Electromagnetic Waves and

Optics
Physics Unit 11
 This Slideshow was developed to accompany the textbook
 OpenStax Physics
Available for free at https://openstaxcollege.org/textbooks/college-physics
 By OpenStax College and Rice University
 2013 edition
 Some examples and diagrams are taken from the textbook.

Slides created by
Richard Wright, Andrews Academy
[email protected]
11-01 Maxwell’s Equations and
Production of EM Waves

James Clerk Maxwell – Scottish physicist who showed that electricity and magnetism together create
 
electromagnetic waves

Maxwell’s Equations
Gauss’s Law

Gauss’s Law for Magnetism

(no magnetic monopoles)

Faraday’s Law

Ampere’s Circuit Law

11-01 Maxwell’s Equations and
Production of EM Waves
Maxwell
  predicted that the speed of electromagnetic waves would
be

Heinrich Hertz was the first scientist to generate and receive EM

waves.
11-01 Maxwell’s Equations and
Production of EM Waves
Creation of electromagnetic waves
Two wires are connected to either side
of an AC generator to form an antenna.
As the emf of the generator changes a
potential difference between the ends
of the wires is created.
The potential difference makes an
electric field.
As the AC generator changes polarity,
the electric field direction is reversed.
11-01 Maxwell’s Equations and
Production of EM Waves
 Also, as the potential difference changes directions, the charges in the antenna
run to the other ends creating a current.
 Current creates a B-field perpendicular to the wire.
 Electromagnetic waves are both E-field and B-field.
 Field are perpendicular to each other and the direction of travel.
 Transverse waves.
11-01 Maxwell’s Equations and
Production of EM Waves
 To detect EM waves
 Need antenna to receive either E-field or B-field.
 E-field – Straight antenna
 The E-field causes electrons to flow in the opposite direction creating current that
changes with time as the E-field changes.
 The circuitry attached to the antenna let you pick the frequency (LC-circuit) and
amplify it for speakers.
11-01 Maxwell’s Equations and
Production of EM Waves
B-field – Loop antenna
 TheB-field flowing through the loop induces a current that
changes as the B-field changes.
11-01 Maxwell’s Equations and
Production of EM Waves
 Relating the E-field and B-field strengths
Stronger E-field creates greater current which makes greater B-
field
11-01 Maxwell’s Equations and
Production of EM Waves
 EM waves can travel through a vacuum or material because E- and
B-fields can exist in both.

All EM waves travel the same speed in a vacuum.

Frequency of the wave is determined by the source.

11-01 Homework
Produce waves. Do homework.

Read 24.3, 24.4

11-02 The EM Spectrum and Energy
11-02 The EM Spectrum and Energy
 For EM waves in vacuum
This is exact and is used to define the meter
As EM waves travel through other substances, like plastic, it
travels slower.

For all waves

11-02 The EM Spectrum and Energy
An EM wave has a frequency of 90.7 MHz. What is the wavelength
of this wave? What type of EM wave is it?

λ = 3.31 m
Radio wave (FM)
11-02 The EM Spectrum and Energy
 Wave’s energy is proportional to the amplitude squared
Wave’s intensity

and
11-02 The EM Spectrum and Energy
 A certain microwave oven can produce 1500 W of microwave
radiation over an area that is 30 cm by 30 cm.
a. What is the intensity in W/m2?

b. Calculate the peak electric field strength, , in these waves.

c. What is the peak magnetic field strength, ?

11-02 Homework
These are a whole spectrum of
problems.

Read 25.1, 25.2, 25.3

11-03 The Laws of Reflection and Refraction
 Law of Reflection: θr = θi
 Specular Reflection
 Parallel light rays are reflected parallelly
 Diffuse Reflection
 Parallel light rays are scattered by irregularities in the surface.
11-03 The Laws of Reflection and Refraction
Plane Mirror
Image is upright
Image is same size
Image is located as far behind
the mirror as you are in front
of it
11-03 The Laws of Reflection and Refraction

Since light rays appear to come from behind mirror, the image is called a virtual
image.
If light rays appear to come from a real location, the image is called a real image.
Real images can be projected on a screen, virtual images cannot.
Plane mirrors only produce virtual images.
11-03 The Laws of Reflection and Refraction
How long must a plane mirror
be to see your whole
reflection?

