35

The Nature of Light and

the Principles of Ray Optics

35.1 The Nature of Light

35.2 Measurements of the Speed of Light
35.3 The Ray Approximation in Ray Optics
35.4 Analysis Model: Wave Under Reflection
35.5 Analysis Model: Wave Under Refraction
35.6 Huygens’s Principle
35.7 Dispersion
35.8 Total Internal Reflection

* An asterisk indicates a question or problem new to this edition.

OQ35.1 The ranking is answer e, c, b, a, d. We consider the quantity d : the

smaller it is, the better the ray approximation works. The quantity
d is about (a) 0.34 m/1 m 0.3, (b) 0.7 m/2 mm 0.000 3, (c) 0.4
m/2 mm 0.000 2, (d) 300 m/1 m 300, (e) 1 nm/1 mm 0.000 001.
OQ35.2 Answer (c). As light travels from one medium to another, both the
wavelength of the light and the index of refraction of the medium
will change, but the product is constant: 2 n2 air nair . In going
from air into a second medium of index , according to Equation
25.6, n n 495 nm 434 nm 1.14.

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 The Nature of Light and the Principles of Ray Optics

OQ35.3 Answer (b). In going from carbon disulfide ( 1 = 1.63) to crown glass
( 2 = 1.52), the critical angle for total internal reflection is

1 n2 1 1.52
c sin sin 68.8
n1 1.63
OQ35.4 Answers (a), (b), and (c) are all correct statements. The frequency of a
wave does not change when it travels from one medium to another:
f1 f 2 n1 1 n2 2 ; also, Snell’s law of refraction states
n1 sin 1 n2 sin 2 . By their definitions, n c v c f and
sin 1 csc . Thus, Snell’s law can take these alternate forms:
sin 1 sin 2 v1 v2 csc 1 csc 2 1 2
v1 v2 sin 1 sin 2 n1 n2 sin 1 sin 2

Snell originally stated his law in terms of cosecants.

OQ35.5 Answer (e). The index of refraction of glass is greater than that of air,
which means the speed of light in glass is slower than in air ( = / ).
The frequency does not change, but because the speed decreases, the
wavelength also decreases.
OQ35.6 Answer (b). When light is in water, the relationships between the
values of its speed and wavelength to the values of the same
c c 3
quantities in air are nwater vwater c, and
vwater nwater 4
nair 3
nwater water nair air water air air .
nwater 4
OQ35.7 Answer (c). Water has a greater index of refraction than air. In
passing from one of these media into the other, light will be refracted
(deviated in direction) unless the angle of incidence is zero (in which
case, the angle of refraction is also zero). Because the angle of
refraction can be zero only if the angle of incidence is zero, ray
cannot be correct. In refraction, the incident ray and the refracted ray
are never on the same side of the line normal to the surface at the
point of contact, so ray cannot be correct. Also in refraction,
n2 sin 2 n1 sin 1 ; thus, if 2 > 1, then 2 1 : the refracted ray
makes a smaller angle with the normal in the medium having the
higher index of refraction. Therefore, rays and cannot be correct,
leaving only ray as a likely path.
OQ35.8 Answer (c). The time interval is 104 m/(3 × 108 m/s) = 33 .
OQ35.9 Answer (c). For any medium, other than vacuum, the index of
refraction for red light is slightly lower (closer to 1) than that for blue
light. This means that when light goes from vacuum (or air) into
© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Chapter 35

glass, the red light deviates from its original direction less than does
the blue light. Also, as the light reemerges from the glass into
vacuum (or air), the red light again deviates less than the blue light.
If the two surfaces of the glass are parallel to each other, the red and
blue rays will emerge traveling parallel to each other, but displaced
laterally from one another. The sketch that best illustrates this
process is .
OQ35.10 For a wave to experience total internal reflection, it must be traveling
in the medium in which it moves slower, in which it has a greater
index of refraction.
(i) Answer (a). Water has a greater index of refraction than air.
(ii) Answer (c). The sound travels slower in air than in water.
OQ35.11 Answer (c). Consider the sketch in ANS.
FIG. OQ35.11 and apply Snell’s law to the
refraction at each of the three surfaces.
Because the surfaces are parallel, the
resulting equations are
1.00 sin n1 sin (Top surface)
n1 sin n2 sin (Middle surface)
ANS. FIG. OQ35.11
n2 sin 1.00 sin (Bottom surface)
These equations allow us to equate the left side of the first equation
with the right side of the last equation:
1.00 sin 1.00 sin
OQ35.12 Color A travels slower in the glass of the prism. Light with the
greater change in speed will have the greater deviation in direction.
OQ35.13 Answer (c). We want a big difference between indices of refraction to
have total internal reflection under the widest range of conditions.
OQ35.14 Answer (a). In a dispersive medium, the index of refraction is largest
for the shortest wavelength. Thus, the violet light will be refracted (or
bent) the most as it passes through a surface of the crown glass.
OQ35.15 Answer (b). For a wave to experience total internal reflection, it must
be traveling in the medium in which it moves slower, in which it has
a greater index of refraction. A light ray, in attempting to go from a
medium with index of refraction 1 into a second medium with index
of refraction 2, will undergo total internal reflection if 2 < 1 and if
the ray strikes the surface at an angle of incidence greater than or
equal to the critical angle.

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 The Nature of Light and the Principles of Ray Optics

CQ35.1 The water level in a clear glass is observable because light is refracted
as it passes from air to water to air. The index of liquid helium is very
close to that of air, so very little refraction occurs as light travels from
air to helium to the air.
CQ35.2 At the altitude of the plane the surface of the Earth need not block off
the lower half of the rainbow. Thus, the full circle can be seen. You
can see such a rainbow by climbing on a stepladder above a garden
sprinkler in the middle of a sunny day. Set the sprinkler for fine mist.
Do not let the slippery children fall from the ladder.
CQ35.3 (a) We assume that you and the child are
always standing close together. For a flat
wall to make an echo of a sound that you
make, you must be standing along a
normal to the wall. You must be on the
order of 100 m away, to make the transit
time sufficiently long that you can hear
the echo separately from the original
sound. Your sound must be loud enough
so that you can hear it even at this
considerable range. In ANS. FIG.
CQ35.3(a), the circle represents an area in
which you can be standing. The arrows
represent rays of sound.
(b) Now suppose two vertical perpendicular
walls form an inside corner that you can
see. Some of the sound you radiate
horizontally will be headed generally
toward the corner. It will reflect from
both walls with high efficiency to reverse
in direction and come back to you, as
shown in ANS. FIG. CQ35.3(b). You can ANS FIG. CQ35.3
stand anywhere reasonably far away to
hear a retroreflected echo of sound you produce.
(c) If the two walls are not perpendicular, the inside corner will not
produce retroreflection. You will generally hear no echo of your
shout or clap.
(d) If two perpendicular walls have a reasonably narrow gap
between them at the corner, you can still hear a clear echo. It is
not the corner line itself that retroreflects the sound, but the
perpendicular walls on both sides of the corner. [ANS. FIG.
CQ35.3(b) applies also in this case.]
© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Chapter 35

(e) At some angles, sound will reflect from the first wall but not the
second; rather, it will pass into the breezeway, as shown in
ANS. FIG. CQ35.3(c), so there will be no echo.
CQ35.4 The stealth fighter is designed so that adjacent panels are not joined
at right angles, to prevent any retroreflection of radar signals. This
means that radar signals directed at the fighter will not be channeled
back toward the detector by reflection. Just as with sound, radar
signals can be treated as rays, so that any ray that is by
chance reflected back to the detector will be too weak in intensity to
distinguish from background noise.
CQ35.5 “Immediately around the dark shadow of my head, I see a halo
brighter than the rest of the dewy grass.” It is called the .
Cellini believed that it was a miraculous sign of divine favor
pertaining to him alone. Apparently none of the people to whom he
showed it told him that they could see halos around their own
shadows but not around Cellini’s. Thoreau knew that each person
had his own halo. He did not draw any ray diagrams but assumed
that it was entirely natural. Between Cellini’s time and Thoreau’s, the
Enlightenment and Newton’s explanation of the rainbow had
happened. Today the effect is easy to see whenever your shadow
falls on a retroreflecting traffic sign, license plate, or road stripe.
When a bicyclist’s shadow falls on a paint stripe marking the edge of
the road, her halo races along with her.
CQ35.6 An echo is an example of the reflection of sound. Hearing the noise
of a distant highway on a cold morning, when you cannot hear it
after the ground warms up, is an example of acoustical refraction.
You can use a rubber inner tube (or balloon of the same shape)
inflated with helium as an acoustical lens to concentrate sound in the
way a lens can focus light: the speed of sound is greater in helium, so
wavefronts passing through the helium speed ahead of wavefronts
passing through the air in the doughnut hole of the tube, so that the
overall shape of the wavefronts changes from plane to concave,
resulting in a focusing of the wave. At your next party, see if you can
experimentally find the approximate focal point!
CQ35.7 Highly silvered mirrors reflect about 98% of the incident light. With a
2-mirror periscope, that results in approximately a 4% decrease in
intensity of light as the light passes through the periscope. This may
not seem like much, but in low-light conditions, that lost light may
mean the difference between being able to distinguish an enemy
armada or an iceberg from the sky beyond. Using prisms results in
total internal reflection, meaning that 100% of the incident light is
reflected through the periscope. That is the “total” in total internal
reflection.

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 The Nature of Light and the Principles of Ray Optics

CQ35.8 Diamond has higher index of refraction than glass and consequently
a smaller critical angle for total internal reflection. A brilliant-cut
diamond is shaped to admit light from above, reflect it totally at the
converging facets on the underside of the jewel, and let the light
escape only at the top. Glass will have less light internally reflected.
CQ35.9 If a laser beam enters a sugar solution with a concentration gradient
(density and index of refraction increasing with depth), then the laser
beam will be progressively bent downward (toward the normal) as it
passes into regions of greater index of refraction.
CQ35.10 With a vertical shop window, streetlights and his own reflection can
impede the window shopper’s clear view of the display. The tilted
shop window can put these reflections out of the way. Windows of
airport control towers are also tilted like this, as are automobile
windshields.

