CHAPTER : LIGHT

LAWS OF REFLECTION OF LIGHT

1. First Law : The incident ray, the reflected ray and the normal (at the point of incidence), all lie
in the same plane.
2. Second Law: The angle of reflection (r) is always equal to the angle of incidence .
Angle of incidence (i) is the angle, which the incident ray makes with the normal to the mirror. And
Angle of reflection (r) is the angle, which the reflected ray makes with the normal to the mirror.

Note that these laws of reflection are applicable to all types of reflecting surfaces including
spherical surfaces.

CHARACTERISTICS OF IMAGES FORMED BY PLANE MIRRORS

1. The image of a real object is always virtual. Such an image cannot be taken on a screen
2. The image formed in a plane mirror is always erect i.e. upside of the image is upside of the object
and vice-versa.
3. The size of image in a plane mirror is always the same as the size of the object.
4. The image formed in a plane mirror is as far behind the mirror, as the object is in front of the
mirror.
5. The image formed in a plane mirror is laterally inverted i.e. the left side of the object becomes the
right side of the image and vice-versa.

SPHERICAL MIRRORS

The reflecting surface of a spherical mirror is curved inwards or outwards. Spherical mirrors are of
two types:

1. Concave Mirror is that spherical mirror in which reflection of light occurs at concave surface
or the bent in surface . The other surface B of the concave spherical mirror is opaque or non-
reflecting.
2. Convex Mirror is that spherical mirror in which reflection of light occurs at convex surface or
the bulging out surface . The other surface of the convex spherical mirror is opaque or non-
reflecting.
1. Centre of curvature (C).
 The centre of curvature of a spherical mirror is the centre of the hollow sphere of glass, of
which the spherical mirror is a part.
 The centre of curvature is usually represented by the letter C.
 Centre of curvature of a concave mirror lies in front of the mirror. And centre of curvature of
a convex mirror lies at the back of the mirror.

2. Pole (P).
 The pole of a spherical mirror is the centre of the mirror .
 The pole is usually represented by the letter P.

3. Radius of curvature (R).

 The radius of curvature of a spherical mirror is the radius of the hollow sphere of
glass, of which the spherical mirror is a part.
 The radius of curvature is usually represented by the letter R.
 R= 2f
4. Principal axis.
 The principal axis of a spherical mirror is the straight line passing through the
centre of curvature C and pole P of the spherical mirror, produced on both sides.
 Principal axis is normal to the mirror at its pole.

5. Aperture.
The aperture of a spherical mirror is the diameter of the reflecting surface of the mirror.
PRINCIPAL FOCUS OF A CONCAVE MIRROR

 The principal focus of a concave mirror is a point on the principal axis of the mirror, at which
rays of light incident on the mirror in a direction parallel to the principal axis, actually meet
after reflection from the mirror.
 The principal focus of a concave mirror is represented by the letter F
 Principal focus F of a concave mirror is a real point. It lies always in front of the concave
mirror.

FOCAL LENGTH OF A CONCAVE MIRROR

 Focal length of a concave mirror is the distance of principal focus F of the mirror from the
pole P of the mirror.
 It is represented by the letter f.
 As a concave mirror converges the parallel beam of light falling on it, therefore, it is called a
converging mirror.

PRINCIPAL FOCUS OF A CONVEX MIRROR

 The principal focus of a convex mirror is a point on the principal axis of the mirror, from
which, rays of light incident on the mirror in a direction parallel to the principal axis, appear
to diverge, after reflection from the mirror.
 The principal focus of a convex mirror is represented by the letter F.
 Principal focus of a convex mirror is a virtual point. It always lies behind the convex mirror
Incident Parallel Rays

FOCAL LENGTH OF A CONVEX MIRROR

 Focal length of a convex mirror is the distance of the principal focus F of the mirror from the
pole P of the mirror.
 It is represented by the letter f.

SIGN CONVENTIONS FOR SPHERICAL MIRRORS

1. The principal axis of the mirror is taken along X-axis of the rectangular co-ordinate system, and
pole P of the mirror is taken as the origin.
2. The object is taken on the left side of the mirror, i.e., light is incident on the mirror from the left .
3. All the distances parallel to the principal axis of the spherical mirror are measured from the pole of
the mirror.
4. The distances measured in the direction of incident light are taken as positive.
5. The distances measured in a direction opposite to the direction of incident light are taken as
negative .
6. The heights measured upwards (i.e., above the X-axis) and perpendicular to the principal
the mirror are taken as positive.
7. The heights measured downwards (ie., the below the X-axis) and perpendicular to the principal
axis of the mirror are taken as negative.

