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Introduction To Light (Notes)

Light enables us to see objects when it bounces off their surfaces and enters our eyes. The laws of reflection state that the angle of incidence of light hitting a surface equals the angle of reflection. Regular reflection follows these laws, occurring from smooth surfaces like mirrors. Irregular or diffused reflection occurs from surfaces with irregularities and does not follow the laws. The human eye allows us to see through structures like the cornea, iris, pupil, lens, and retina which work together to focus light and transmit signals to the brain. Visual defects and conditions like cataracts can impair vision, while the Braille system allows visually impaired individuals to read through patterns of raised dots.

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Shivang Gupta
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925 views7 pages

Introduction To Light (Notes)

Light enables us to see objects when it bounces off their surfaces and enters our eyes. The laws of reflection state that the angle of incidence of light hitting a surface equals the angle of reflection. Regular reflection follows these laws, occurring from smooth surfaces like mirrors. Irregular or diffused reflection occurs from surfaces with irregularities and does not follow the laws. The human eye allows us to see through structures like the cornea, iris, pupil, lens, and retina which work together to focus light and transmit signals to the brain. Visual defects and conditions like cataracts can impair vision, while the Braille system allows visually impaired individuals to read through patterns of raised dots.

Uploaded by

Shivang Gupta
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Introduction to Light

The world as we know is largely known through senses and the


sense of sight is one of the most important senses. It is only
when the light from an object enters our eyes that we see it.
The light might have been either emitted by the object or
reflected by it. Some of the important terminologies related to
light are:
Light is the energy that enables us to see. Light is emitted from
a source such as the Sun. The word usually refers to visible
light, which is visible to the human eye and is responsible for
the sense of sight.

How do we see objects?


Our eyes alone do not allow us to see. Light from a source falls
on an object and then bounces off onto our eyes and that is
how we perceive it.

Laws of Reflection

Reflection
Light gets reflected off surfaces. Any surface that is really well
polished or shiny acts as a mirror. The phenomenon of light
bouncing off surfaces is called reflection.

Laws of reflection
• The ray of light that strikes a reflecting surface is called
the incident ray and the ray that gets reflected back is
called the reflected ray.
• The imaginary line that is perpendicular to the reflecting
surface is called the normal.
• The angle of incidence ∠i is the angle between the
incident ray and the normal. The angle of reflection ∠r is
the angle between the reflected ray and the normal.
• Laws of Reflection: Angle of incidence ∠i is always equal
to the Angle of reflection ∠r (∠i=∠r). The angle of
incidence, the angle of reflection and the normal all lie on
the same plane.
To know more about Laws of Reflection, visit here.

Ray Diagram
The path taken by a narrow beam of light is depicted as a ray
diagram.

Regular and Diffused Reflection

Regular and diffused reflection


Reflection from a smooth surface like a mirror that follows the
laws of reflection is called a regular reflection.
Reflection over a surface that has irregularities where it does
not follow laws of reflection is called an irregular or diffused
reflection.

Image formation in a plane mirror

• The image formed by a plane mirror is always virtual, erect


and the object and image are equidistant from the mirror.
• The image formed in a plane mirror undergoes lateral
inversion.
Difference between the real and virtual image
A real image is formed by the actual convergence of light rays.
In optics, a virtual image is an image formed when the outgoing
rays from a point on an object always diverge. The image
appears to be located at the point of apparent divergence.
Because the rays never really converge, a virtual image cannot
be projected onto a screen.

Multiple reflections

• Two mirrors inclined to each other give multiple images,


due to multiple reflections.
• When an object is kept between two parallel plane mirrors,
infinite images are formed.
Calculating the total number of images
Number of images formed by plane mirrors is given
by n=360∘θ−1n=360∘θ−1.

Dispersion

Dispersion of light

• The splitting of light into its component colours is called


dispersion.
• Example: Rainbow0

Human Eye
The human eye is a spherically shaped sense organ (diameter
about 2.3 cm) that gives the sense of sight and helps us
perceive colours and depth.
Functions of different organs in the human eye

• Light enters the eye through a thin membrane that forms a


transparent bulge on the front of the eye, called
the cornea.
• Iris is a dark muscular diaphragm that controls the size of
the pupil.
• The pupil is the small opening in the centre of the iris.
• The lens which is behind the pupil helps to adjust the
focal length required to clearly focus on objects at various
distances.
• The retina is the screen where the images get formed. It
is a delicate membrane with a large number of
photosensitive cells called rods and cones.
• Cones are sensitive to bright light and rods are sensitive
to dim light.
• The optic nerve transmits the electrical signals from the
eye to the brain.

Human eye

Visual defects
• Visual defects include the inability to see near objects, or
the inability to see far objects.
• In old people the lens becomes cloudy, a condition called
cataract that impairs vision.

Braille system

• Braille is a system to read and write for visually impaired


people.
• Consists of 63 dot patterns or characters.
• These patterns are embossed in braille sheets that can be
recognized on touch.
• The dots are raised in order to make it easier to touch.

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