Optics Definition and 999 Threads

I'm taking a junior course on optics. The professor said it would be up to us to find a textbook to use. For this course the prerequisites are E&M (Griffiths level), classical mechanics (Morin level), and multivariable calculus. Anyone have recommendations on a textbook for this class? Course...

Homework Statement Homework Equations I know that yin = 0.7mm, y2 = 0mm, the index of refraction for the sphere is 1.8 and the indices of refraction for the air surrounding it is 1. The Attempt at a Solution Not sure how to even begin with the given information. I was thinking I could...

How do we use Fermat's principle of least time to explain the required shapes of lenses and mirrors?

The question posed: "An object is located to the right of a mirror that in concave in its [the object's] direction. If the object sits on the focal point of the mirror, what answer best describes the image formed?" Our class is united in the notion that as the rays would be parallel...

Homework Statement An object and its lens-produced real image are 2.4 m apart. If the lens has 55-cm focal length, what are the possible values for the object distance? Homework Equations 1/s+1/s'=1/f The Attempt at a Solution The object and the image are 2.4m apart so I thought "Hey, that...

So, I'm about to take an Optics exam, and while I can easily do most of the last years' exam problems, there are some which I cannot solve for different reasons (perhaps some gross oversight?). Yesterday I stumbled upon this: 1. Homework Statement (my own translation from Catalan) We have a...

Does anyone know how much undergraduate E&M you need to know in order to do well in a graduate engineering Optics course? Is it an absolute pre-requisite?

To make a hologram a film is exposed to an incident plane wave and wave from the object to record the interference pattern on the film. The principle is commonly explained in a way like that in p.1212 of "University Physics" (...

Hi guys, I'm trying to understand why does the amplitude of the electric field operator in a cavity is fixed at \left ( \displaystyle\frac{\hbar\omega}{\epsilon_{0}V} \right )^\frac{1}{2} Every book I read says it is a normalization factor... but, normalizing an operator?, what is the meaning...

To increase the resolution of an instrument, smaller wavelength and larger aperture is desirable. It is mentioned in some textbooks that the "effective" diameter of a telescope can be increased by using arrays of smaller telescopes. I just wonder why it is possible because every telescope is...

guys i want a book where i can find questions on geometric optics especially for questions based on locating position of mirror by ray diagram when only object and image are given? I have already found 2 questions in I.E. Irodov but i want more so please suggest other books..... thnx

a concave mirror of 5cm radius of curvature whose circular ring has a radius of 4cm is blackened except for a narrow strip round the edge. A beam of light parallel to the principal axis falls on the mirror. Find the distance between the centre of curvature of mirror and the point at which light...

Hi https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathematical_descriptions_of_opacity it is mentioned above that "in non attenuating media, the refractive index and angular wavenumber are related by: A complex refractive index can therefore be defined in terms of the complex angular wavenumber defined...

Hi I am Ali, Liaquat. i am doing my PhD at University of Melbourne at Department of Electrical and electronics Engineering, my majors is optics and photonics. I am currently working in optical fiber communication.

Today I was presented with dispersion in my introductory physics class. Before this topic was presented we were told of two important rules for waves: 1) The speed of a wave is dependent on the medium in which it travels and 2) the frequency of wave does not change when going from one medium to...

I am trying to follow the derivation of lens maker's formula from the textbook "University Physics", p.1133 (https://books.google.com.hk/books?id=nQZyAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA1133#v=onepage&q&f=false ) I can understand the first equation because it is just the object–image relationship for spherical...

I know Astrophysics uses concepts like relativity etc. But I want to know does it uses wave optics or geometrical optics? The phenomenon of light,wave optics(reflection,refraction,polarization,diffraction and interference) that we see everyday, is used in Astrophysics? Or does it uses...

This is no homework; but I cannot work it out so I assume one of my assumption is off... no matter how much I looked at it I can't get to the textbook answer. I tried searching (Google is my friend); I got to Prof. Burge's wonderful lectures slides (Arizona.edu) but he follows a different path...