RULES FOR TRACING IMAGES FORMED BY SPHERICAL MIRRORS

Rule 1. A ray of light falling on a spherical mirror in a direction parallel to the principal axis of the
mirror, passes actually through the principal focus of the mirror, on reflection from the mirror.
Rule 2. A ray of light incident on a spherical mirror on passing through focus of the mirror becomes
parallel to principal axis of the mirror, on reflection.
Rule 3.A ray of light incident on a spherical mirror on passing through centre of curvature of the
mirror is reflected back along the same path, i.e., such a ray retraces its path in opposite direction.

Rule 4.A ray of light incident obliquely towards the pole P of spherical mirror is reflected obliquely
as per the laws of reflection. Therefore, the incident and reflected rays make equal angles with the
principal axis.
IMAGE FORMATION BY A CONCAVE MIRROR IN DIFFERENT POSITIONS OF THE OBJECT

MEASURING FOCAL LENGTH OF A CONCAVE MIRROR

 The fact that "when an object is at infinity, its image is formed at the focus of concave
mirror" is used to measure approximately the focal length of concave mirror.
 For this, we take a metre rod and hold it horizontally with its zero end resting against a wall.
 Hold the concave mirror vertically on the metre scale and move the mirror on the scale till a
clear image of a distant object like tree is formed on the wall.
 Read the position of concave mirror on the metre scale.
 This gives us approximate focal length of concave mirror.
 Here, the wall is acting as the screen held at focus where image of distant tree is formed by
the concave mirror.

MIRROR FORMULA
Mirror formula is a relation between object distance (a), image distance (b) and focal length (f) of a
spherical mirror. It can be written as
LINEAR MAGNIFICATION PRODUCED BY A CONCAVE MIRROR

The linear magnification produced by a concave mirror is defined as the ratio of height of the image
(h) to the height of the object (h,). It is represented by m.

 When image is magnified or enlarged, size of image is greater than the size of the object,
therefore m>1 i.e. linear magnification is greater than one.
 When image is of the same size as that of the object then m=1 , i.e.. linear magnification is
equal to one.
 When image is smaller than the object then m<1 i.e., linear magnification is less than one.

 Linear magnification is negative, the image formed by concave mirror must be real and
inverted.
 Linear magnification is positive, the image formed by concave mirror must be virtual and
erect.

IMAGE FORMATION BY A CONVEX MIRROR

 USES OF SPHERICAL MIRRORS

Practical applications of Concave mirrors are :

1. A concave mirror is used as a reflector in torches, search light, head lights of motor vehicles etc. to
get powerful parallel beams of light.
2. A concave mirror is used as doctor's head mirror to focus light on body parts like eyes, ears, nose,
throat etc., to be examined.
3. A concave mirror is also used as a shaving mirror/make up mirror, as it can form erect and
magnified image of the face.
4. The dentists use concave mirrors to observe large images of the teeth of patients.
5. Large concave mirrors are used to concentrate sunlight to produce heat in solar cookers, solar
furnaces etc.
6. Large concave mirrors are also used in reflecting type telescopes.

Practical applications of Convex mirrors:

1. A convex mirror is used as a reflector in street lamps. As a result, light from the lamp diverges over
a large area.
2. A convex mirror is used by drivers of automobiles (like cars, trucks and buses) as a rear view
mirror. These mirrors are fitted on the sides of the vehicle enabling the driver to see traffic behind for
safe driving. This is because,
(i) a convex mirror produces an erect image of the objects,
(ii) size of image formed by a convex mirror is much smaller than the object.
(iii) Convex mirrors have a wider field of view as they are curved outwards. Therefore, convex mirrors
enable the driver to view much larger area than would be possible with a plane mirror.

NOTE
1. Spherical mirrors can also be used as tricks mirrors to magnify one particular part, and reduce the
image of some other part of an object.
2. You can see a full length image of a tall building in a small convex mirror. One such small convex
mirror is fitted in a wall of Agra Fort to observe the full length image of a tall tomb.