ANS. FIG. CQ35.10

CQ35.11 (a) Light from the lamps along the edges of the sheet enters the
plastic, and then the front and back faces of the plastic totally
internally reflect it, wherever the plastic has an interface with air.
If the refractive index of the grease is intermediate between 1.55
and 1.00, some of this light can leave the plastic into the grease
and leave the grease into the air. The surface of the grease is
rough, so the grease can send out light in all directions. The
customer sees the grease shining against a black background.
(b) The spotlight method of producing the same effect is much less
efficient. With it, the blackboard absorbs much of the light from
the spotlight.
(c) The refractive index of the grease must be less than 1.55.
Perhaps the best choice would be 1.55 1.00 1.24.
CQ35.12 A mirage occurs when light changes direction as it moves between
batches of air having different indices of refraction because they
have different densities at different temperatures. When the sun
makes a blacktop road hot, an apparent wet spot is bright due to
refraction of light from the bright sky. The light, originally headed a
little below the horizontal, always bends up as it first enters and then
leaves sequentially hotter, lower-density, lower-index layers of air
closer to the road surface.
© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Chapter 35

CQ35.13 Light rays coming from parts of the pencil under water are bent
away from the normal as they emerge into the air above. The rays
enter the eye (or camera) at angles closer to the horizontal, thus the
parts of the pencil under water appear closer to the surface than they
actually are, so the pencil appears bent. See CQ35.16 for an
illustration of a related effect.
CQ35.14 No. The speed of light in any medium except vacuum is less than
the speed of light in vacuum. By definition, the index of refraction
= / , thus the index of any material medium is always greater
than 1. A material with an index less than 1 is impossible.
CQ35.15 Light travels through a vacuum at a speed of 300 000 km per second.
Thus, an image we see from a distant star or galaxy must have been
generated some time ago. For example, the star Altair is 16 light-
years away; if we look at an image of Altair today, we know only
what was happening 16 years ago. This may not initially seem
significant, but astronomers who look at other galaxies can gain an
idea of what galaxies looked like when they were significantly
younger. Thus, it actually makes sense to speak of “looking
backward in time.”
CQ35.16 With no water in the cup, light rays from the coin do not reach the
eye because they are blocked by the side of the cup. With water in
the cup, light rays are bent away from the normal as they leave the
water so that some reach the eye.

ANS. FIG. CQ35.16(a) ANS. FIG. CQ35.16(b)

In ANS. FIG. CQ35.16(a), ray is blocked by the side of the cup so it

cannot enter the eye, and ray misses the eye. In ANS. FIG.
CQ35.16(b), ray is still blocked by the side of the cup, but ray
refracts at the water’s surface so that it reaches the eye. Ray seems
to come from position , directly above the coin at position .
CQ35.17 (a) Scattered light rays leave the center of the photograph, shown
in ANS. FIG. CQ35.17(a), in all horizontal directions between 1 0
and 90° from the normal. When the light rays immediately enter the

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 The Nature of Light and the Principles of Ray Optics

water they are gathered into a fan,

shown in ANS. FIG. CQ35.17(b),
between 0° and 2 max given by
n1 sin 1 n2 sin 2
1.00sin 90 1.333sin 2 max

2 max 48.6
The light rays leave the cylinder
without deviation because they travel
along the normal everywhere they
strike the surface of the glass, so the
viewer only receives light from the
center of the photograph when he has
turned by an angle less than 48.6°. ANS. FIG. CQ35.17
(b) When the paperweight is turned farther, light at the back
surface undergoes total internal reflection, shown in ANS. FIG.
CQ35.17(c). The viewer sees things outside the globe on the far side.

Section 35.1 The Nature of Light

Section 35.2 Measurements of the Speed of Light
*P35.1 We find the energy of the photons from Equation 35.1, .

34 1 eV
(a) E hf 6.63 10 J s 5.00 1017 Hz 19
1.60 10 J
2.07 103 eV 2.07 keV
hc
(b) E hf
34
6.63 10 J s 3.00 10 8 m/s 1 nm 1 eV
2
3.00 10 nm 10 9 m 1.60 10 19
J
4.14 eV

P35.2 (a) The Moon’s radius is 1.74 × 106 m and the Earth’s radius is 6.37 ×
6
10 m. The total distance traveled by the light is:
d 2 3.84 108 m 1.74 106 m 6.37 106 m
7.52 108 m

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Chapter 35

This takes 2.51 s, so

7.52 10 8 m
v 3.00 10 8 m/s
2.51 s
(b) The sizes of the objects need to be taken into account. Otherwise
the answer would be too large by 2%.
P35.3 The experiment is most convincing if the wheel turns fast enough to
pass outgoing light through one notch and returning light through the
2
next. This requires t , or
c
2
t
c

c 2.998 108 m/s 2 720

so 3
114 rad/s
2 2 11.45 10 m
The returning light would be blocked by a tooth at one-half the
angular speed, giving another data point.
P35.4 The difference is due to the extra time light takes to cross Earth’s orbit.
From x c t, we have

x 2 1.50 10 8 km 1000 m/km

c 2.27 108 m/s
t 22.0 min 60.0 s/min

Section 35.3 The Ray Approximation in Ray Optics

Section 35.4 Analysis Model: Wave Under Reflection
Section 35.5 Analysis Model: Wave Under Refraction
c 3.00 108 m/s
P35.5 (a) f 4.74 1014 Hz
6.328 10 7 m
air 632.8 nm
(b) glass 422 nm
n 1.50
cair 3.00 108 m/s
(c) vglass 2.00 108 m/s
n 1.50
P35.6 Refracted light enters the diver’s eyes. The angle of refraction 2 is
45.0°. From Snell’s law,
n1 sin 1 n2 sin 2

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 The Nature of Light and the Principles of Ray Optics

Solving,
1
1 sin 1.333sin 45.0
70.5 from the vertical 19.5 above the horizon

ANS. FIG. P35.6

P35.7 We find the angle of incidence from Snell’s law, n1 sin 1 n2 sin 2 .
Solving,
1.333sin 1 1.52 sin 19.6 1 22.5

The angle of reflection of the beam in water is then also 22.5 .

P35.8 (a) The dashed lines are parallel, and alternate interior angles are
equal between parallel lines, so the angle of refraction law at the
air-oil interface is 20.0°. Applying Snell’s law,
nair sin noil sin
1.00sin 1.48sin 20.0

yields 30.4 .
(b) The angle of incidence = 20.0°. Applying
Snell’s law at the oil-water interface,
nwater sin noil sin
1.33sin 1.48sin 20.0

yields 22.3 . ANS. FIG. P35.8

c 3.00 10 8 m/s
P35.9 (a) flint glass: 1.81 108 m/s
n 1.66
c 3.00 10 8 m/s
(b) water: 2.25 108 m/s
n 1.333
c 3.00 108 m/s
(c) cubic zirconia: 1.36 108 m/s
n 2.20

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Chapter 35

P35.10 (a) Let be the originally horizontal

ceiling, its originally vertical normal,
the new ceiling, and its normal.
Then angle = . By definition is
perpendicular to and is
perpendicular to . Then the angle ANS. FIG. P35.10(a)
between extended and is
because angles are equal when their sides
are perpendicular, right side to right side
and left side to left side.
(b) Now = is the angle of incidence of ANS. FIG. P35.10(b)
the vertical light beam. Its angle of
reflection is also . The angle between the
vertical incident beam and the reflected beam is 2 .
1.40 cm
(c) tan 2 0.001 94 0.055 7
720 cm
P35.11 From Snell’s law, n2 sin 2 n1 sin 1 . Thus, when 1 45.0 and the
first medium is air ( 1 = 1.00), we have sin 2 1.00 sin 45.0 n2 .
(a) For quartz, 2 = 1.458:
1 1.00 sin 45.0
2 sin 29.0
1.458
(b) For carbon disulfide, 2 = 1.628:
1.00 sin 45.0
2 sin 1 25.7
1.628
(c) For water, 2 = 1.333:
1 1.00 sin 45.0
2 sin 32.0
1.333
P35.12 At entry, the wave under refraction model, expressed as
n1 sin 1 n2 sin 2 , gives

1 n1 sin 1 1 1.000sin 30.0

2 sin sin 19.5
n2 1.50
To do ray optics, you must remember some
geometry. The surfaces of entry and exit are
parallel so their normals are parallel. Then angle
2 of refraction at entry and the angle 3 of
incidence at exit are alternate interior angles
formed by the ray as a transversal cutting
ANS. FIG. P35.12

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 The Nature of Light and the Principles of Ray Optics

parallel lines. Therefore, 3 2 19.5 .