Hello, (I am new here, so hopefully this is the right location to ask my question. please let me know if there is more relevant forum) I am trying to understand 2 situations: A) I have an object, lens and a detector. The detector is at the focal plane of the lens. I am reducing the aperture...

Homework Statement http://i.imgur.com/q6EaspT.png 2. The attempt at a solution why is the answer C? shouldn't the aperture in front of the screen create a shadow that blocks all the light except the rays that go through slit? (the width of the slit is >>>1mm so it won't make a diffraction pattern.)

Considering a plane wave propagating in one specific direction, does its wave vector dependent on a certain point in the plane wave or is it dependent on a certain point on a plane parallel to the wave?

Hey everybody, I'm right now trying to solve a question I found in a German physics competition 2006 concerning the diameter of a thin camera lens. I'm not able to find a solution, since there is basically nothing given. Here the task (I underlined phrases which might be important): A ruler...

I am a rising senior at a small liberal arts college, with an incredibly small (and therefore unrecognized) physics program. I am seeking advice regarding which Ph.D programs are within my reach. I plan on applying to AMO (Atomic, Molecular, and Optics) Ph.D programs with the intention of...

Homework Statement i need to couple a ray (point source 15 deg) into a fiber with a small core diameter, the fiber located 8cm from the source. the focal distance of the lens is 1.5cm i need to choose 2 possible locations Homework EquationsThe Attempt at a Solution first suggestion: i placed...

Let's say I have a linearly polarized laser beam, and I focus it to a small spot using a parabolic mirror. Does the light retain its polarization at the focal point? Why or why not? I understand that flat mirrors and concave/convex mirrors preserve linear polarization, and I would like to make...

I'm revising for a uni exam with past exam papers, and have gotten stuck on the details of dispersion. The two exam questions prompting this are a) What is the physical reason why the index of refraction for blue light is bigger than that of red light? and b) Explain how dispersion makes a...

Hello folks, I'm looking for a free programme to play with caustics/cusps. Does anyone know where I can find one? If not does anyone have any suggestions as to how to write a script for one in gfortran? Preferably all I'm after is a way to make quick plots of cusps in 2D. Cheers and thanks a...

Hi. As you can see in the video attached, the image of the street is projected on the ceiling! Only a window glass and a simple curtain is involved. How does this happen? And how can I optimize (the window angle curtain etc) to get the most clear picture?

Hello I have an optic problem I want to calculate absorbtion index I know transmittance by 90% ;refraction index to material 1.586 ; thickness 2 mm ; power of source 21 lm

Homework Statement Light falls on the surface AB of a rectangular slab from air. Determine the smallest refractive index n that the material of the slab can have so that all incident light emerges from the opposite face CD. Homework EquationsThe Attempt at a Solution Let's think about this...

Reflectance, according to the Fresnel Relations, is given by ##R \equiv \frac{I_r}{I_i}##, and Transmittance is ##T = \frac{I_t \cos \theta_t}{I_i \cos \theta_i}##. Do these values depend on the wavelength of light? For example, if I have a beam of white light rather than a monochromatic...

Hi all, the question which I'd like to share is the following: if you look at the formal theory of any random optics book for FP interferometer you will get to the formula of the FSR (Free Spectral Range), defined as "The wavelength separation between adjacent transmission peaks" (Wikipedia)...

Hello to all of you! This is my first post on this forum, though I have visited this site many times to learn from its wealth of information and insights. A bit about me, I just finished the second year of my undergraduate career and am looking forward to beginning my upper level physics...

Are the results of the Angular Spectrum Method and the Fourier Transform of a Fresnel Diffraction be different, or the same? Given the same distance between the input and output plane, and the same aperture.

I was given this equation: ##\frac{1}{\lambda f} e^{ikr^2f}##, where ##\lambda## is the wavelength of light and ##f## is the focal length of the lens. I was told that it is called the "lens phase", but I have no luck in finding it using Google. I suppose this is multiplied when a beam of...