From half way between your

eyes and floor to half way
between your eyes and the top
of your head.
11-03 The Laws of Reflection and Refraction
 Speed of light in a vacuum:
 m/s
Light travels slower through materials due to light hitting,
absorbed by, emitted by, and scattered by atoms.

Index of Refraction
Number to indicate relative speed of light in a material
11-03 The Laws of Reflection and Refraction
When light hits the surface of a
material part of it is reflected
The other part goes into the material
The transmitted part is bent
(refracted)
11-03 The Laws of Reflection and Refraction

Snell’s Law (The Law of Refraction)
 
Where
n1 = index of refraction of incident
medium
n2 = index of refraction of second
medium
θ1 = angle of incidence (measured to
normal)
θ2 = angle of refraction (measured to
normal)
11-03 The Laws of Reflection and Refraction

You
  shine a laser into a piece of clear material. The angle of incidence is 35°.
You measure the angle of refraction as 26°. What is the material?
 Ice
 What is the speed of light in the material?
 m/s
11-03 Homework
Let your answers reflect the
truth.

Read 25.4, 25.5

11-04 Total Internal Reflection

Total
  Internal Reflection
When light hits a interface between two types of
media with different indices of refractions
 Some is reflected

 Some is refracted

Critical angle
 Angle of incidence where refracted angle is 90

 Angles of incidence larger than this cause the

refracted angle to be inside the material. This

can’t happen, so no refraction occurs.
11-04 Total Internal Reflection
 Critical angle

 Where
11-04 Total Internal Reflection
 What is the critical angle from cubic zirconia (n=2.16) to air? Will
an angle of produce total internal reflection?
27.7
No
11-04 Total Internal Reflection
Uses of total internal reflection
Fiber optics for
 Endoscopes
 Telecommunications
 Decorations

Binoculars/telescopes
 Makes them shorter
Reflectors
Gemstones
 Cut so that light only exits at certain

places
11-04 Total Internal Reflection
Dispersion
Each wavelength of light has
a different index of refraction
Red — lowest
Violet — highest
When light is refracted, the
violet bends more than red,
which splits the colors
11-04 Total Internal Reflection
 Rainbows
 Dispersion by refraction with
internal reflection
11-04 Homework
“I have set my rainbow in the
clouds, and it will be the sign
of the covenant between me
and the earth.” Genesis 9:13

Read 25.6
11-05 Image Formation by Lenses

Lens
  - Made from transparent material, usually with a curved edge.
Converging Lens – thick middle, thin edge (convex)

Diverging Lens – thin middle, thick edge (concave)

Power of lens

Unit: diopters (D)

11-05 Image Formation by Lenses
Ray Diagrams - Converging Lenses
Ray 1 – Parallel to principal axis, bends through F
Ray 2 – Through F, bends parallel to principal axis
Ray 3 – Goes through center of lens, does not bend

Object 2F F F 2F

Image
Object beyond 2F,
Image inverted, real, smaller between F and 2F
11-05 Image Formation by Lenses
Object between 2F and F

Image
2F F F 2F
Object

Image real, inverted, larger beyond 2F

11-05 Image Formation by Lenses
Object between F and lens

2F F F 2F
Image Object

Image virtual, upright, between 2F and F on side with object

11-05 Image Formation by Lenses
Ray 1 now bends away from axis so that it looks like it came from F
Ray 2 starts by aiming at far F
Ray 3 same as before
Diverging Lens

