LIGHT

Objects that produce their own light are known as luminous objects i.e. the sun,
torch lamps etc. Objects that do not produce their own light are called non-luminous
objects i.e. the moon. Opaque objects are those which do not allow light to pass
through them.
Translucent materials are those which allow light to pass through them but we
cannot see through them i.e. church glass and bathroom glass. Transparent materials
are those which allow light to pass through them and we can see through them i.e.
window panes, car windows etc. A ray is the direction of the path followed by light.
A beam is a group of rays travelling together.

Experiment: light travels in straight lines

Procedure
1. Obtain three cardboards with a hole at the center and mount them such that
they form a straight line.
2. Arrange them as shown and place a lighted candle at one end and make sure
that you can see the flame from the other end.
3. Move any of the cardboards and observe what happens.
Discussion
When one cardboard is displaced or moved slightly the flame cannot be seen at the
other end. This shows that light travels in a straight line. This principle is applied
in the following:

Pinhole Camera
It consists of a closed box with a small hole on one face and a screen of tracing paper/ frosted
glass on the opposite face as shown. An image will be formed on the screen. Since light travels
from one point of the object through the hole an image will be formed on the opposite screen of
the box. If the object is near the hole, it is magnified while diminished if away from the hole.
Magnification is therefore the ration of the image to object height, expressed as,
Magnification = height of image/ height of object or
= distance of image from pinhole/ distance of object from pinhole
Examples
1. Calculate the height of a building 300 m away from a pinhole camera which
produces an image 2.5 cm high if the distance between the pinhole and the screen is
5.0 cm.
Solution
Object distance = 300 m, image height = 2.5 cm, image distance = 5.0
cm. Object height/ image height = object distance/ image distance
Object height = (30,000 × 2.5) / 5.0 = 15,000 cm = 150 m.
2. The length of a pinhole camera is 25.0 cm. An object 2.0 cm is placed 10.0 m
from the pinhole. Calculate the height of the image produced and its magnification.
Solution
Image height = (image distance × object height) / object distance
= (25 ×200) / 10 = 500 cm or 5 m.
Magnification = image distance / object distance
= 25 /10 = 2.5
Reflection
Diffuse and regular reflection
Regular reflection occurs when a parallel beam of light falls on a plane mirror band
reflected as a parallel beam. They occur on polished surfaces. A diffuse reflection
occurs on rough surfaces where a parallel beam of light is reflected in all directions.
 Laws of reflection
1. The incident ray, the normal and the reflected ray at the point of incidence
must be on the same plane
2. The angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection.

REFRACTION OF LIGHT
Introduction
Refraction is the change of direction of light rays as they pass at an angle from one medium
to another of different optical densities.
Exp. To investigate the path of light through rectangular glass block.
Apparatus: - soft-board, white sheet of paper, drawing pins (optical), rectangular glass block.
Procedure
1. Fix the white plain paper on the soft board using pins.
2. Place the glass block on the paper and trace its outline, label it ABCD as shown below.
3. Draw a normal NON at point O.
4. Replace the glass block to its original position.
5. Stick two pins P1 and P2 on the line such that they are at least 6cm apart and upright.
6. Viewing pins P1 and P2 from opposite side, fixpins P3 and P4 such that they’re in a straight
line.
7. Remove the pins and the glass block.
8. Draw a line joining P3 and P4 and produce it to meet the outline face AB at point O
Explanation of refraction
Light travels at a velocity of 3.0×108in a vacuum. Light travels with different velocities in
different media. When a ray of light travels from an optically less dense media to more dense
media, it is refracted towards the normal. The glass block experiment gives rise to a very
important law known as the law of reversibility which states that “if a ray of light is reversed,
it always travels along its original path”. If the glass block is parallel-sided, the emergent ray
will be parallel to the incident ray but displaced laterally as shown

‘e’ is called the angle of emergence. The direction of the light is not altered but displaced
sideways. This displacement is called lateral displacement and is denoted by‘d’. Therefore
XY= t/Cos r YZ= Sin (i-r) ×xy
So, lateral displacement, d = t Sin (i-r)/Cos r
Laws of refraction
1. The incident ray, the refracted ray and the normal at the point of incidence all lie on
the same plane.
2. The ratio of the sine of the angle of incidence to the sine of the angle of refraction is
a constant for a given pair of media.
Sin i/sin r = constant (k)

Refractive index
Refractive index (n) is the constant of proportionality in Snell’s law; hence
Sin i/ sin r = n
Therefore sin i/sin r=n=1/sin r/sin i
Examples
1. Calculate the refractive index for light travelling from glass to air given that ang= 1.5
Solution
n = 1/ang = 1/1.5=0.67
g a

