oscillating electric field and an oscillating magnetic field; these two fields are perpendicular to each other and the direction of propagation of the wave

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6
Q

units for wavelengths

A

Angstrom (A)= 10^-10 m

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7
Q

speed of electromagnetic waves in a vacuum

A

speed of light; 3.00x10^8 m/s
c=f(lambda)

(for the test, this is how fast it moves in air)

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8
Q

blackbody

A

refers to an ideal absorber of all wavelengths of light

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9
Q

rectilinear propagation

A

light traveling in a homogeneous medium will travel in a straight line

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10
Q

reflection

A

the rebounding of incident light waves at the boundary of a medium

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11
Q

law of reflection

A

states that an incident angle will equal the angle of reflection, as measured from the normal

theta1 = theta2

both are measured from the normal

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12
Q

normal

A

a line drawn perpendicular to the boundary of a medium; all angles in optics are measured from the normal, not the surface of the medium

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13
Q

real images created from a mirror

A

when the light actually converges at the position of the image; will have a positive distance (i>0)

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14
Q

virtual image created from a mirror

A

when the light only appears to be coming from the position of the image but does not actually converge there; ex: looking into a mirror, the reflected light is in front of the mirror but the image appears to be behind it; will have a negative distance (i<0)

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15
Q

plane mirrors

A

flat reflective surfaces, causes neither convergence nor divergence of reflected light rays; always create virtual, upright images and the image is always the same size as the object; r=f=infinity

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16
Q

spherical mirrors

A

have centers and radii of curvature as well as focal points; are either concave or convex

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17
Q

center of curvature

A

a point on the optical axis located at a distance equal to the radius of curvature from the vertex of the mirror; it would be the center of the spherically shaped mirror if it were a complete sphere instead of just a piece

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18
Q

concave mirrors

A

converging systems and can produce real, inverted images or virtual, upright images, depending on the placement of the object relative to the focal point; the center and radius of curvature are in front of the mirror

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19
Q

convex mirrors

A

diverging systems and will only produce virtual, upright images; the center and radius of curvature are behind the mirror

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20
Q

focal length (f)

A

f=r/2
it is the distance between the focal point and the mirror
and r is the distance between the center and the mirror-radius

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21
Q

optics equation

A

1/f= 1/o + 1/i =2/r

often used to calculate the image distance

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22
Q

optics equation for plane mirrors

A

1/o + 1/i = 0 or i=-o

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23
Q

magnification (m)

A

a dimensionless value that is the ratio of the image distance to the object distance: m=-i/o

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24
Q

negative magnification

A

signifies an inverted image

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25
positive magnification
signifies an upright image
26
|m|<1
image is smaller than the object
27
|m|>1
image is larger than the image
28
|m|=1
the image is the same size as the object
29
ray diagram rules for concave mirrors
1. ray that strikes the mirror parallel to the axis is reflected back through the focal point 2. a ray that passes through the focal point before reaching the mirror is reflected back parallel to the axis 3. a ray that strikes the mirror at the point of intersection with the axis is reflected back with the same angle measured from the normal
30
what happens to the image if the object is placed at the focal point?
there is no image, the image will be at infinity (i=infinity)
31
ray diagram rules for convex mirrors
the further away the object, the smaller the image is
32
refraction
the bending of light as it passes from one medium to another and changes speed
33
index of refraction (n)
n=c/v c=speed of light in a vacuum v=speed of light in the medium n=the index of refraction of the medium, dimensionless
34
Snell's law
n1 sin(theta1)=n2 sin(theta2) theta is in respect to the normal
35
how is light bent when the light enters a medium with a higher index of refraction?
n2>n1 the light is bent toward the normal
36
how is light bent when the light enters a medium with a lower index of refraction?
n2
37
critical angel (theta c)
the refracted angle (theta2) equals 90 degrees; at this point the refracted light ray passes along the interface between the two media theta c= sin-1(n2/n1)
38
total internal reflection
phenomenon in which all the light incident on a boundary is reflected back into the original material; results with any angle of incidence greater than the critical angle
39
lenses
refract light to form images of objects
40
thin symmetrical lenses
have focal points on each side, and the focal length is the same for both
41
convex lenses
are converging systems and can produce real, inverted images or virtual, upright images
42
concave lenses
are diverging systems and will only produce virtual, upright images
43
Lensmaker's equation
used for lenses where thickness is not neglected, the focal length is related to the curvature of the lens surfaces and the index of refraction of the lens 1/f = (n-1) [(1/r1)-(1/r2)] n=index of refraction r1= radius of curvature of the first lens surface r2= radius of curvature of the second lens surface
44
ray diagram rules for lens
1. ray parallel to axis -> refracts through the focal point of front face of the lens 2. ray through or toward focal point -> refracts parallel to the axis 3. ray to center of lens -> continues straight through with no refraction
45
power (P) of lenses
P=1/f f=focal length positive for converging lens and negative for diverging lens and it is measured in diopters
46
hyperopia
farsightedness; people can see distant objects clearly and need converging lenses
47
myopia
nearsightedness; people can see near objects clearly and need diverging lenses
48
focal length of multiple lens system
1/f = 1/f1 + 1/f2 + 1/f3 + ......
49
power of multiple lens system
P= P1+P2+P3+......
50
magnification of multiple lens system
m= m1xm2xm3x......
51
aberrations
errors
52
spherical aberration
a blurring of the periphery of an image as a result of inadequate reflection of parallel beams at the edge of a mirror or inadequate refraction of parallel beams at the edge of the lens; creates an area of multiple images with very slightly different image distances at the edge of the image
53
dispersion
when various wavelengths of light separate from each other; ex: splitting of white light into its component colors using a prism
54
chromatic aberration
a dispersive effect within a spherical lens; can result in rainbow halo around images depending on the thickness and curvature of the lens
55
diffraction
the bending and spreading out of light waves as they pass through a narrow slit or around an obstacle
56
single slit diffraction
light that goes through a narrow slit, on the order of the light wavelength, the light waves seem to spread out (diffract); as the slit is narrowed, the light spreads out more
57
positions of dark fringes in slit-lens setup
(a)sin(theta) =n(lambda) ``` a= width of the slit theta= angle between the line drawn from the center of the lens to the dark fringe and the axis of the lens n= integer indicating the number of the fringe lambda= wavelength of the incident wave ```
58
interference
when interacting waves result in the addition of the displacements of waves
59
constructive interference of multiple slits
when the two lights waves resulting from the double slit show constructive interference and end up as bright fringes (maxima) on the plate behind it
60
destructive interference of multiple slits
when the two lights waves resulting from the double slit show destructive interference and end up as dark fringes (minima) on the plate behind it
61
position of dark fringes in double-slit setup
d sin(theta)= (n+0.5) (lambda) d=distance between two slits theta= angle between the line drawn from the midpoint between the two slits to the dark fringe and the normal n=integer indicating the number of the fringe lambda= wavelength of incident wave
62
Young's double slit experiment
shows the constructive and destructive interference of waves that occur as light passes through parallel slits, resulting in minima (dark) and maxima (bright) of intensity
63
plane polarized light
light in which the electric fields of all the waves are oriented in the same direction (their electric filed vectors are parallel)
64
polarizers
allow only light with an electric field pointing in a particular direction to pass through; they only let through the portion of the light parallel to the axis of the polarizer
65
circular polarized light
created by exposing un-polarized light to special pigments of filters; has a uniform amplitude but continuously changing direction resulting in a helical orientation

Physics and Math (12 decks)

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