2F Object F Image F 2F

Image virtual, upright, smaller between F and lens

11-05 Image Formation by Lenses
 Thin-lens equation  Magnification equation

Converging Lens Diverging Lens

f + f -
do + if real (left side) do + if real (left side)
di + if real (right side) di - if virtual (left side)
11-05 Image Formation by Lenses
Lens Reasoning Strategy
1. Examine the situation to determine that image formation by a lens is involved.
2. Determine whether ray tracing, the thin lens equations, or both are to be employed. A sketch is very
useful even if ray tracing is not specifically required by the problem. Write symbols and values on the
sketch.
3. Identify exactly what needs to be determined in the problem (identify the unknowns).
4. Make a list of what is given or can be inferred from the problem as stated (identify the knowns). It is
helpful to determine whether the situation involves a case 1, 2, or 3 image. While these are just names
for types of images, they have certain characteristics (given in Table 25.3) that can be of great use in
solving problems.
5. If ray tracing is required, use the ray tracing rules listed near the beginning of this section.
6. Most quantitative problems require the use of the thin lens equations. These are solved in the usual
manner by substituting knowns and solving for unknowns. Several worked examples serve as guides.
7. Check to see if the answer is reasonable: Does it make sense? If you have identified the type of image
(case 1, 2, or 3), you should assess whether your answer is consistent with the type of image,
magnification, and so on.
11-05 Image Formation by Lenses
A child is playing with a pair of glasses with diverging lenses. The
focal length is 20 cm from the lens and his eye is 5 cm from the
lens. A parent looks at the child’s eye in the lens. If the eye is the
object, where is the image located?
4 cm behind the lens
If his eye is really 3 cm across, how big does it appear?
hi = 2.4 cm
11-05 Homework
Form an image in your mind of
doing well.

Read 25.7
11-06 Image Formation by Mirrors
Concave: bends in
Convex: bends out
11-06 Image Formation by Mirrors

Normals
  are always perpendicular to the surface and pass through the center of
curvature, C.
 Law of Reflection says that the angle to the normal is the same for the
incident and reflected rays
 Principal axis: imaginary line through C and the center of the mirror.
 Focal point (F): parallel rays strike the mirror and converge at the focal point.
 Focal length (f): distance between F and mirror
 Concave mirrors:
 Convex mirrors:
11-06 Image Formation by Mirrors
Spherical aberration
Rays far from the principle axis actually cross between F and
the mirror.
Fix this by using a parabolic mirror.
11-06 Image Formation by Mirrors
Ray tracing diagram: Diagram used to find the location and type of
image produced.
Notice the rays start at the top of the object.
11-06 Image Formation by Mirrors
Concave Mirror
Ray 1 – Parallel to principal axis, strikes mirror and reflects through F
Ray 2 – Through F, strikes mirror and reflects parallel to principal axis
Ray 3 – Through C, strikes mirror and reflects back through C

Object C F
Image

Object beyond C – image is real, inverted and smaller between C and F

11-06 Image Formation by Mirrors
Object between C and F

Image
C Object F

Image inverted, real, and larger beyond C

11-06 Image Formation by Mirrors
Object between F and mirror

C F Object Image

Image upright, virtual, larger behind mirror

11-06 Image Formation by Mirrors

Convex Mirrors

Object Image F C

Image upright, virtual, smaller behind mirror between F and mirror

11-06 Image Formation by Mirrors
 Mirror Equation:

Where
f = focal length (negative if convex)
d0 = object distance
di = image distance (negative if virtual)
11-06 Image Formation by Mirrors
Magnification
  Equation:

Where
m = magnification
ho = object height
hi = image height (negative if inverted)
d0 = object distance
di = image distance (negative if virtual)
11-06 Image Formation by Mirrors
A 0.5-m high toddler is playing 10
m in front of a concave mirror
with radius of curvature of 7 m.
What is the location of his
image?
 di = 5.38 m

What is the height of his image?

 hi = -0.269 m
11-06 Image Formation by Mirrors
A 0.5-m high toddler is playing 10 m in front of a convex mirror
with radius of curvature of 7 m.
What is the location of his image?
 d = -2.59 m
i
What is the height of his image?
h = 0.130 m
i
11-06 Homework
The homework mirrors the
lesson.