HOW TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN A PLANE MIRROR, A CONCAVE MIRROR AND A CONVEX MIRROR
WITHOUT TOUCHING THEM?

To distinguish between a plane mirror, a concave mirror and a convex mirror, without touching them,
we simply look at the image of our face in the three mirrors.
(i) A plane mirror produces virtual, erect image of the same size as our face, i.e. we look our normal
self.
(ii). A concave mirror produces a virtual, erect and magnified image of our face (held close to mirror)
i.e our face looks much bigger, when held within focus of mirror.
(iii) A convex mirror produces a virtual, erect, but diminished image of our face i.e. our face looks
much smaller.

REFRACTION OF LIGHT
The phenomenon of change in the path of light in going from one medium to another is called
refraction of light. Thus refraction of light is the phenomenon of bending of light from its original
path on entering another medium. The refraction occurs right at the boundary of the two media.

FOR E.G.
(i) when a thick glass slab is placed over a printed page, the letters appear raised when viewed
through the glass slab,
(ii) a coin in a glass tumbler filled with water appears to be raised, when seen from above the water
(i) A lemon kept in water in a glass, when viewed from the sides, appears to be bigger than its actual
size
(iv) A pencil partly immersed in water appears to be bent at the interface of air and water.

CONCEPT OF REFRACTIVE INDEX OF AN OPTICAL MEDIUM

 A transparent substance in which light can travel is called an optical medium. For example:
air. Water, alcohol, glass etc. Are some of the common optical media.
 Different optical media have different optical densities. Therefore, speed of light in different
optical media is different.
 A medium in which speed of light is more is said to be optically rarer medium.
 And a medium in which speed of light is less is said to be optically denser medium.
  Thus, light travels faster in an optically rarer medium and light travels slower in an optically
denser medium.
 Speed of light in air is 3 x 108 m/s; speed of light in water is 2.25 x 10 m/s and speed of light
in glass is 2 x 105 m/s. Therefore, air is an optically rarer medium compared to both, water
and glass. On the same basis, water is optically denser than air, but optically rarer than glass.
And glass is optically denser than both, air and water.
 The (absolute) refractive index of a medium is defined as the ratio of speed of light in
vacuum to the speed of light in the medium.It is represented by n.
 Absolute refractive index of a medium =speed of light in vacuum/ speed of light in medium
 As the speed of light in air is almost equal to the speed of light in vacuum, therefore,
(absolute) refractive index of a medium =speed of light in air (c) /speed of light in medium (v)
 For example, refractive index of glass=speed of light in air/speed of light in glass
 As in vacuum or air (i.e. free space), speed of light is maximum, and equal to c therefore,
refractive index of free space (air or vacuum) is minimum
 As refractive index is a ratio of two velocities, it has no units. It is a pure number.
 A medium with higher value of refractive index is said to be optically denser compared to a
medium with lower value of refractive index.

RELATIVE REFRACTIVE INDEX

When light passes from one medium 1 to another medium 2, the refractive index of medium 2 with
respect to medium 1 is called relative refractive index:

CAUSE OF REFRACTION
 The basic cause of refraction is the change in the speed of light in going from one medium to
 the other.
 For example, when a ray of light travelling in air enters into glass, the speed of light
decreases. Therefore, bending of light or refraction of light occurs at the interface of air and
glass.
 Similarly, when a ray of light travelling in glass enters into air, the speed of light increases.
Therefore, bending of light or refraction of light occurs at the interface of glass and air.

LAWS OF REFRACTION OF LIGHT

1. Whenever light goes from one medium to another, the frequency of light does not change.
However, the velocity of light and the wavelength of light (i.e. colour of light) change.
2. The incident ray, refracted ray and normal to the interface of two media at the point of incidence,
all lie in the same plane.
3. The ratio of sine of angle of incidence to the sine of angle of refraction is constant for the pair
1
media in contact. This constant is written as n2 and it represents refractive index of medium 2 (in
which refracted ray lies) with respect to medium 1 (in which incident ray lies).
This relationship was discovered by Snell experimentally in 1621, and is called Snell's law of
refraction

