REFLECTION, REFRACTION, DISPERSION AND
POLARIZATION
WAVES AND OPTICS
REFLECTION
A property of light
characterized by its
ability to bounce off
specific surfaces.
REFLECTING SURFACES
Euclid
LAWS OF REFLECTION
For an incident light
ray, reflected light ray
and normal line that lie
on the same plane, the
angle of incidence is
equal to the angle of
reflection.
Regular/Specular Reflection
REFLECTION OF LIGHT
Diffuse Reflection
REFRACTION
The bending of light
as it passes to two
different media with
different optical
densities.
Willebrord Snellius
SNELL’S LAW (LAW OF REFRACTION)
Index of Refraction
n=
Ratio between the speed of
light in the vacuum and the
speed of light in a material n = refractive index
medium. c = speed of light in vacuum (3x108m/s)
v = speed of light in a material
example problem:
Calculate the speed of
light in a Crown glass.
Willebrord Snellius
SNELL’S LAW (LAW OF REFRACTION)
For a monochromatic light with
incident light ray, refracted light ray,
and normal line that lies on the same
plane, the ratio of the sine of the
angles of incidence and refraction is
equal to the inverse of the ratio
between their respective indices of
n1 = index of refraction in the first medium
refraction.
n2 = index of refraction in the second medium
Ꝋ1 = angle of incidence
Ꝋ2 = angle of refraction
PROBLEM SOLVING
1. A red laser light flashed from air to water at an angle of 300 to hit a fish.
Determine the angle of refraction.
2. A layer of flint glass and fused quartz is submerged under water. A ray of
laser light is flashed at an angle of 23.50 from the surface of the water
passing down to the layer of glass.
Compute for the angle of refraction from (A) water to the flint glass, (B)
flint glass to the fused quartz.
What is the angle of incidence of the laser light if the angle of refraction
observed in the flint glass is 200 ?
CRITICAL ANGLE AND TOTAL INTERNAL REFLECTION
There is a particular angle of
incidence that will result to 900 angle
of refraction this angle is called the
critical angle.
In cases where the incident angles are
larger than the critical angle, the rays
can NO longer pass through the
second medium; thus, NO
REFRACTION (total internal
reflection).
CRITICAL ANGLE AND TOTAL INTERNAL REFLECTION
Example:
Consider light coming from water to
sin Ꝋcrit = air. Calculate the critical angle.
PHENOMENA: DISPERSION
Is a phenomenon associated
with the propagation of
individual waves with
signature wavelengths at
speeds and indices of
refraction that depend on
their wavelengths.
RAINBOW
POLARIZATION
Is the phenomenon
associated with a material’s
ability to restrict the
vibration of a transverse
wave, such as EM wave---
wholly or partially---in one
direction.
POLARIZER
POLARIZATION BY REFLECTION: BREWSTER’S ANGLE
𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑
𝑟𝑎𝑦
𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒
At some angle, the resulting
𝑛𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑙
angle between the reflected
and refracted ray would be
perpendicular to each other =
90o 𝑛2
𝑛1
900
tan Ꝋp =
Ꝋp
𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑
𝑟𝑎𝑦
𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡
𝑟𝑎𝑦