At the exit point, n2 sin 3 n1 sin 4 gives

1 n2 sin 3 1 1.50sin 19.5

4 sin sin 30.0
n1 1.000
Because 1 and 4 are equal, the departing ray in air is parallel to the
original ray.
P35.13 Taking to be the apex angle and min to
be the angle of minimum deviation (See
ANS. FIG. P35.13), from Equation 35.9, the
index of refraction of the prism material is 2
min

sin min 2 1 1

n 2 2

sin 2
2
Solving for min ,
ANS. FIG. P35.13
min  2 sin 1
nsin
2
 2 sin 1
 2.20 sin  25.0 50.0
 86.8
P35.14 (a) The law of refraction n1 sin 1 n2 sin 2
can be put into the more general form
c c
sin 1 sin 2
v1 v2
sin 1 sin 2
ANS. FIG. P35.14
v1 v2
This is equivalent to Equation 35.3. This form applies to all kinds
of waves that move through space.
In air at 20°C, the speed of sound is 343 m/s. From Table 17.1, the
speed of sound in water at 25.0°C is 1493 m/s. The angle of
incidence is 13.0°:
sin 13.0 sin 2
343 m/s 1 493 m/s
2 78.3

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Chapter 35

(b) The wave keeps constant frequency in all media:

1 2
f
1 2

2 1 1 493 m/s 0.589 m

2 2.56 m
1 343 m/s
(c) Using Snell’s law,
n2 sin 2 n1 sin 1
1.333sin 2 1.000 293sin 13.0
2 9.72

2 1 n1 1 1.000 293 589 nm

(d) 2 442 nm
1 n2 1.333

(e) The light wave slows down as it moves from air to water, but
the sound wave speeds up by a large factor. The light wave
bends toward the normal and its wavelength shortens, but the
sound wave bends away from the normal and its wavelength
increases.

*P35.15 From the wave under refraction model, n1 sin 1 n2 sin 2 , we solve for
the index of refraction 2 in the substance:
1.333sin 37.0
n2 1.90
sin 25.0
Then, from the definition of index of refraction,
c c
n2 1.90 : v 1.58 108 m/s 158 Mm/s
v 1.90
*P35.16 (a) n1 sin 1 n2 sin 2

1.00sin 30.0 nsin 19.24

n 1.52

c 3.00 108 m s
(c) f 4.74 1014 Hz in air and in syrup.
6.328 10 7 m
c 3.00 10 8 m s
(d) v 1.98 10 8 m s 198 Mm s
n 1.52
v 1.98 10 8 m s
(b) 417 nm
f 4.74 1014 s 1

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 The Nature of Light and the Principles of Ray Optics

*P35.17 (a) The angle of incidence at the first surface is 1i 30.0 , and the
angle of refraction is

1 nair sin 1i 1 1.0sin 30

1r sin sin 19
nglass 1.5

Also, 90 1r 71 and 180 60 49 .

Therefore, the angle of incidence at the second surface is
2i 90 41 . The angle of refraction at this surface is

1
nglass sin 2i 1 1.5sin 41
2r sin sin 77
nair 1.0

ANS. FIG. P35.17 traces the path of the ray of light.

ANS. FIG. P35.17

(b) The angle of reflection at each surface equals the angle of
incidence at that surface. Thus,

1 reflection 1i 30 , and 1 reflection 2i 41

*P35.18 ANS. FIG. P35.18 shows the path of the light ray. and are angles
of incidence at mirrors 1 and 2.

ANS. FIG. P35.18

For triangle ,
2 2 180

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Chapter 35

or 180 2 . [1]
Now for triangle ,
90.0 90.0 180
or . [2]

Substituting equation [2] into equation [1] gives 180 2 .

Note: From equation [2], . Thus, the ray will follow a path like
that shown only if . For , is negative and multiple
reflections from each mirror will occur before the incident and
reflected rays intersect.
*P35.19 Consider glass with an index of refraction of 1.50, which is 3.00 mm
thick. The speed of light in the glass is
3.00 10 8 m s
2.00 10 8 m s
1.50
The extra travel time is
3.00 10 3 m 3.00 10 3 m 11
~ 10 s
2.00 108 m s 3.00 108 m s
For light of wavelength 600 nm in vacuum and wavelength
600 nm
400 nm in glass, the extra optical path, in wavelengths, is
1.50
3 3
3 10 m 3 10 m
7 7
~ 103 wavelengths
4 10 m 6 10 m
P35.20 (a) Method One:
The incident ray makes angle 90 1
with the first mirror. In ANS. FIG. P35.20,
the law of reflection implies that 1 1
ANS. FIG. P35.20
Then,
90 1 90 1 .
In the triangle made by the mirrors and the ray passing between
them,
90 180
90
Further, 90
and .

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 The Nature of Light and the Principles of Ray Optics

Thus the final ray makes the same angle with the first mirror as
did the incident ray. Its direction is opposite to the incident ray.
Method Two:
The vector velocity of the incident light has a component
perpendicular to the first mirror and a component
perpendicular to the second. The component is reversed upon
the first reflection, which leaves unchanged. The second
reflection reverses and leaves unchanged. The doubly
reflected ray then has velocity opposite to the incident ray.

(b) The incident ray has velocity vx î vy ĵ vz k̂. If all of these

components are non-zero, the light will reflect from each mirror
because each component carries the light into the mirror that is
perpendicular to that component: for example, the x component
of velocity carries the light into the mirror in the yz plane. Each
reflection reverses one component and leaves the other two
unchanged. After all the reflections, the light has velocity
v x î vy ĵ vz k̂, opposite to the incident ray.

P35.21 (a) From geometry,

1.25 m = sin 40.0°
so d 1.94 m .

(b) 50.0 above the horizontal

or parallel to the incident

ray.
ANS. FIG. P35.21
P35.22 (a) At entry, n1 sin 1 n2 sin 2 ,
or 1.00sin 30.0 1.50sin 2 ,
which gives 2 19.5 .
The distance the light travels in the medium is given by
2.00 cm
cos 2
h
2.00 cm
or h 2.12 cm.
cos19.5

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Chapter 35

The angle of deviation upon entry is

1 2 30.0 19.5 10.5
d
The offset distance comes from sin :
h
d 2.12 cm sin 10.5 0.387 cm

ANS. FIG. P35.22

(b) The speed of light in the material is
c 3.00 10 8 m/s
2.00 108 m/s
n 1.50
The distance traveled by the light is = 2.12 cm. The time
interval is
h 2.12 10 2 m 10
t 1.06 10 s 106 ps
2.00 10 8 m/s
P35.23 From Table 35.1, the index of refraction of ice is 1.309. The pulses are in
step with each other until one enters the ice, then that pulse slows
down. The difference in the times of arrival of the pulses is
L L L L L
t nice nair
ice air c nice
c nair c
6.20 m 9
t 1.309 1.000 6.39 10 s 6.39 ns
3.00 10 8 m/s
P35.24 Refraction proceeds according to
1.00 sin 1 1.66 sin 2 [1]
(a) For the normal component of velocity to be constant,
c
v1 cos 1 v2 cos 2 or c cos 1 cos 2 [2]
1.66
We multiply equations [1] and [2], obtaining:
sin 1 cos 1 sin 2 cos 2 or sin 2 1 sin 2 2

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 The Nature of Light and the Principles of Ray Optics

We do not consider the case 1 0 . The physical solution is

2 1 180 2 2 or 2 90.0 1

Then equation [1] becomes:

sin 1 1.66cos 1

tan 1 1.66
1 58.9

Yes, if the angle of incidence is 58.9°.

(b) No. Both the reduction in speed and the bending toward
the normal reduce the component of velocity parallel to
the interface. This component cannot remain constant for
a nonzero angle of incidence.

P35.25 (a) As measured from the diagram, the incidence angle is 60°, and
sin 2 n1 v2
the refraction angle is 35°. From Snell’s law, , then
sin 1 n2 v1
sin 35 v2
and the speed of light in the block is 2.0 108 m/s .
sin 60 c
(b) The frequency of the light does not change upon refraction.
Knowing the wavelength in a vacuum, we can use the speed of
light in a vacuum to determine the frequency: = , thus
3.00 108 f 632.8 10 9
, so the frequency is 4.74 1014 Hz .

(c) To find the wavelength of light in the block, we use the same
wave speed relation, = , so 2.0 108 4.74 1014 , so
7
glass 4.20 10 420 nm .
P35.26 From Snell’s law, the angle of refraction inside the liver is
nmedium
sin sin 50.0
nliver
nmedium c vmedium vliver
But 0.900,
nliver c vliver vmedium
1
so sin 0.900 sin 50.0 43.6 .

From the law of reflection,

12.0 cm
d 6.00 cm
2

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Chapter 35

d 6.00 cm
and h 6.30 cm .
tan tan 43.6

ANS. FIG. P35.26

P35.27 The refracted sunlight does not illuminate
any part of the bottom when it strikes its far
inside edge:
sin 1 nw sin 2

1
sin 2 sin 1
1.333
1
sin 90.0 28.0 0.662
1.333
1
2 sin 0.662 41.5 ANS. FIG. P35.27
d 3.00 m
h 3.39 m
tan 2 tan 41.5
P35.28 Note for use in every part (refer to ANS. FIG. P35.28): from apex angle ,
90.0 2 90.0 3 180
so 3 2

At the first surface the deviation is

1 2

At exit, the deviation is

4 3 ANS. FIG. P35.28
The total deviation is therefore
1 4 2 3 1 4

(a) At entry,

1 sin 48.6
n1 sin 1 n2 sin 2 or 2 sin 30.0
1.50

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 The Nature of Light and the Principles of Ray Optics

Thus, 3 60.0 30.0 30.0

At exit,
1.50sin 30.0 1.00sin 4

1
or 4 sin 1.50sin 30.0 48.6

so the path through the prism is symmetric when 1 48.6 .

(b) 48.6 48.6 60.0 37.2

(c) At entry,
sin 45.6
sin 2 2 28.4
1.50
3 60.0 28.4 31.6
At exit,
sin 4 1.50sin 31.6 4 51.7

45.6 51.7 60.0 37.3

(d) At entry,
sin 51.6
sin 2 2 31.5
1.50
3 60.0 31.5 28.5
At exit,
sin 4 1.50sin 28.5 4 45.7

51.6 45.7 60.0 37.3

P35.29 The index of refraction at 700 nm is (700 nm) = 1.458.

