A report on Light, Optics and Refractive index

A triangular prism dispersing a beam of white light. The longer wavelengths (red) and the shorter wavelengths (blue) are separated.

$A ray of light being refracted in a plastic block$

The electromagnetic spectrum, with the visible portion highlighted

$Refraction of a light ray$

Alhazen (Ibn al-Haytham), "the father of Optics"

$Thomas Young coined the term index of refraction.$

Beam of sun light inside the cavity of Rocca ill'Abissu at Fondachelli-Fantina, Sicily

$Reproduction of a page of Ibn Sahl's manuscript showing his knowledge of the law of refraction.$

$Diamonds have a very high refractive index of 2.417.$

$Due to refraction, the straw dipped in water appears bent and the ruler scale compressed when viewed from a shallow angle.$

The first treatise about optics by Johannes Kepler, Ad Vitellionem paralipomena quibus astronomiae pars optica traditur (1604)

$A split-ring resonator array arranged to produce a negative index of refraction for microwaves$

Hong Kong illuminated by colourful artificial lighting.

Cover of the first edition of Newton's Opticks (1704)

$In optical mineralogy, thin sections are used to study rocks. The method is based on the distinct refractive indices of different minerals.$

$Geometry of reflection and refraction of light rays$

$Light of different colors has slightly different refractive indices in water and therefore shows up at different positions in the rainbow.$

$In a prism, dispersion causes different colors to refract at different angles, splitting white light into a rainbow of colors.$

$Thomas Young's sketch of a double-slit experiment showing diffraction. Young's experiments supported the theory that light consists of waves.$

Illustration of Snell's Law for the case n1 < n2, such as air/water interface

$The variation of refractive index with wavelength for various glasses. The shaded zone indicates the range of visible light.$

A ray tracing diagram for a converging lens.

The colors of a soap bubble are determined by the optical path length through the thin soap film in a phenomenon called thin-film interference.

$Refraction of light at the interface between two media of different refractive indices, with n2 > n1. Since the phase velocity is lower in the second medium (v2 < v1), the angle of refraction θ2 is less than the angle of incidence θ1; that is, the ray in the higher-index medium is closer to the normal.$

Images of black letters in a thin convex lens of focal length f are shown in red. Selected rays are shown for letters E, I and K in blue, green and orange, respectively. Note that E (at 2f) has an equal-size, real and inverted image; I (at f) has its image at infinity; and K (at f/2) has a double-size, virtual and upright image.

Total internal reflection can be seen at the air-water boundary.

When oil or fuel is spilled, colourful patterns are formed by thin-film interference.

$The power of a magnifying glass is determined by the shape and refractive index of the lens.$

Conceptual animation of light dispersion through a prism. High frequency (blue) light is deflected the most, and low frequency (red) the least.

$The relation between the refractive index and the density of silicate and borosilicate glasses$

Dispersion: two sinusoids propagating at different speeds make a moving interference pattern. The red dot moves with the phase velocity, and the green dots propagate with the group velocity. In this case, the phase velocity is twice the group velocity. The red dot overtakes two green dots, when moving from the left to the right of the figure. In effect, the individual waves (which travel with the phase velocity) escape from the wave packet (which travels with the group velocity).

$A calcite crystal laid upon a paper with some letters showing double refraction$

Birefringent materials can give rise to colors when placed between crossed polarizers. This is the basis for photoelasticity.

$A gradient-index lens with a parabolic variation of refractive index (n) with radial distance (x). The lens focuses light in the same way as a conventional lens.$

$The principle of many refractometers$

A polariser changing the orientation of linearly polarised light. In this picture, θ1 – θ0 = θi.

$A handheld refractometer used to measure the sugar content of fruits$

The effects of a polarising filter on the sky in a photograph. Left picture is taken without polariser. For the right picture, filter was adjusted to eliminate certain polarizations of the scattered blue light from the sky.

A differential interference contrast microscopy image of yeast cells

Experiments such as this one with high-power lasers are part of the modern optics research.

Model of a human eye. Features mentioned in this article are 1. vitreous humour 3. ciliary muscle, 6. pupil, 7. anterior chamber, 8. cornea, 10. lens cortex, 22. optic nerve, 26. fovea, 30. retina

The Ponzo Illusion relies on the fact that parallel lines appear to converge as they approach infinity.

Illustrations of various optical instruments from the 1728 Cyclopaedia

A colourful sky is often due to scattering of light off particulates and pollution, as in this photograph of a sunset during the October 2007 California wildfires.

Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it.

- Optics

In optics, the refractive index ( refraction index) of an optical medium is a dimensionless number that gives the indication of the light bending ability of that medium.

- Refractive index

The study of light, known as optics, is an important research area in modern physics.

- Light

where θ1 is the angle between the ray and the surface normal in the first medium, θ2 is the angle between the ray and the surface normal in the second medium and n1 and n2 are the indices of refraction, n = 1 in a vacuum and n > 1 in a transparent substance.

- Light

is the refractive index of the second material.

- Optics

A report on Light, Optics and Refractive index

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