Read 26.1, 26.2, 26.3

11-07 Vision
Cornea/Lens act as single thin
lens
To see something in focus the
image must be on the retina at
back of eye
Lens can change shape to
focus objects from different
object lengths
11-07 Vision
Near-sightedness
Myopia
Image in front of retina
Correct with diverging lens
Far-sightedness
Hyperopia
Image behind retina
Correct with converging lens
11-07 Vision
Myopia – Near-sighted Hyperopia – Far-sighted
11-07 Vision
What power of spectacle lens is needed to correct the vision of a
nearsighted person whose far point is 20.0 cm? Assume the
spectacle (corrective) lens is held 1.50 cm away from the eye by
eyeglass frames.
-5.41 D
11-07 Vision
Color Vision  Cones

Photoreceptors in Eye  Centered in center of

 Rods retina
 Work in only in bright light
 Very sensitive (see in  Give color info
dark)  Essentially three types
 No color info
each picking up one
 Peripheral vision primary color
11-07 Vision
Color Light-producing
Non-light producing  The color we see is the
 The color we see is the color produced
color that reflects off the
object
 The object absorbs all the

other colors
11-07 Vision
If you have normal color
vision, you'll see a 42.
Red colorblind people will see
a 2.
Green colorblind people will
only see a 4.
11-07 Vision
If you have normal color
vision, you see a 73 above.
If you are colorblind you will
not see a number above.
11-07 Vision
If you have normal color vision
you'll see a 74 above.
If you are red green colorblind,
you'll see a 21.
If you are totally colorblind
you will not see a number
above.
11-07 Vision
If you have normal color vision
you'll see a 26.
If you are red colorblind you will
see a 6, if you're mildly red
colorblind you'll see a faint 2 as
well.
If you are green colorblind you'll
see the a 2, and if you're mildly
green colorblind a faint 6 as well.
11-07 Vision
If you have normal color vision
you'll see a 12.
If you do not see 12 you are a
liar. Everyone can see this one!
11-07 Homework
Isn’t it amazing how the eye
works?

Read 27.1, 27.2, 27.3

11-08 Interference, Huygens’s Principle, Young’s
Double Slit Experiment
Wave Character of Light 
When
  light hits medium from a
When interacts with object vacuum, it slows down
Frequency stays the same
several times it’s
wavelength, it acts like a ray
When interacts with
smaller objects, it acts like a
Where is wavelength in medium
wave
n is index of refraction
11-08 Interference, Huygens’s Principle, Young’s
Double Slit Experiment
Huygens’ Principle
Every point on a wave front
acts as a source of tiny
wavelets that move forward
with the same speed as the
wave; the wave front at a
later instant is the surface
that is tangent to the
wavelets.
11-08 Interference, Huygens’s Principle, Young’s
Double Slit Experiment
In 1801, Thomas Young
showed that two overlapping
light waves interfered and was
able to calculate wavelength.
11-08 Interference, Huygens’s Principle, Young’s
Double Slit Experiment
11-08 Interference, Huygens’s Principle, Young’s
Double Slit Experiment

Bright fringe where ℓ1 - ℓ2 = mλ

Dark fringe where ℓ1 - ℓ2 = (m + ½)λ

Brightness of fringes varies

Center fringe the brightest and decreases on either side
11-08 Interference, Huygens’s Principle, Young’s
Double Slit Experiment

A) Rays from slits S1 and S2, which make approximately the same angle θ with the
horizontal, strike a distant screen at the same spot.
B) The difference in the path lengths of the two rays is Δℓ = d sin θ.
C) The angle θ is the angle at which a bright fringe (m = 2, here) occurs on either
side of the central bright fringe (m = 0)
11-08 Interference, Huygens’s Principle, Young’s
Double Slit Experiment
 Δℓ = d sin θ