(a) 1.00 sin 75.0 1.458sin 2 ; 2 41.5

(b) Refer to ANS. FIG. P35.29. Let

3 90.0 and 2 90.0
then,
60.0 180

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Chapter 35

So
60.0 180
90.0 2 90.0 3 60.0 180
60.0 2 3 0 60.0 41.5 3 18.5

(c) 1.458sin 18.5 1.00sin 4 4 27.6

(d) 1 2 4 3

75.0 41.5 27.6 18.5 42.6

ANS. FIG. P35.29

P35.30 The index of refraction of the atmosphere decreases with increasing
altitude because of the decrease in density of the atmosphere with
increasing altitude. As indicated in the ray diagram, the sun located
at S below the horizon appears to be located at S .

ANS. FIG. P35.30

P35.31 For sheets 1 and 2 as described,
n1 sin 26.5 n2 sin 31.7
0.849n1 n2

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 The Nature of Light and the Principles of Ray Optics

For the trial with sheets 3 and 2,

n3 sin 26.5 n2 sin 36.7
0.747n3 n2
Equate the two expressions for 2 :
0.747n3 0.849n1
n3 1.14n1
For the third trial,
n1 sin 26.5 n3 sin 3 1.14n1 sin 3

3 23.1
P35.32 (a) Before the container is filled, the
ray’s path is as shown in ANS.
FIG. P35.32(a). From this figure,
observe that
d d
sin 1
s1 h 2
d2
1 ANS. FIG. P35.32(a)
2
hd 1

After the container is filled, the

ray’s path is shown in ANS. FIG.
P35.32(b). From this figure, we find
that
d2 d2
sin 2
s2 h2 d2
2

1
2 ANS. FIG. P35.32(b)
4 hd 1

From Snell’s law, we have

1.00sin 1 nsin 2

1.00 n
2 2
hd 1 4 hd 1
2 2
4 hd 1 n2 h d n2

2 h n2 1
hd 4 n2 n2 1
d 4 n2

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Chapter 35

(b) For water, = 1.333.

h n2 1
d 4 n2
2
h 1.333 1
2 4.73 cm
8.00 cm 4 1.333

(c) For n  1, h  0. For n  2, h  . For n  2, h has no real solution.

P35.33 Since the light ray strikes the first surface at normal incidence, it passes
into the prism without deviation. Thus, the angle of incidence at the
second surface (hypotenuse of the triangular prism) is 1 45.0 as
shown in the sketch at the right. The angle of refraction is
2 45.0 15.0 60.0
and Snell’s law gives the index of refraction of the prism material as
n2 sin 2 1.00 sin 60.0
n1 1.22
sin 1 sin 45.0

ANS. FIG. P35.33

P35.34 (a) A sketch illustrating the situation and the two triangles needed in
the solution is given in ANS. FIG. P35.34.

ANS. FIG. P35.34

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 The Nature of Light and the Principles of Ray Optics

(b) From the triangle under water, the angle of incidence 1 at the
water surface is
90.0 m
tan 1 1 42.0
100 m
(c) Snell’s law gives the angle of refraction as

1 nwater sin 1 1 1.333 sin 42.0

2 sin sin 63.1
nair 1.00

(d) The refracted beam makes angle 90.0 2 26.9 with the
horizontal.
(e) In the triangle above the water,
h 210 m tan 210 m tan 26.9 107 m
P35.35 The reflected ray and refracted ray are perpendicular to each other,
and the angle of reflection 1 and the angle of refraction 2 are related
by
1 90.0 2 180.0 2 90.0 1

Then, from Snell’s law,

ng sin 2
sin 1
nair
ng sin 90 1 ng cos 1

sin 1
Thus, tan 1 ng or 1 tan 1
ng
cos 1

Section 35.6 Huygens’s Principle

Section 35.7 Dispersion
P35.36 Using Snell’s law gives

1 nair sin 1 (1.000)sin 83.0

(a) red sin i
sin 48.2
nred 1.331

1 nair sin 1 (1.000)sin 83.0

(b) blue sin i
sin 47.8
nblue 1.340

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Chapter 35

P35.37 Using Snell’s law gives

1 nair sin i 1 (1.000)sin 50.00

red sin sin
nred 1.455

1 nair sin 1 (1.000)sin 50.00

and violet sin i
sin
nviolet 1.468

Thus, the dispersion is red violet 0.314

P35.38 Recall that if a wave slows down as it passes from one medium into
another, its rays tend to bend toward the normal, unless it has normal
incidence. Example: the case when light passes from air into water.
(a) For the diagrams of contour lines and wave fronts and rays, see
ANS. FIG. P35.38(a) below.
(b) As the waves move to shallower water, the wave fronts slow
down, and those closer to shore slow down more. The rays tend
to bend toward the normal of the contour lines; or equivalently,
the wave fronts bend to become more nearly parallel to the
contour lines. See ANS. FIG. P35.38(b) below.
(c) For the diagrams of contour lines and wave fronts and rays, see
ANS. FIG. P35.38(c) below.
(d) We suppose that the headlands are steep underwater, as they are
above water. The rays are everywhere perpendicular to the wave
fronts of the incoming refracting waves. As shown, because the
rays tend to bend toward the normal of the contour lines, the rays
bend toward the headlands and deliver more energy per length at
the headlands. See ANS. FIG. P35.38(d) below.

ANS. FIG. P35.38

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 The Nature of Light and the Principles of Ray Optics

sin 1
P35.39 For the incoming ray, sin 2 .
n
Using ANS. FIG. P35.39,
1 sin 50.0
2 violet sin 27.48
1.66 ANS. FIG. P35.39

1 sin 50.0
2 red sin 28.22
1.62
For the outgoing ray,
90.0 2 90.0 3 60.0 180.0
3 60.0 2

and
1
sin 4 nsin 3 : 4 violet sin 1.66sin 32.52 63.17
1
4 red sin 1.62 sin 31.78 58.56

The angular dispersion is the difference

4 4 violet 4 red 63.17 58.56 4.61

sin 1
P35.40 For the incoming ray, sin 2 . Using ANS. FIG. P35.40,
n

1 sin
2 violet sin
nV

1 sin
2 red sin
nR
For the outgoing ray,
90.0 2 90.0 3 180.0
3 2

and

1 1 sin
sin 4 nsin 3 : 4 violet sin nV sin sin
nV

1 1 sin
4 red sin nR sin sin
nR

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Chapter 35

The angular dispersion is the difference

4 4 violet 4 red

1 1 sin
sin nV sin sin
nV

1 1 sin
sin nR sin sin
nR

Section 35.8 Total Internal Reflection

P35.41 From Equation 35.10,
n2 1.33
sin c c 62.5
n1 1.50
n2
P35.42 From Equation 35.10, sin c , where 2 = 1.000 293. Values for 1
n1
come from Table 35.1,
1 1.000 293
(a) c sin 27.0
2.20

1 1.000 293
(b) c sin 37.1
1.66

1 1.000 293
(c) c sin 49.8
1.309
P35.43 The prism is in air, so at the first refraction,
1.00sin 1 nsin 2

The angle of incidence 3 must be less than the

critical angle at the second surface to emerge
from the other side. ANS. FIG. P35.43
3  c

n2 1.00
3  sin 1
c  sin 1
 sin 1

n1 1.50
3  41.8

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 The Nature of Light and the Principles of Ray Optics

The angles 2 and 3 are related by

90.0 2 90.0 3 60.0 180.0

2 60.0 3

Thus, to avoid total internal reflection at the second surface (i.e., have
3  41.8), it is necessary that 2  18.2.

Since sin 1 nsin 2 , this becomes

sin 1  1.50sin 18.2 0.468

or 1 27.9 .
P35.44 The prism is in air, so at the first refraction,
1.00sin 1 nsin 2

The angle of incidence 3 must be less than

the critical angle at the second surface to
emerge from the other side.
ANS. FIG. P35.44
3 c

1 1 n2 1 1.00
3 sin c sin sin
n1 n

The angles 2 and 3 are related:

90.0 2 90.0 3 180

which gives 2 3 .

1 1.00
Thus, to have 3 sin and avoid total internal reflection at the
n
1 1.00
second surface, it is necessary that 2 sin .
n
Since sin 1 nsin 2 , this requirement becomes

1 1.00
sin 1 nsin sin
n

1 1 1.00
or 1 sin nsin sin .
n

Through the application of trigonometric identities,

1  sin 1
 n2 1 sin cos 
© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Chapter 35

P35.45 At the upper surface,

nair 1.00
sin c 0.735 c 47.3
npipe 1.36

Geometry shows that the angle of refraction at the end is

90.0 c 90.0 47.3 42.7
Then, by Snell’s law at the end,
1.00sin 1.36sin 42.7

gives 67.2 .
The 2- m diameter is unnecessary information.

ANS. FIG. P35.45

P35.46 (a) Using the index of refraction values listed in Table 35.1, we find
n2 1.000
sin c c 24.42
n1 2.419

(b) Because the angle of incidence (35.0°) is greater than the critical
angle, the light is totally reflected at P.

n2 1.333
(c) sin c c 33.44
n1 2.419
(d) The angle of incidence is 35.0°. Yes. In this case, the angle of
incidence is just larger than the critical angle, so the light ray
again undergoes total internal reflection at .
(e) The angle of incidence must be reduced below the critical angle
for light to exit the diamond, so the diamond should be rotated
clockwise.
(f) Rotating the diamond by angle clockwise changes the angle of
incidence 1 at point from 0.00° to , causing the angle of
refraction 2 inside the diamond to change from 0.00°:
n1 sin 1 n2 sin 2

1.333sin 1 2.419sin 2

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 The Nature of Light and the Principles of Ray Optics

Refer to ANS. FIG. P35.46. What is the angle of incidence at ?

Extending a line from points and parallel to the surfaces of
the diamond until they meet at point , we form a triangle .

