Printable Geometrical Optics flash cards
38 words
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| angle of deviation |
angle between direction of refracted and incident rays when light ray goes from one medium to other |
| brewster's angle |
polarization effect on light reflected at specific angle from transparent medium |
| compound microscope |
optical instrument for forming magnified images of small objects |
| concave mirror |
mirror with inward curved surface |
| converging lens |
lens that converts parallel rays of light to convergent rays and produces real image |
| convex mirrors |
mirror with outward curved surface |
| critical angle |
angle of incidence for which refracted rays emerge tangent to surface separating two media |
| diffuse reflection |
reflection of light from surface in which the incident ray is reflected at many angles |
| dispersion |
variation of the index of refraction of a transparent substance |
| diverging lens |
lens that causes a beam of parallel rays to diverge after refraction |
| eyepiece |
lens in an optical instrument through which the eye views the image formed by the objective lens |
| focal length |
distance from a focal point of a lens or mirror to the corresponding principal plane |
| focal point |
point on the axis of optical system to which parallel rays of light converge or diverge |
| incident angle |
measure of the incoming ray to the normal |
| incident ray |
original beam of light which strikes a surface |
| index of refraction |
number indicating the speed of light in a given medium |
| law of reflection |
contends when light ray is reflected from smooth surface reflection angle equals angle of incidence |
| mirror equation |
determines distances from object to mirror, image to mirror and of the focal length |
| objective |
element which gathers light from object and focuses the light rays to make a real image |
| opaque |
impenetrable to light |
| optical axis |
line passing through geometrical center of lens joining two centers of curvature of its surfaces |
| optical lenses |
device with axial symmetry which refracts light at its interfaces |
| plane mirrors |
mirror with flat reflective surface |
| plane of incidence |
plane determined by ray incident on surface and normal at point where incident ray strikes surface |
| prism |
transparent solid body used for dispersing light into a spectrum or reflecting rays of light |
| radius of curvature |
absolute value of reciprocal of curvature at a point on curve |
| ray |
any of the lines or streams in which light appears to radiate from a luminous body |
| ray diagram |
tool to find path taken by light from an object to the mirror to human eyes |
| real image |
representation of object with a perceived location that's actually a point of convergence of light |
| reflected angle |
measure of the outgoing ray to the normal |
| reflected ray |
beam of light after it's reflected off a surface |
| reflection |
return of light, heat, sound, etc., after striking a surface |
| refracted ray |
beam of light extending forward from point of refraction after it's transmitted through surface |
| snell's law |
relation between path taken by light ray crossing between two substances and refractive index |
| spectrum |
array of entities ordered in accordance with magnitudes of common physical property |
| total internal reflection |
reflection of light ray at boundary of two media when ray is in medium with greater refractive index |
| transparent |
property of transmitting rays of light through its substance |
| virtual image |
image in which reflected rays from point on object diverge |
| angle of deviation |
angle between direction of refracted and incident rays when light ray goes from one medium to other |
| brewster's angle |
polarization effect on light reflected at specific angle from transparent medium |
| compound microscope |
optical instrument for forming magnified images of small objects |
| concave mirror |
mirror with inward curved surface |
| converging lens |
lens that converts parallel rays of light to convergent rays and produces real image |
| convex mirrors |
mirror with outward curved surface |
| critical angle |
angle of incidence for which refracted rays emerge tangent to surface separating two media |
| diffuse reflection |
reflection of light from surface in which the incident ray is reflected at many angles |
| dispersion |
variation of the index of refraction of a transparent substance |
| diverging lens |
lens that causes a beam of parallel rays to diverge after refraction |
| eyepiece |
lens in an optical instrument through which the eye views the image formed by the objective lens |
| focal length |
distance from a focal point of a lens or mirror to the corresponding principal plane |
| focal point |
point on the axis of optical system to which parallel rays of light converge or diverge |
| incident angle |
measure of the incoming ray to the normal |
| incident ray |
original beam of light which strikes a surface |
| index of refraction |
number indicating the speed of light in a given medium |
| law of reflection |
contends when light ray is reflected from smooth surface reflection angle equals angle of incidence |
| mirror equation |
determines distances from object to mirror, image to mirror and of the focal length |
| objective |
element which gathers light from object and focuses the light rays to make a real image |
| opaque |
impenetrable to light |
| optical axis |
line passing through geometrical center of lens joining two centers of curvature of its surfaces |
| optical lenses |
device with axial symmetry which refracts light at its interfaces |
| plane mirrors |
mirror with flat reflective surface |
| plane of incidence |
plane determined by ray incident on surface and normal at point where incident ray strikes surface |
| prism |
transparent solid body used for dispersing light into a spectrum or reflecting rays of light |
| radius of curvature |
absolute value of reciprocal of curvature at a point on curve |
| ray |
any of the lines or streams in which light appears to radiate from a luminous body |
| ray diagram |
tool to find path taken by light from an object to the mirror to human eyes |
| real image |
representation of object with a perceived location that's actually a point of convergence of light |
| reflected angle |
measure of the outgoing ray to the normal |
| reflected ray |
beam of light after it's reflected off a surface |
| reflection |
return of light, heat, sound, etc., after striking a surface |
| refracted ray |
beam of light extending forward from point of refraction after it's transmitted through surface |
| snell's law |
relation between path taken by light ray crossing between two substances and refractive index |
| spectrum |
array of entities ordered in accordance with magnitudes of common physical property |
| total internal reflection |
reflection of light ray at boundary of two media when ray is in medium with greater refractive index |
| transparent |
property of transmitting rays of light through its substance |
| virtual image |
image in which reflected rays from point on object diverge |
