Optics

Light

Types of Light Production

Incandescence

Light Produced by very hot objects

Electric Discharge

Light Produced by an electric current
passing through a gas

Phosphorescence

The process of absorbing UV light,
and remitting it later as visible light

Fluorescence

The process of absorbing UV light
and instantly remitting it as visible light

Chemilumiescence

Light produced through a chemical reaction

Bioluminescence

Light produced from a chemical reaction
happening within a living organism

Triboluminescence

The production of light through rubbing to crystals together

Light-Emitting Diode (LED)

Light produced through an electric current
flowing through semiconductors

Photons

Particles of light that travel at 299,792,458 m/s

Waves that move at the speed of light, with different energies at different wavelengths

Radiation

Energy transfer that does not require a medium

Types of electromagnetic waves

Radio Waves

Microwaves

Infared Light

Visible Light

Ultraviolet Light

X-Rays

Gamma Rays

Reflection

Normal

The line that is perpendicular to the mirror's surface

Incident Ray

The incoming light ray that hits the surface

Reflected Ray

The ray that bounces off of the surface

Mirror types

Plane Mirror

A flat mirror

Curved Mirror

Concave

A curved mirror that converges light rays onto the focal point

Usually creates an inverted, real image

Convex

A curved mirror that diverges light rays away from the focal point

Usually creates an upright, smaller, virtual image

Image

Virtual

An image that appears to come from behind the mirror

Real

An image that can be shown on a screen in front of the mirror

S.A.L.T.

Size

The apparent size of the image

Attitude

Whether the image is upright, or inverted

Location

Where the image is in relation to the mirror

Type

Whether the image is real, or virtual

Incident Ray

The incoming light ray that transfers between mediums

Refracted Ray

The light ray after it changes mediums

Normal

The line perpendicular to the line separating the two mediums

Angle of incidence

The angle between the incident ray and the normal

Angle of Refraction

The angle between the refracted ray and the normal

The bending of light as it travels between two materials

Index of refraction

n=c/V

equation for calculating the index of refraction (n)

Speed of light in a Vacuum (c)

Speed of light in a medium (V)

The ratio of the speed of light in a vacuum,
to the speed of light in a medium

The index of refraction for different mediums

Air/Vacuum: 1.00

Water: 1.33

Glass: 1.52

Diamond: 2.42

Total Internal Reflection

Critical Angle

The angle of the incident ray when the
angle of refraction is 90*

Occurs when the angle of incidence is
greater than the critical angle

Only happens when light is transfering from a medium with
a greater index of refraction, to a medium with a lower index of refraction