ANS. FIG. P35.46

The angle at vertex is 35.0° because the extended line is
parallel to the line extended from the base of the diamond.
From the sum of the interior angles of , we find the incident
angle 3 at point :

90.0 2 90.0 3 35.0 180

3 35.0 2

At , we require that the angle of incidence 3 results in an angle

of refraction of 90.0°:

2.419sin 3 1.333sin 90.0

2.419sin 35.0 2 1.333
1 1.333
35.0 2 sin
2.419
solving gives 2 1.561 . Then, from above,

1.333sin 1 2.419sin 2 2.83

P35.47 The line of sight is 1.20° below the horizontal, so the
angle of reflection of the light reaching the truck
driver’s eyes is 90.0° – 1.20° = 88.8°.
n2 ANS. FIG. P35.47
sin c
n1

n2 n1 sin 88.8 1.000 293 sin 88.8 1.000 07

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Chapter 35

Note: Mirages are caused by a continuous variation in index of refraction

of the air rather than by total internal reflection. In this problem, the
intent is to recognize that the result of the variation in index of refraction
is equivalent to the result of a total internal reflection occurring at a
single layer of hot air just above the surface of the roadway. This
problem MODELS the phenomenon as a total internal reflection.
sin 2 v2
P35.48 (a) and 2 90.0 at the critical angle.
sin 1 v1
sin 90.0 1 850 m/s
so c sin 1
0.185 10.7 .
sin c 343 m/s
(b) Sound can be totally reflected if it is traveling in the medium
where it travels slower: air .

(c) Sound in air falling on the wall from most directions

is 100% reflected,
so the wall is a good mirror.
P35.49 (a) If any ray escapes it will be a ray along the inner edge, because it
has the smallest angle of incidence. Its angle of incidence is
R d
described by sin and by nsin 1sin 90 . Then
R
n R d
1 nR nd R
R
nd
nR R nd R
n 1

ANS. FIG. P35.49

(b) As d 0 , Rmin 0 . Yes: for very small , the light strikes the
interface at very large angles of incidence.
(c) As increases, min decreases. Yes: as increases, the critical
angle becomes smaller.
(d) As decreases toward 1, min increases. Rmin . Yes: as n 1 ,
the critical angle becomes close to 90° and any bend will allow the
light to escape.
© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 The Nature of Light and the Principles of Ray Optics

6
1.40 100 10 m 6
(e) Rmin 350 10 m 350 m
0.40
P35.50 (a) In the gasoline gauge, skylight from above travels down the
plastic. The rays close to the vertical are totally reflected from the
sides of the slab and from both facets at the lower end of the
plastic, where it is not immersed in gasoline. This light returns up
inside the plastic and makes it look bright. Where the plastic is
immersed in gasoline, with index of refraction of about 1.50, total
internal reflection should not happen. The light passes out of the
lower end of the plastic with little reflected, making this part of
the gauge look dark.
(b) To ensure total internal reflection at the plastic-air interface, the
critical angle must be less than the angle of incidence, about 45.0°.
This places a lower limit on the index of refraction of the plastic:
c 45.0
sin c sin 45.0
1
sin 45.0 n 1.41
n
To prevent total internal reflection at the plastic-gasoline interface,
the critical angle must be greater than the angle of incidence. This
places an upper limit on the index of refraction of the plastic:
c 45.0
sin c sin 45.0
1.50
sin 45.0 n 2.12
n

Additional Problems
*P35.51 Using Snell’s law, the index of refraction of the liquid is found to be
nair sin i
nliquid
sin r
Thus, the critical angle for light going from this liquid into air is

1 nair 1 nair
c sin sin
nliquid nair sin i /sin r

1 sin r 1 sin 22.0

sin sin 48.5
sin i sin 30.0

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Chapter 35

P35.52 (a) 1 1 30.0

n1 sin 1 n2 sin 2

1.00sin 30.0 1.55sin 2

2 18.8
ANS. FIG. P35.52
(b) 1 1 30.0

1 n1 sin 1 1 1.55sin 30.0

2 sin sin 50.8
n2 1
(c), (d) The other entries are computed similarly, and are shown in
Table P35.52 below.

(c) air into glass, angles in degrees (d) glass into air, angles in degrees

incidence reflection refraction incidence reflection refraction

0 0 0 0 0 0

10.0 10.0 6.43 10.0 10.0 15.6

20.0 20.0 12.7 20.0 20.0 32.0

30.0 30.0 18.8 30.0 30.0 50.8

40.0 40.0 24.5 40.0 40.0 85.1

50.0 50.0 29.6 50.0 50.0 none*

60.0 60.0 34.0 60.0 60.0 none*

70.0 70.0 37.3 70.0 70.0 none*

80.0 80.0 39.4 80.0 80.0 none*

90.0 90.0 40.2 90.0 90.0 none*

*total internal reflection

TABLE P35.52

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 The Nature of Light and the Principles of Ray Optics

P35.53 The critical angle is found by imagining the

refracted ray just grazing the surface ( 2 =
90°). The index of refraction of water is 1 =
1.333, and 2 = 1.00 for air, so 1sin c =
–1
2 sin 90° gives c = sin (1/1.333) =
sin–1(0.750) = 48.6°. ANS. FIG. P35.53
The radius then satisfies
r
tan c
1.00 m
So the diameter is
d 2 1.00 m tan c

d 2.00 m tan 48.6 2.27 m

P35.54 If the light ray to the eyes of the scuba diver makes an angle of
38.0° with the horizontal, it makes an angle of 52.0° with the
normal to the water surface. This is larger than the critical angle
of 48.8° found in Example 35.6, however. Therefore, no light
from above the water will approach the scuba diver’s eyes from
this direction. The light approaching from this direction will be
that originating underwater and reflected downward from the
surface. The Sun will be seen somewhere within a circle whose
edge is 90.0 – 48.8 41.2 above the horizontal.

P35.55 From the textbook Figure P35.55, we have =2 + so

w a 700 m 1 m
b   349.5 m
2 2
b 349.5 m
tan 2    0.291 2  16.2
t 1 200 m
n1 sin 1 n2 sin 2

For refraction at entry,

1 n2 sin 1 1.55sin 16.2

1 sin 2
sin sin 1 0.433 25.7
n1 1.00
P35.56 The incident light reaches the left-hand mirror at distance
1.00 m tan 5.00 0.087 5 m

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Chapter 35

above its bottom edge. The reflected light first reaches the right-hand
mirror at height
2 0.087 5 m 0.175 m
It bounces between the mirrors with this
distance between points of contact with
either. Since
1.00 m
5.72
0.175 m
ANS. FIG. P35.56
the light reflects

five times from the right-hand mirror and six times from the left .

*P35.57 (a) The fraction reflected is

2 2
S1 n2 n1 1.52 1.00
0.042 6
S1 n2 n1 1.52 1.00
(b) If medium 1 is glass and medium 2 is air,
2 2
S1 n2 n1 1.00 1.52
0.042 6
S1 n2 n1 1.00 1.52

There is no difference .
*P35.58 (a) With 1 = 1 and 2 = , the reflected fractional intensity is
2
S1 n 1
S1 n 1
The remaining intensity must be transmitted:
2 2 2
S2 n 1 n 1 n 1 n2 2n 1 n2 2n 1
1 2
S1 n 1 n 1 n 12
4n
2
n 1

S2 4n 4 2.419
(b) At entry, 2 2 0.828.
S1 n 1 2.419 1
S3
At exit, 0.828.
S2
S3 S3 S2 2
Overall, 0.828 0.685
S1 S2 S1

or 68.5% .

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 The Nature of Light and the Principles of Ray Optics

P35.59 Let ( ) be the index of refraction at distance below the top of the
atmosphere and ( = ) = 1.00 293 be its value at Earth’s surface. Then,
1.002 93 1.000 00
n x 1.000 00 x
h
0.002 93
1.000 00 x
h
(a) The total time interval required to traverse the atmosphere is
h h h
dx n x 1 0.002 93
t dx: t 1.000 00 x dx
0 v 0 c c0 h

h 0.002 93 h2
t
c ch 2
h 2.002 93 100 103 m 2.002 93
c 2 3.00 108 m/s 2
4
3.33 10 s 334 s

h
(b) The travel time in the absence of an atmosphere would be .
c
Thus, the time in the presence of an atmosphere is
2.002 93
hc hc
2 0.002 93
100% 0.147%
hc 2
P35.60 Let ( ) be the index of refraction at distance below the top of the
atmosphere and ( = ) = be its value at the planet surface.
n 1.00
Then, n x 1.00 x
h
(a) The total time interval required to traverse the atmosphere is
h h
dx n x 1h n 1.00
t dx : t 1.00 x dx
0 v 0 c c0 h

h n 1.00 h2 h n 1.00
t
c ch 2 c 2
h
(b) The travel time in the absence of an atmosphere would be .
c
Thus, the time in the presence of an atmosphere is

n 1.00
times larger
2

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Chapter 35

P35.61 Let the air and glass be medium 1 and 2, respectively. By Snell’s law,
n2 sin 2 n1 sin 1

or 1.56sin 2 sin 1

But the conditions of the problem are such that 1 2 2 , so 1.56sin 2

sin 2 2 We now use the double-angle trig identity suggested:
1.56sin 2 2 sin 2 cos 2

1.56
or cos 2 0.780
2
Thus, 2 38.7 and 1 2 2 77.5 .

