Colin Donnelly-
Electromagnetic waves
Electromagnetic waves are transverse waves that consist of an oscillating electric field and an oscillating magnetic field.
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The electric and magnetic fields are _____ to each other and to _____.
perpendicular
the direction of propagation of the wave
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Electromagnetic spectrum
The electromagnetic spectrum is the range of frequencies and wavelengths found in EM waves.
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The EM spectrum from lowest to highest energy:
radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, x-rays, and γ-rays
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The visible spectrum runs from approximately _____ to _____.
400 nm (violet) to 700 nm (red)
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Reflection
Reflection is the rebounding of incident light waves at the boundary of a medium.
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Law of reflection
The law of reflection states that the incident angle will equal the angle of reflection, as measured from the normal.
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Spherical mirrors have _____, as well as _____.
centers and radii of curvature
focal points
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Concave mirrors are _____ systems and can produce _____, _____ images or _____, _____ images, depending on the placement of the object relative to the focal point.
converging
real, inverted
virtual, upright
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Convex mirrors are _____ systems and will only produce _____, _____ images.
diverging
virtual, upright
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Plane mirrors also produce _____, _____ images; these images are always the _____. These mirrors may be thought of as _____.
virtual, upright
same size as the object
spherical mirrors with infinite radii of curvature
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Refraction
Refraction is the bending of light as it passes from one medium to another.
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The speed of light changes depending on _____. This speed change causes _____.
index of refraction of the medium
refraction
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The amount of refraction depends on _____; this behavior causes _____ through a prism.
the wavelength of the light involved
dispersion of light
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Snell’s law
Snell’s law (the law of refraction) states that there is an inverse relationship between the index of refraction and the sine of the angle of refraction (measured from the normal).
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Total internal reflection
Total internal reflection occurs when light cannot be refracted out of a medium and is instead reflected back inside the medium
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Total internal reflection happens when light moves from a medium with a _____ index of refraction to a medium with a _____ index of refraction with a _____.
higher -> lower
high incident angle
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Critical angle
The minimum incident angle at which total internal reflection occurs is called the critical angle.
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Lenses
Lenses refract light to form images of objects.
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Thin symmetrical lenses have _____ on each side.
focal points
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Convex lenses are _____ systems and can produce _____, _____ images or _____, _____ images.
converging
real, inverted
virtual, upright
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Concave lenses are _____ systems and will only produce _____, _____ images.
diverging
virtual, upright
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Lenses with non negligible thickness require use of the _____.
lensmaker’s equation
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Diffraction
Diffraction is the bending and spreading out of light waves as they pass through a narrow slit.
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Diffraction may produce _____ with the addition of a _____.
a large central light fringe surrounded by alternating light and dark fringes
lens
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Interference supports the _____.
wave theory of light
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Young’s double-slit experiment
Young’s double-slit experiment shows the constructive and destructive interference of waves that occur as light passes through parallel slits, resulting in minima (dark fringes) and maxima (bright fringes) of intensity.
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Plane-polarized light
In plane-polarized light, all of the light rays have electric fields with parallel orientation.
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Plane-polarized light is created by ...
... passing unpolarized light through a polarizer.
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Circularly polarized light
In circularly polarized light, all of the light rays have electric fields with equal intensity but constantly rotating direction.
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Circularly polarized light is created by ...
... exposing unpolarized light to special pigments or filters.