THE DIRECTION OF BENDING OF LIGHT

Case 1. In going from a rarer to a denser medium
 When light travels from a rarer to a denser medium, it bends towards normal at the interface
of two Thus, in going from air to water, light would bend towards normal. Similarly, in going
from air to glass, light would again bend towards normal.
 As water is rarer compared to glass, therefore, in going from water to glass also, the ray
would bend towards normal to the interface of water and glass.
 A ray of light travelling from a rarer to a denser medium slows down and bends towards the
normal.
Case 2. In going from a denser to a rarer medium.
 When light travels from a denser to a rarer medium, it bends away from normal to the
interface of two media.
 Thus, in going from water to air, light would bend away from normal. Similarly, in going from
glass to air, light would again bend away from normal.
 As glass is denser compared to water, therefore, in going from glass to water, the ray would
bend away from normal to the interface of glass and water.
 When the ray travels from a denser medium to a rarer medium, It speeds up and bends away
from the normal.

CONDITIONS FOR NO REFRACTION

1. When light is incident normally on a boundary.
2. When the refractive indices of two media are equal .

TWO REFRACTIONS THROUGH A RECTANGULAR GLASS SLAB

 A ray of light undergoes two refractions on passing through a rectangular glass slab.
 The light emerges out in a direction parallel to the direction of incidence of light,i.e net
deviation suffered by the ray in two refractions is zero.
 This is because the bending of the ray of light at air glass interface is equal and opposite to
the bending of the ray of light at glass air interface .
  The emergent ray is shifted sideways from the direction of original incident ray . This is
called lateral displacement .

SPHERICAL LENSES
 A spherical lens is a piece of a transparent refracting material (usually glass), which is bound
by two surfaces.
 Often, both the surfaces of a lens are spherical.
 In some special cases, one surface of the lens may be spherical and other surface may be
plane.
 On passing through a lens, light is refracted twice, at the two surfaces of the lens.
 Spherical lenses are of two types:

 Convex lens or converging lens : Such a lens is thick at the centre and thin at the edges.
A convex lens is called a converging lens, because it converges the rays of light falling on it.
 Concave lens or Diverging lens : Such a lens is thick at the edges and thin at the centre. A
concave lens is called a diverging lens, because it diverges the rays of light falling on it.

TERMS ASSOCIATED WITH SPHERICAL LENSES

(i) Aperture. The aperture of a lens is the diameter of the circular edge of the lens.

(ii) Centres of curvature. A lens whether convex or concave has two spherical surfaces. Each
of these surfaces forms a part of a sphere. The centres of these spheres are called
centres of curvature of the lens. They are represented usually by C1 and C2.

(iii) Principal Axis. An imaginary straight line passing through centres of curvature of the two
surfaces of the lens is called principal axis of the lens.

(iv) Optical centre. The optical centre of a lens is a point on the principal axis of the lens, such that a
ray of light passing through it goes undeviated, i.e., the rays passing through optical centre of the
lens suffer no refraction. Optical centre of the lens is represented by the point C
PRINCIPAL FOCUS AND FOCAL LENGTH OF A CONVEX LENS

 A convex lens has two surfaces and hence it has two principal foci or two focal points .
 First Principal Focus of a convex lens is the position of a point object on the principal axis of
the lens, for which the image formed by the lens is at infinity.
 First principal focus of convex lens is represented by the point F1.
 The distance of first principal focus of the lens from optical centre C of the lens is called first
focal length of convex lens.
 Second Principal Focus of a convex lens is the position of an image point on the principal axis
of the lens, when the point object is situated at infinity.
 Second principal focus of convex lens is represented by the point F2 . It is a real point. The
distance of second principal focus of the lens from the optical centre C of the lens is called
second focal length of convex lens. It is represented by f₂.

PRINCIPAL FOCUS AND FOCAL LENGTH OF A CONCAVE LENS

 A concave lens has two surfaces and hence it also has two principal foci or two focal points .
 First Principal Focus of a concave lens is the virtual position of a point object on the principal
axis of the lens, for which the image formed by the concave lens is at infinity.
 First principal focus of concave lens is represented by the point F1 .
 The distance of first principal focus of the lens from optical centre C of the lens is called first
principal focal length of concave lens. It is represented by f₁.
 Second Principal Focus of a concave lens is the position of image point on the principal axis
of the lens, when the point object is situated at infinity. It is represented by F2.
 The distance of second principal focus of the lens from the optical centre of the lens is called
second principal focal length of concave lens. It is represented by f2.