P35.62 In ANS. FIG. P35.62, observe on the left side of the prism that
90 1 and 90 1 . Thus, . Similarly, on the right side
of the prism, 90 2 and 90 2 , giving . The incident
rays are initially parallel, so observe that the angle between the
reflected rays is , so 2 . Finally, observe
that the left side of the prism is sloped at angle from the vertical, and
the right side is sloped at angle . The angle is related to the other
angles by
90 90 180
Thus, we obtain the result
1
2 2
2

ANS. FIG. P35.62

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 The Nature of Light and the Principles of Ray Optics

P35.63 Light from the diamond reflects totally

at the water’s surface at incident angles
greater than the critical angle c . The
circular raft must cover the area of the
surface through which light from the
diamond could emerge. Thus, it must ANS. FIG. P35.63
form the base of an inverted cone (with
apex at the diamond) whose half angle is at least the critical angle.
c

tan tan c

d2 d
tan c h
h 2 tan c

The critical angle at the water-air boundary is

1 nair 1 1.000
c sin sin 48.61
nwater 1.333
Thus, the maximum depth of the water is
d 4.54 m
hmax 2.00 m
2 tan c
2 tan 48.61

*P35.64 Consider an insulated box with the imagined one-way mirror forming
one face, installed so that 90% of the electromagnetic radiation incident
from the outside is transmitted to the inside and only a lower
percentage of the electromagnetic waves from the inside make it
through to the outside. Suppose the interior and exterior of the box are
originally at the same temperature. Objects within and without are
radiating and absorbing electromagnetic waves. They would all
maintain constant temperature if the box had an open window. With
the glass letting more energy in than out, the interior of the box will
rise in temperature. But this is impossible, according to Clausius’s
statement of the second law. This reduction to a contradiction proves
that it is impossible for the one-way mirror to exist.
P35.65 Define 1 to be the index of refraction of the
surrounding medium and 2 to be that for the
prism material. We can use the critical angle of
n
42.0° to find the ratio 2 :
n1
n2 sin 42.0 n1 sin 90.0

ANS. FIG. P35.65

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Chapter 35

n2 1
So, 1.49
n1 sin 42.0
Call the angle of refraction 2 at the surface 1. The ray inside the prism
forms a triangle with surfaces 1 and 2, so the sum of the interior angles
of this triangle must be 180°.
Thus, 90.0 2 60.0 90.0 42.0 180
Therefore, 2 18.0 .
Applying Snell’s law at surface 1, n1 sin 1 n2 sin 18.0 :

n2
sin 1 sin 2 1.49sin 18.0
n1

gives 1 27.5

P35.66 The number of reflections the beam makes before exiting at the other
end is equal to the length of the slab divided by the component of the
displacement of the beam for each reflection:
L L tan 2
N
t / tan 2 t

where 2 is the refracted angle as the beam enters the material.

Substitute for this refracted angle in terms of the incident angle by
using Snell’s law:

L 1 n1 sin 1
N tan sin
t n2

Substitute numerical values:

0.420 m 1 1 sin 50.0
N tan sin
0.003 10 m 1.48
81.96 81 reflections
Therefore, the beam will exit after making 81 reflections, so it does not
make 85 reflections.
P35.67 A light beam passing the top of the pole makes an angle of 40.0° with
the horizontal, so its angle of incidence at the water is 1 90.0 . It
enters the water’s surface at distance from the pole
L d
s1
tan
and has an angle of refraction 2 from 1.00sin 1 nsin 2 .

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 The Nature of Light and the Principles of Ray Optics

ANS. FIG. P35.67

The beam reaches the bottom after traveling the horizontal distance
s2 d tan 2

The whole shadow length is

L d 1 sin 1
s1 s2 d tan sin
tan n

Because sin 1 sin 90.0 cos , we find that

L d 1 cos
s1 s2 d tan sin
tan n
2.00 m 1 cos 40.0
2.00 m tan sin 3.79 m
tan 40.0 1.33
P35.68 From Table 35.1, the index of refraction of polystyrene is 1.49.
(a) For polystyrene , total internal reflection requires
1 1.00
3 c sin 42.2
1.49
Then from geometry, 2 90.0 3 47.8 .
From Snell’s law,
sin 1 1.49sin 2 1.49sin 47.8
sin 1 1.10
Any angle satisfies this equation. ANS. FIG. P35.68
1

Total internal reflection occurs for all values of ,

or the maximum angle is 90°.

1 1.33
(b) For polystyrene , 3 sin 63.2
1.49

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Chapter 35

and 2 26.8 .

From Snell’s law, 1 30.3 .

(c) From Table 35.1, the index of carbon disulfide is 1.628 > 1.49.
Total internal reflection never occurs as the light moves from
lower-index polystyrene into higher-index carbon disulfide.
P35.69 From ANS. FIG. P35.69, observe that the angle of incidence at is the
same as the prism angle at point . Given that = 60.0°, application of
By Snell’s law at point :
1.50sin 1.00 sin 60.0
sin 60.0
sin
1.50

ANS. FIG. P35.69

From triangle , we calculate the angle of incidence and reflection,
, at point :
90.0 90.0 180 or
Now, we find the angle of incidence at point using triangle :
90.0 90.0 90.0 180
or
90.0 90.0 90.0 2
Finally, application of Snell’s law at point gives
1.00 sin 1.50 sin
or
1
sin 1.50sin 90.0 2

1 1 sin 60.0
sin 1.50sin 90.0 2 60.0 sin
1.50
7.91

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 The Nature of Light and the Principles of Ray Optics

P35.70 (a) The optical day is longer. Incoming

sunlight is refracted downward at
the top of the atmosphere, so an
observer can see the rising Sun
when it is still geometrically below
the horizon. Light from the setting Sun
reaches her after the Sun is below the ANS. FIG. P35.70
horizon geometrically.
(b) ANS. FIG. P35.70 illustrates optical sunrise. At the center of the
Earth,
6.37 106 m
cos
6.37 106 m 8 614
2.98
2 90 2.98 87.0
At the top of the atmosphere
n1 sin 1 n2 sin 2

1sin 1 1.000 293sin 87.0

1 87.4
Deviation upon entry is

1 2

87.364 87.022 0.342

Sunrise of the optical day is before geometric sunrise by
86 400 s
0.342 82.2 s. Optical sunset occurs later too, so the
360
optical day is longer by 164 s .

P35.71 Observe in ANS. FIG. P35.71 that the angle of

incidence at point is , and using triangle
:
L
sin
R

R 2 L2
Also, cos 1 sin 2
R
ANS. FIG. P35.71
Apply Snell’s law at point :
1.00sin nsin

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Chapter 35

sin L
Thus, sin
n nR
n2 R 2 L2
and cos 1 sin 2 .
nR
From triangle , 90.0 90.0 180 , or the angle of
incidence at point is . Then, applying Snell’s law at point
gives 1.00sin nsin nsin
or sin nsin
n sin cos cos sin

L n2 R 2 L2 R 2 L2 L
n
R nR R nR
L
n2 R 2 L2 R2 L2
R2

1 L
thus, sin n2 R 2 L2 R2 L2 ;
R2
L 1 L 1 L
or, using from above sin sin and sin ,
R R nR
1 L 1 L
sin nsin nsin sin sin
R nR

1 1 L 1 L
sin nsin sin sin
R nR
4
P35.72 1 2 10.0 and n1 sin 1 n2 sin 2 with 1 = 1, n2 .
3
1 1
Thus, 1 sin n2 sin 2 sin n2 sin 1 10.0 .
(You can use a calculator to home in on an approximate solution to this
equation, testing different values of 1 until you find that 1 36.5 .
Alternatively, you can solve for 1 exactly, as shown below.)
4
We are given that sin 1 sin 1 10.0 .
3
This is the sine of a difference, so
3
sin 1 sin 1 cos 10.0 cos 1 sin 10.0
4

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 The Nature of Light and the Principles of Ray Optics

3
Rearranging, sin 10.0 cos 1 cos 10.0 sin 1 ,
4
sin 10.0
tan 1
cos10.0 0.750
1
and 1 tan 0.740 36.5 .
P35.73 (a) From the geometry shown in ANS. FIG. P35.73, observe that
1 60.0 . Also, from the law of reflection, 2 1 60.0 .
Therefore, 90.0 2 30.0 , and 3 90.0 180 30.0
or 3 30.0 .

ANS. FIG. P35.73

Then, since the prism is immersed in water ( 2 = 1.333), Snell’s
law gives

1
nglass sin 3 1 1.66 sin 30.0
4 sin sin 38.5
n2 1.333
(b) For refraction to occur at point , it is necessary that c 1 . Thus,

1 n2
c sin 1 , which gives
nglass
n2  nglass sin 1  1.66 sin 60.0 1.44

P35.74 As shown in ANS. FIG. P35.74, the angle of incidence at point is:
1 d2 1 1.00 m
sin sin 30.0
R 2.00 m

ANS. FIG. P35.74

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Chapter 35

If the emerging ray is to be parallel to the incident ray, the path must
be symmetric about the centerline of the cylinder. In the isosceles
triangle ,
and 180
Therefore, 180
becomes 2 180 180

or 15.0 .
2
Then, applying Snell’s law at point ,
nsin 1.00sin
sin sin 30.0
n 1.93
sin sin 15.0
P35.75 Applying Snell’s law at points A, B, and C gives
1.40sin 1.60sin 1 [1]
1.20sin 1.40sin [2]
and 1.00sin 2 1.20sin [3]
Combining equations [1], [2], and [3] yields
sin 2 1.60sin 1 [4]

ANS. FIG. P35.75

Note that equation [4] is exactly what Snell’s law would yield if the
second and third layers of this “sandwich” were ignored. This will
always be true if the surfaces of all the layers are parallel to each other.
(a) If 1 30.0 , then equation [4] gives
1
2 sin 1.60sin 30.0 53.1

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 The Nature of Light and the Principles of Ray Optics

(b) At the critical angle of incidence on the lowest surface, 2 90.0 .

Then, equation [4] gives
1 sin 2 1 sin 90.0
1 sin sin 38.7
1.60 1.60

Total internal reflection will occur for 1 38.7 .