2. Calculate the angle of refraction for a ray of light from air striking an air-glass interface,
making an angle of 600 with the interface. (ang= 1.5)
Solution
Angle of incidence (i) = 900-600=300
1.5=sin 30o/sin r, sin r =sin 300/ 1.5=0.5/1.5
Sin r=0.3333, sin-10.3333= 19.50
R= 19.50
Examples
1. A ray of light is incident on a water-glass interface as shown. Calculate ‘r’. (Take the
refractive index of glass and water as 3/2 and 4/3 respectively)

Solution
Since anw sin θw=ang sing
4/3 sin 300= 3/2 sin r
3/2 sin r= 4/3× 0.5
Sin r =4/6×2/3=4/9= 0.4444
r = 26.40
2. The refractive index of water is 4/3 and that of glass is 3/2. Calculate the refractive index
of glass with respect to water.
Solution
 n = gna×ang, but wna = 1/ anw=3/4
w g

n =3/4×3/2=9/8= 1.13
w g

Real and apparent depth

Consider the following diagram

The depth of the water OM is the

real depth, and the distance IM is
known as the apparent depth.
OI is the distance through which
the coin has been displaced and is known as the vertical displacement. The relationship between
refractive index and the apparent depth is given by;
Refractive index of a material=real depth/apparent depth
NB: This is true only if the object is viewed normally.
Example
A glass block of thickness 12 cm is placed on a mark drawn on a plain paper. The mark is
viewed normally through the glass. Calculate the apparent depth of the mark and hence the
vertical displacement. (Refractive index of glass =3/2)
Solution
n = real depth/apparent depth
a g

apparent depth= real depth/ ang=(12×2)/3= 8 cm

vertical displacement= 12-8=4 cm

REFLECTION AT CURVED SURFACES

Concave and convex mirrors

They are also known as spherical mirrors and are formed when a spherical glass is silvered. If the
inside is silvered a convex or diverging is formed while a concave or converging mirror is
formed when the outside is silvered.

Parts of a spherical mirror.

1. Centre of curvature (C) - this is the centre of the sphere of which the mirror is part of. The
centre itself is called the pole (P).

2. Principal axis - this is the line joining the centre of curvature (C) to the pole (P).

3. Principal focus (F) - is a point on the principal axis through which a ray is reflected when it
hits a concave mirror. In a convex mirror the ray is reflected and appears to originate from the
point. F is virtual for a convex mirror while it is real for a concave mirror.

4. Radius of curvature (r) - this is the distance from the pole to the centre of curvature. The
distance from the pole to the principal focus is called the focal length (f).
Parabolic mirrors

They produce a wide parallel beam or converge a large beam of light to a point. They are widely
used in making car headlights or in spotlights.
Images formed by spherical mirrors

Location of images using ray diagrams.

When drawing ray diagrams the following symbols are used to represent the mirrors.
The image is located by drawing any two of the following rays:

i)A ray parallel to the principal axis which is reflected through the principal focus.

ii)A ray through the centre of curvature which is reflected along its own path since ithits the
mirror normally.

iii) A ray through the principal focus which is reflected parallel to the principal axis.

Virtual images are formed when rays diverge and as such the rays are extended backwards using
dotted line till they meet. The image formed is also dotted since it is not formed by an
intersection of real rays. A real image is formed by intersection of real rays.

Concave mirror

a) Object at infinity: image is formed at F. It is real, inverted

and diminished.

b) Object at C: image formed at C. It is real, inverted the same and size as the object.
c) Object behind C: image is formed between C and F. It is real, inverted and diminished.

d) Object between F and C: Image is formed behind C. It is real, inverted and magnified.
e) Object at F: Image formed is at infinity.

f) Object between F and P: Image is formed behind the mirror. It is virtual, erect and magnified.
 Convex mirror

g) Image is always formed behind the mirror. It is virtual, erect and always diminished.

Applications of curved reflectors

a) They are used in satellite dishes.

b) They are used in making shaving mirrors.

c) They are used in telescopes.

d) They are used in driving mirrors.

Magnification

Magnification is the ratio of the image size to the object size.

Magnification (M) = height of the image / height of the object.

When the ratio is greater than one we say the image is magnified and when less than one we say
it is diminished.
Also magnification = image distance from the mirror / object distance from the mirror.

Examples

1. Determine the size, position and nature of the image of an object 5.0 cm tall, placed on the
principal axis of a concave mirror of focal length 15 cm, at a distance 35 cm from the mirror.

Solution

Let 1 cm represent 5 cm. Then the focal length is 3 cm. Object distance = 7 cm, object height = 1
cm.