Bright fringe Δℓ = mλ
d sin θ = mλ

Dark fringe Δℓ = (m + ½)λ

d sin θ = (m + ½)λ
11-08 Interference, Huygens’s Principle, Young’s
Double Slit Experiment
A laser beam (λ = 630 nm) goes through a double slit with
separation of 3 μm. If the interference pattern is projected on a
screen 5 m away, what is the distance between the third order
bright fringe and the central bright fringe?
4.06 m
laser 5m m=0
39.0501°
x

m=3
11-08 Homework
Don’t let your other work
interfere with these problems.

Read 27.4
11-09 Multiple Slit Diffraction
Arrangement of many closely
spaced slits
As many as 40,000 slits per cm
Produces interference
patterns
11-09 Multiple Slit Diffraction
 The light rays are essentially parallel.
The principal maxima occur when light from one slit travels mλ
more to meet light from a 2nd slit producing constructive
interference.
Principal maxima
11-09 Multiple Slit Diffraction
 A laser which produces 650 nm light shines through a diffraction
grating. An interference pattern is produced on a screen 50 cm
away. The distance on the screen between the second order
maxima and the center is 13.5 cm. What is the slit separation in
the grating?
m

13.5 cm
15.11°
50 cm
11-09 Multiple Slit Diffraction
Diffraction gratings produce
narrower, more defined
maxima, but have small
secondary maxima in between.
11-09 Multiple Slit Diffraction
Splitting colors
Each color of light is a
different wavelength, so each
color bends a different angle.
Which color bends the most?
 Red

Which color bends the least?

 Violet
11-09 Multiple Slit Diffraction
 Application - Determining Elements in Stars
 Each element in a hot gas emits or absorbs certain wavelengths of light.
 By using a diffraction grating the light can be split and the wavelengths
measured.
11-09 Homework
I hope you don’t find these
problems grating.

Read 27.5, 27.6, 27.7

11-10 Single Slit Diffraction, Limits of Resolution,
Thin Film Interference
Large opening  small bend Small opening  large bend
11-10 Single Slit Diffraction, Limits of Resolution,
Thin Film Interference
 Single slit produces a diffraction pattern
 The Huygens wavelets interfere with each other
 The center bright band is twice width of the other bands.
11-10 Single Slit Diffraction, Limits of Resolution,
Thin Film Interference
First order dark band occurs when
left edge and right edge path
lengths differ by 1 wavelength.
The center wave path length differs
by ½ wavelength leading to the
destructive interference.
The wavelet slightly below #1 will
cancel with wavelet slightly below
#3 and so on.
11-10 Single Slit Diffraction, Limits of Resolution,
Thin Film Interference
 
For multiple dark fringes

Where
θ = angle between wave and
normal to slit
m = dark band order
λ = wavelength
W = width of slit
11-10 Single Slit Diffraction, Limits of Resolution,
Thin Film Interference
 A laser shines through a single slit of width m. The first order
dark fringe is 10.2 cm from the center and the slit is 50 cm from
the screen. What is the wavelength of the laser?
650 nm

10.2 cm
11.53°
50 cm
11-10 Single Slit Diffraction, Limits of Resolution,
Thin Film Interference
Application – Microchip Production
Very small electrical components are used.
Make masks similar to photographic slides.
Light shines through the mask onto silicon wafers coated with photosensitive
material.
The exposed portions are chemically removed later.
If too much diffraction occurs, the lines will overlap.
Currently UV rays which have smaller wavelengths than visible light is used to
minimize λ/W ratio.
To improve could use X-rays or Gamma Rays with even smaller wavelengths.
11-10 Single Slit Diffraction, Limits of Resolution,
Thin Film Interference