P35.76 (a) At the boundary of the air and glass, the critical angle is given by
1
sin c
n

ANS. FIG. P35.76

Consider the critical ray :
d4 sin c d
tan c
or
t cos c 4t
Squaring the last equation gives:
2
sin 2 c sin 2 c d
cos2 c 1 sin 2 c 4t
2
1 1 d
Since sin c , this becomes 2
or
n n 1 4t
2
4t
n 1
d

(b) Solving for ,

4t
d
n2 1
4 0.600 cm
Thus, if = 1.52 and = 0.600 cm, d 2
2.10 cm
1.52 1
(c) Since violet light has a larger index of refraction, it will lead to a
smaller critical angle and the inner edge of the white halo will be
tinged with violet light.

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Chapter 35

P35.77 (a) Given that 1 45.0 and 2 76.0 ,

Snell’s law at the first surface gives
nsin 1.00sin 45.0 [1]

ANS. FIG. P35.77

Observe that the angle of incidence at the second surface is
90.0
Thus, Snell’s law at the second surface yields
nsin nsin 90.0 1.00sin 76.0
or ncos sin 76.0 . [2]
Dividing equation [1] by equation [2], we obtain
sin 45.0
tan 0.729
sin 76.0
or 36.1 .
Then, from equation [1],
sin 45.0 sin 45.0
n 1.20
sin sin 36.1
(b) From the sketch, observe that the distance the light travels in the
L c
plastic is d . Also, the speed of light in the plastic is v ,
sin n
so the time required to travel through the plastic is
d nL 1.20 0.500 m
t
v c sin 3.00 108 m/s sin 36.1
9
3.40 10 s 3.40 ns

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 The Nature of Light and the Principles of Ray Optics

P35.78 (a) See graph in ANS. FIG. P35.78.

sin 1
sin 1 sin 2
sin 2
0.174 0.131 1.330 4
0.342 0.261 1.312 9
0.500 0.379 1.317 7
0.643 0.480 1.338 5
0.766 0.576 1.328 9
0.866 0.647 1.339 0
0.940 0.711 1.322 0
0.985 0.740 1.331 5

ANS. FIG. P35.78

(b) The straightness of the graph line demonstrates Snell’s
proportionality of the sine of the angle of refraction to the sine of
the angle of incidence.
(c) The slope of the line is n 1.327 6 0.01
The equation sin 1 nsin 2 shows that this slope is the index of
refraction, n 1.328 0.8%

P35.79 (a) We see the Sun moving from east to west across the sky. Its
angular speed is
2 rad 5
7.27 10 rad/s
t 86 400 s
The direction of sunlight crossing the cell from the window
changes at this rate, moving on the opposite wall at speed
5
v r 2.37 m 7.27 10 rad/s
4
1.72 10 m/s 0.172 mm/s
(b) The mirror folds into the cell the motion that would occur in a
room twice as wide:
v r 2 0.174 mm/s 0.345 mm/s

(c), (d) As the Sun moves southward and upward at 50.0°, we may
regard the corner of the window as fixed, and both patches of
light move northward and downward at 50.0 .

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Chapter 35

P35.80 Because the enclosure is square and the beam enters at bottom center,
and because a light beam travels the same path regardless of its
direction on the path, we expect the beam pattern to be symmetric
about a vertical line passing through the opening. Therefore, the beam
enters the opening at the same angle it exits, the beam strikes each side
mirror at the same height, and the beam forms a zigzag pattern that
intersects itself at a point (or points) above the center opening; thus,
the beam must reflect off the top mirror at its center. Also, because of
the law of reflection, the path of the beam is symmetric about a
horizontal line passing through the points where the beam reflects off
a side mirror.
(a) Call the length of each side of the square . If the beam is to strike
each mirror once, the beam must strike each side mirror at its
center, at height /2 after traveling a horizontal distance /2.
Therefore,
L2
tan 1 45.0
L2

The beam will exit the enclosure if it enters at angle 45.0 , as

shown in ANS. FIG. P35.80(a).

ANS. FIG. P35.80(a) ANS. FIG. P35.80(b) ANS. FIG. P35.80(c)

(b) Because the path of the beam is symmetric about a horizontal lines
passing through the points where the beam reflects off a side mirror,
we can divide the square enclosure into vertically stacked
rectangular areas, each a mirror image of the one below. In each, the
ray passes upward through the bottom center of the rectangle and
exits at its top center until it reflects off the top mirror, then the ray
passes back downward through each center until it exits the
enclosure. The pattern of the ray’s path is repeated in each rectangle.
If the enclosure is divided into rectangles, the height of each
rectangle is / , and the beam strikes a side mirror at height /2
within each rectangle. Therefore, the angle of entry at the opening is
L 2n 1
tan
L2 n

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 The Nature of Light and the Principles of Ray Optics

The cases for = 2 and 3 are shown in ANS. FIG. 35.80(b) and (c)
above.
Yes. The ray will exit if it enters at an angle that satisfies the
1
condition tan , where n 1, 2, 3, …
n

Challenge Problems
P35.81 Horizontal light rays from the setting Sun pass above the hiker. The
light rays are twice refracted and once reflected, as in ANS. FIG.
P35.81(b). The most intense light reaching the hiker, that which
represents the visible rainbow, is located between angles of 40° and 42°
from the hiker’s shadow.

(a)

(b)
ANS. FIG. P35.81
The hiker sees a greater percentage of the violet inner edge, so we
consider the red outer edge. The radius of the circle of droplets is
R 8.00 km sin 42.0 5.35 km
Then the angle , between the vertical and the radius where the bow
touches the ground, is given by
2.00 km 2.00 km
cos 0.374
R 5.35 km

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Chapter 35

or 68.1 .
The angle filled by the visible bow is
360 2 68.1 224
224
so the visible bow is 62.2% of a circle .
360
P35.82 The geometry of the situation is shown in
ANS. FIG. P35.82, where is the person
and is the lightbulb.
We have used the law of reflection to claim
that the angles on either side of the dashed
line at are equal. From triangle , we
see that
d x1
cos and sin
1 1

which can be rearranged to give

ANS. FIG. P35.82
d
1 and x1 1 sin [1]
cos
Similarly, from triangle ,
2d x2
cos and sin
2 2

which can be rearranged to give

2d
2 and x2 2 sin [2]
cos
Let = 3.10 from the problem statement. The condition given in the
problem is expressed as
1 2 n [3]
Substitute for 1 and 2 from equations [1] and [2]:
d 2d 3d
n n [4]
cos cos cos
From triangle , apply the Pythagorean theorem:
2 2
d2 x1 x2
Substitute for 1 and 2 from equations [1] and [2]:
2 2 2
d2 1 sin 2 sin d2 1 2 sin 2

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 The Nature of Light and the Principles of Ray Optics

Substitute from equation [3]:

2
d2 n2 2
sin 2 2
1 n2 sin 2 d2 [5]
Eliminate between equations [4] and [5]:
2
3d
1 n2 sin 2 d2 9 9n2 sin 2 n2 cos2
ncos
Simplify this expression:
9 9n2 sin 2 n2 cos2 8n2 sin 2 n2 sin 2 n2 cos2
9 n2
8n2 sin 2 n2 sin
8n2
If we now substitute = 3.10, we see that there is no real solution for
sin . Therefore, it is impossible for the distances to be in this
relationship. The largest value that can have is 3.00, which leads to
an incident angle of 0°.
In fact, we could have solved this problem more elegantly (and
quickly!) by realizing that the largest ratio of distances would be
obtained by bringing the person and the lightbulb as close together as
possible given the condition on their distances from the mirror. This
would be done by aligning them both above in the figure so that the
light strikes the mirror at normal incidence. Then, the person and
lightbulb are separated by a distance , and the light travels a distance
3 . This gives a maximum ratio of 3.00 and we see that a ratio of 3.10 is
impossible.
P35.83 (a) Calling the angle between the dashed line in Figure P35.83 and
the reflected laser beam , we see that
x 2x 1
tan x L tan
L/2 L 2
Differentiate with respect to time to find the speed of the laser
spot on the wall:
dx d 1 1 d
v L tan L sec 2 [1]
dt dt 2 2 dt
From Figure P35.83, we see that

1 4x 2 L2
sec [2]
cos L
Because the incident ray is stationary, as the mirror turns through
angle , its normal rotates through angle , so the angle of

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Chapter 35

incidence increases by as does the angle of reflection. Therefore,

the reflected ray rotates through 2 . As a consequence, the
angular speed of the reflected ray is twice that of the mirror:
d
reflected ray 2 [3]
dt
Substitute equations [2] and [3] into equation [1]:

1 4x 2 L2 4x 2 L2
v L 2
2 L2 L

(b) The variable in this expression is , so we can minimize the speed

by setting = 0.
(c) Let = 0 in the expression for :
2
4 0 L2
v L
L

(d) The maximum speed occurs when the reflected laser beam arrives
at a corner of the room, where = /2:
2
4 L/2 L2
v 2L
L

(e) Between the minimum and maximum speed, the reflected laser
beam rotates through /4 radians, so the mirror rotates through
/8 radians. Therefore,

t
8

P35.84 (a) In the textbook Figure P35.84, we have r1 a2 x 2 and

2
r2 b 2 d x . The speeds in the two media are 1 = / 1 and
2 = / 2 so the travel time for the light from to is indeed

r1 r2 n1 a 2 x2 n2 b 2 (d x)2
t
v1 v2 c c
d n1 t 2x n2 2(d x)( 1)
(b) Now 0 is the requirement
2c a 2 x 2 2c b 2 (d x)2
dx
for minimal travel time, which simplifies to
n1 x n2 d x
a2 x2 b2 d x
2

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 The Nature of Light and the Principles of Ray Optics

x d x
(c) Now sin 1 and sin 2 2
, so we have
a2 x2 b2 d x
n1 sin 1 n2 sin 2 .
P35.85 In ANS. FIG. P35.85, a ray travels along path from point to the
mirror, reflects and travels along path from the mirror to point .
Point is a vertical distance above the mirror, and point is a
vertical distance above the mirror. Points and are a horizontal
distance apart. The ray strikes the mirror at point which is a
horizontal distance from point . The angle of incidence is 1 and the
angle of reflection is 2 .