RULES FOR FORMATION OF IMAGES BY SPHERICAL LENSES

1. Ray incident on the lens in a direction parallel to the principal axis of spherical mirrors passes
through the Principal focus of lens after refraction.

2. Ray passing through optical centre C of spherical lenses passes straight after refraction.

3. Ray passing through principal focus of spherical lens becomes parallel to the principal axis of
the lens after refraction .
FORMATION OF IMAGES BY A CONVEX LENS
DETERMINATION OF ROUGH FOCAL LENGTH OF A CONVEX LENS
 Put the given convex lens in a holder and keep it in front of a distant object like a window or
a tree. Put a card board screen in a holder behind the convex lens.
 Move the card board screen gradually towards or away from the convex lens till a clear
inverted image of the distant object is obtained on the screen.
 Measure the distance of the screen from the convex lens. This distance is the approximate or
rough focal length of the lens.

FORMATION OF IMAGES BY A CONCAVE LENS

DISTINCTION BETWEEN CONVEX LENS AND CONCAVE LENS

 We can distinguish between a convex lens and a concave lens without touching them.
 Keep the lenses side by side on any page of a book and look for image of writing on the page
through the lens. If writing appears enlarged, the lens is convex. If the writing appears
shrunk (i.e. smaller), the lens is concave

NEW CARTESIAN SIGN CONVENTIONS FOR LENSES

The New Cartesian Sign Conventions for measuring various distances/heights in case of lenses are
similar to the one used for spherical mirrors. However, all distances in lenses are measured from the
optical centre of the lens (instead of pole in case of spherical mirrors).

LENS FORMULA

LINEAR MAGNIFICATION PRODUCED BY LENSES

 The linear magnification produced by a lens is defined as the ratio of the size of the image as
formed by refraction through the lens to the size of the object .
 It is represented by m.
 Thus linear magnification = size of image / size of object.
 A concave lens forms an image which is always smaller than the object. Therefore, linear
magnification of a concave lens is less than one.
 A convex lens may form an image
 equal in size to the object (ie, m=1)
 less than the size of the object (ie, m<1)
 more than the size of the object (ie., m> 1).
 Therefore, linear magnification of a convex lens can be one or less than one or more than
one .
 It can be shown that the linear magnification produced by a convex lens or a concave lens is
equal to the ratio of image distance (v) to the object distance (u)
  For concave lens , m is positive.
 For convex lens, m is positive when image is virtual: and m is negative, when image is real.

POWER OF A LENS

 Power of a lens is defined as the ability of the lens to converge the rays of light falling on it.
 As a convex lens converges the rays of light falling on it, power of a convex lens is said to be
positive.
 On the other hand, a concave lens diverges the rays of light falling on it. Therefore, power of
a concave lens is said to be negative.
 If the point of convergence of rays of light lies close to the optical centre of convex lens, its
 converging ability or power is more. If the point of convergence of rays of light lies away from
the optical centre of convex lens, its converging ability or power is less.
 Power of a lens is given by reciprocal of focal length of the lens, i.e.,
 Power of a lens, P=1/ focal length of the lens (f)
 Smaller the focal length of the lens, greater is its power and vice-versa.
 For a convex lens, f is positive. Therefore, P is positive i.e power of a convex lens is positive.
 For a concave lens, f is negative. Therefore, P is negative i.e. power of a concave lens is
negative.
 S.I. unit of power of a lens is dioptre represented by D. Therefore,
 P(dioptre)=1/ f(metre)
 When f=1m, P=1/f=1/1= 1 dioptre.
 Thus,One dioptre is the power of a lens of focal length one metre.
 Usually, focal length of a lens is given in cm. Therefore, power of lens in dioptre will be
 P(Dioptre)= 100/f(cm)

POWER OF A COMBINATION OF LENSES

 When a number of thin lenses are placed in contact with one another, the power of the
combination is equal to algebraic sum of the powers of individual lenses.
 If P1, P2, P3 are the powers of individual lenses placed in contact with one another, the
power P of the combination is
 P=P+P₂+P3+....