Light going through a circular aperture has Two light sources are
 
diffraction
Also true for light from lens and mirrors “resolved” when one’s center
1st minimum at is at the 1st minimum of the
other
Where
 is in radians
 is the wavelength
D is the diameter of aperture, lens,
mirror, etc.
11-10 Single Slit Diffraction, Limits of Resolution,
Thin Film Interference
(a) What is the minimum
angular spread of a 633-nm
wavelength He-Ne laser beam
that is originally 1.00 mm in
diameter? (b) If this laser is
aimed at a mountain cliff 15.0
km away, how big will the
illuminated spot be?
23.2 m
11-10 Single Slit Diffraction, Limits of Resolution,
Thin Film Interference
Light interference depends on  When light reflects from a
the ratio of its wavelength and medium having an index of
the object size refraction greater than that of
If the object is near the size of the medium in which it is
the wavelength, there will be traveling, a 180 phase change
interference (or a λ / 2 shift) occurs
Since each color of light is a
different wavelength, light can be
split using thin films
11-10 Single Slit Diffraction, Limits of Resolution,
Thin Film Interference
The light hits the first surface.
Is it phase shifted? Only if n2 > n1
The transmitted light reflects off the
second surface.
Is it phase shifted? Only if n3 > n2
11-10 Single Slit Diffraction, Limits of Resolution,
Thin Film Interference
Destructive interference when
 
if both rays 1 and 2 phase shift
Or if only one ray phase shifts
Where
Constructive interference when
if both rays 1 and 2 phase shift
Or if only one ray phase shifts
11-10 Single Slit Diffraction, Limits of Resolution,
Thin Film Interference
An
  oil slick on water is 120 nm
thick and illuminated by white
light incident perpendicular to
its surface. What color does the
oil appear (what is the most
constructively reflected
wavelength), given its index of
refraction is 1.40?
, Red
11-10 Homework
Lets not split this assignment
up.

Read 27.8
11-11 Polarization
Linearly polarized light vibrates
in only one direction

Common non-polarized light

vibrates in all directions
perpendicular to the direction of
travel.
11-11 Polarization

How
  to make EM waves polarized
Straight wire antenna
Reflections of flat surfaces
Passing through a polarizing material
Polarizing materials
Light is polarized along the transmission axis
All components of the wave are absorbed except the components parallel
to the transmission axis
Since unpolarized light vibrates equally in all directions, the polarizing
material absorbs ½ the light.
11-11 Polarization
Malus’s Law
 After light has been polarized a second polarizer can be used to adjust the intensity of
the transmitted light.

Polarizer polarizes the light. The analyzer polarizes the polarized light along another
axis. It only transmits the component parallel to the transmission axis of the analyzer.
11-11 Polarization
Uses of polarization
Sunglasses
 Automatically cuts light intensity in half
 Often the sunlight is reflected off of flat surfaces like water, roads, car windshields, etc. With the correct

polarization, the sunglasses can eliminate most of those waves.

3-D movies
 Cameras are side-by-side.
 The movies is projected by two projectors side by side, but polarized at 90°.

 The audience wears glasses that have the same polarization so the right eye only sees the right camera and

the left eye only sees the left camera.

LCD
 Voltage changes the direction of the LCD polarization. The pixels turned on are transmitted (parallel), the

pixel turned off are not transmitted (perpendicular).

11-11 Polarization
A certain camera lens uses two polarizing filters to decrease the
intensity of light entering the camera. If the light intensity in the
scene is 20 W/m2, what is the intensity of the light between the
two filters?
10 W/m2
If the light intensity at the film is 3 W/m2, what is angle between
the transmission axes of the polarizers?
56.8°
11-11 Polarization
Polarization
  by Reflection
Light polarized perpendicular to surface is more likely refracted
Light horizontal to surface is more likely reflected
Light is completely polarized at Brewster’s Angle

Where
 = Brewster’s angle
 and are indices of refraction
11-11 Homework
Don’t let yourself become
polarized with these problems.