ANS. FIG. P35.85

2
We have AM a 2 x 2 and MB b2 d x . The travel time for
the light from to is

AM MB a2 x2 b2 (d x)2
t
c c c c
We require a minimal travel time, so
d t 1 2x 1 2(d x)( 1)
0
dx 2c a 2 x 2 2c b 2 (d x)2

which simplifies to
x d x
2 2 2
a x b2 d x
This expression is equivalent to
sin 1 sin 2 1 2

P35.86 (a) Assume the viewer is far away to the right. In ANS. FIG.
P35.86(a), a ray directed toward the viewer comes tangentially
from the edge of the glowing sphere and emerges from the
atmosphere at angle 2 . The apparent radius of the glowing
sphere is 3 as shown. For the figure, we see that
R1 R3
sin 1 and sin 2
R2 R2

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Chapter 35

Then,
nsin 1 1.00sin 2

and
R1 R3
n R3 nR1
R2 R2

ANS. FIG. P35.86(a)

(b) If a ray is to come tangentially from the edge of the glowing
sphere and emerge from the atmosphere, the incident angle 1
must be less than the critical angle, 1 c . Then,

1
sin 1 sin c
n
and
R1 1
 nR1  R2 R2  nR1
R2 n
This is not so for the case we consider here.

ANS. FIG. P35.86(b)

Thus, the ray considered in part (a) undergoes total internal
reflection. In this case a ray traveling toward the viewer must
emerge tangentially from the atmosphere, as shown in ANS. FIG.
P35.86(b), so the apparent radius of the glowing sphere is the
same as the radius of the atmosphere: R3 R2 .

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 The Nature of Light and the Principles of Ray Optics

4n
*P35.87 Define T as the transmission coefficient for one encounter
n 12
with an interface. For diamond and air, it is 0.828, as in Problem
P35.58. As shown in ANS. FIG. P35.87, the total amount transmitted is
2 4
T2 T2 1 T T2 1 T
6 2n
T2 1 T T2 1 T
We have 1 T 1 0.828 0.172, so the total transmission is
 0.8282  1   0.172 2   0.172  4   0.172 6  
To sum this series, define
2 4 6
F 1 0.172 0.172 0.172

Note that 0.172 2 F 0.172 2

0.172 4
0.172 6
, and

1 0.172 2 F 1 0.172 2
0.172 4
0.172 6
F
Then,
1
1 F 0.172 2 F or F .
1 0.172 2

0.828 2
The overall transmission is then 2
0.706 or 70.6% .
1 0.172

ANS. FIG. P35.87

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Chapter 35

P35.2 (a) 3.00 × 108 m/s; (b) The sizes of the objects need to be taken into
account. Otherwise the answer would be too large by 2%.
8
P35.4 2.27 × 10 m/s
P35.6 19.5° above the horizon
P35.8 (a) = 30.4°; (b) = 22.3°
P35.10 (a) See P35.10(a) for full explanation; (b) Now = is the angle of
incidence of the vertical light beam. Its angle of reflection is also . The
angle between the vertical incident beam and the reflected beam is 2 ;
(c) = 0.055 7°
P35.12 2 19.5 ; 3 19.5 ; 4 30.0
P35.14 (a) 78.3°; (b) 2.56 m; (c) 9.72°; (d) 442 nm; (e) The light wave slows
down as it moves from air to water, but the sound wave speeds up by
a larger factor. The light wave bends toward the normal and its
wavelength shortens, but the sound wave bends away from the normal
and its wavelength increases.
P35.16 (a) 1.52; (b) 417 nm; (c) 4.74 × 1014 Hz; (d) 198 Mm/s
P35.18 180 2
P35.20 (a) See P35.20(a) for full explanation; (b) See P35.20(b) for full
explanation.
P35.22 (a) 0.387 cm; (b) 106 ps
P35.24 (a) Yes, if the angle of incidence is 58.9°; (b) No. Both the reduction in
speed and the bending toward the normal reduce the component of
velocity parallel to the interface. This component cannot remain
constant for a nonzero angle of incidence.
P35.26 6.30 cm
P35.28 (a) See P35.28(a) for full explanation; (b) 37.2°; (c) 37.3°; (d) 37.3°
P35.30 The index of refraction of the atmosphere decreases with increasing
altitude because of the decrease in density of the atmosphere with
increasing altitude. As indicated in the ray diagram, the Sun located at
S below the horizon appears to be located at S .

h n2 1
P35.32 (a) ; (b) 4.73 cm; (c) For = 1, = 0. For = 2, = ∞. For
d 4 n2
> 2, has no real solution.
P35.34 (a) See ANS. FIG. P35.34; (b) 42.0°; (c) 63.1°; (d) 26.9°; (e) 107 m
© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 The Nature of Light and the Principles of Ray Optics

P35.36 (a) 48.2°; (b) 47.8°

P35.38 (a) See ANS. FIG. P35.38(a); (b) As the waves move to shallower water,
the wave fronts slow down, and those closer to shore slow down more.
The rays tend to bend toward the normal of the contour lines; or
equivalently, the wave fronts bend to become more nearly parallel to
the contour lines; (c) See ANS. FIG. P35.38(c); (d) We suppose that the
headlands are steep underwater, as they are above water. The rays are
everywhere perpendicular to the wave fronts of the incoming
refracting waves. As shown, because the rays tend to bend toward the
normal of the contour lines, the rays bend toward the headlands and
deliver more energy per length at the headlands.

1 1 sin 1 1 sin
P35.40 sin nV sin sin sin nR sin sin
nV nR

P35.42 (a) 27.0°; (b) 37.1°; (c) 49.8°

1 1 1.00 1
P35.44 1 sin nsin sin ; 1 sin n2 1 sin cos
n
P35.46 (a) 24.42°; (b) Because the angle of incidence (35.0°) is greater than the
critical angle, the light is totally reflected at ; (c) 33.44°; (d) Yes. In this
case, the angle of incidence is just larger than the critical angle, so the
light ray again undergoes total internal reflection at ; (e) clockwise;
(f) 2.83°
P35.48 (a) 10.7°; (b) air; (c) Sound in air falling on the wall from directions is
100% reflected.
P35.50 (a) See P35.50(a) for full explanation; (b) n 1.41 and n 2.12
P35.52 (a) angle of incidence: 30.0°, angle of refraction: 18.8°; (b) angle of
incidence: 30.0°, angle of refraction: 50.8°; (c) and (d) See TABLE
P35.52.
P35.54 No light from above the water will approach the scuba diver’s eyes
from 48.8° found in Example 35.6.
P35.56 Five times from the right-hand mirror and six times from the left.
4n
P35.58 (a) ; (b) 68.5%
n 12
h n 1.00 n 1.00
P35.60 (a) ; (b) times larger
c 2 2
P35.62 See P35.62 for full explanation.

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Chapter 35

P35.64 Consider an insulated box with the imagined one-way mirror forming
one face, installed so that 90% of the electromagnetic radiation incident
from the outside is transmitted to the inside and only a lower
percentage of the electromagnetic waves from the inside make it
through to the outside. Suppose the interior and exterior of the box are
originally at the same temperature. Objects within and without are
radiating and absorbing electromagnetic waves. They would all
maintain constant temperature if the box had an open window. With
the glass letting more energy in than out, the interior of the box will
rise in temperature. But this is impossible, according to Clausius’s
statement of the second law. This reduction to a contradiction proves
that it is impossible for the one-way mirror to exist.
P35.66 The beam will exit after making 81 reflections, so it does not make 85
reflections.
P35.68 (a) Total internal reflection occurs for all values of , or the maximum
angle is 90°; (b) 30.3°; (c) Total internal reflection never occurs as the
light moves from lower-index polystyrene to higher-index carbon
disulfide.
P35.70 (a) The optical day is longer; (b) 164 s
P35.72 36.5°
P35.74 1.93
2
4t
P35.76 (a) n 1 ; (b) 2.10 cm; (c) violet
d
P35.78 (a) See ANS. FIG. P35.78; (b) The straightness of the graph line
demonstrates Snell’s proportionality of the sine of the angle of
refraction to the sine of the angle of incidence; (c) 1.328  0.8%
P35.80 (a) 45.0°; (b) Yes. The ray will exit if it enters at an angle that satisfies
1
the condition tan , where = 1, 2, 3, …
n
P35.82 The person and lightbulb are separated by a distance , and the light
travels at a distance 3 . This gives a maximum ratio of 3.00, and we see
that a ratio of 3.10 is impossible.
P35.84 (a–c) See P35.84 for full explanations.
P35.86 (a) 3 = 1 ; (b) 3 = 2

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 36
Image formation

36.1 Images Formed by Flat Mirrors

36.2 Images Formed by Spherical Mirrors
36.3 Images Formed by Refraction
36.4 Images Formed by Thin Lenses
36.5 Lens Abberations
36.6 The Camera
36.7 The Eye
36.8 The Simple Magnifier
36.9 The Compound Microscope
36.10 The Telescope

* An asterisk indicates a question or problem new to this edition.

OQ36.1 Answer (b). A change in the medium in contact with the outer
surface will result in a change in refraction at the outer surface if the
surface is curved. Refraction should be limited to the inner surface
because the medium inside (air) does not change. The outer surface
should be flat so that it will not produce a fuzzy or distorted image
for the diver when the mask is used either in air or in water.
OQ36.2 (i) Answer (c). The image is an upright and virtual at first then
inverted and real. A concave (converging) mirror can produce
real and virtual images depending on the object distance.
(ii) Answer (c). When the object passes through the focal point, the
image switches from virtual to real.

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.