Homework Statement A helium-neon laser ( ##\lambda =633nm##), is built with a glass tube of inside diameter 1.0mm. One mirror is partially transmitting to allow laser light out. From an optical perspective, the laser beam is a light wave that diffracts through a 1.0mm diameter circular...

In fluorescence microscopy, dichroic mirrors reflect light under a critical wavelength (used to excite the sample) and transmit light over a critical wavelength (emission light from the sample). Are there mirrors that reflect two different wavelengths of light and transmit the rest? Essentially...

I'm trying to simulate the Fresnel Diffraction in MatLab using the Fast Fourier Transform syntax. But I'm not getting really good diffraction patterns. Here is the code: %% Fourier Transform for G(p, q) g = layer.*exp(((1i*pi)/(lambda*z))*(r_obj)); G = fftshift(fft2(g)); %% Fourier Transform...

Considering this system (from Wikipedia), The Fresnel Diffraction at x, y, and z is ##E \left(x, y, z\right) = \frac{z}{i \lambda} \int \int^{+\infty}_{-\infty} E \left(x', y', 0\right) \frac{e^{ikr}}{r^2} dx' dy'## where ##r = \sqrt{\left(x - x'\right)^2 + \left(y - y'\right)^2 + z^2}##...

Homework Statement Consider an elliptically polarized beam of light propagating along the z axis for which the E field components at a fixed position z are: Ex = E0cos(ωt) and Ey = E0cos(ωt +φ) Find the major and minor axes of the ellipse in terms of E0 and φ and sketch the ellipse in the...

Homework Statement 2009 it was 400 years ago, Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) for the first time turned his home-built telescope to the sky, and for this reason is celebrated this year the International Year of Astronomy a group of astronomers, optical engineers and teachers developed a Galilean...

Hi! Assume paraxial rays. If I have a lens with a focal length ##f## and I place an object at the focal length to the left of the lens, the image will be at infinity. Correct? But will it be imaged in infinity to the left or right of the lens? If I am looking into the lens from the right I...

Homework Statement Basically, derive the formula ## m = \frac{ 25 cm}{f_e} \frac{L}{f_o} ## using ray matrices. This just has variable tube length and assumes eye to object distance is 25 cm. Homework Equations Ray matrices: ## \left[ \begin{array}{cc} 1 & d \\ 0 & 1 \end{array} \right] ##...

How do you know the shape (land altitude, roughness, etc.) of a specific location on Earth through a satellite? For example, if a specific place is covered by clouds is there a way to know the shape of the ground at this specific point? I have read through the absorption spectra of the...

Homework Statement A plane mirror is placed at the origin. A converging lens with a focal length of 5.00m is located at x=12.50m. A object is placed at x=22.5m Find the final location of the image in terms of its X coordinate & magnification. Homework Equations 1/q + 1/p = 1/f (lens)...

Homework Statement A fish 2cm long is floating in a spherical glass fishtank with radius 20cm. The glass is 0.8cm thick and has index of refraction n=1.56. The index of refraction of water is 1.33. Find the apparent position and length of the fish. Homework EquationsThe Attempt at a Solution I...

Homework Statement I need to find optical power (reciprocal focal length) of this system with thin lens Homework Equations I tried to solve this using spherical diopter equation n1/a+n2/b=(n2-n1)/R where a is object distance and b is image distance The Attempt at a Solution equation for...

Are there any real world uses for optical cavities. Optical (or laser Cavities) description: where lasers continually bounce off two reflecting mirrors.

I'm at wits end. I hate WileyPlus. Part A, B and C are correct. I cannot figure out what Part D is -- all of the answers I am getting are wrong. Homework Statement Homework EquationsThe Attempt at a Solution

Hi. A spherical wave ##e^{i(kr-\omega t)}## diverging from a single point ##(x=0,y=0,z=-z_0)## can be approximated as a parabolic wave in the paraxial case around the z-axis. I.e., ##k r = k \sqrt{x^2+y^2+z^2} \simeq k (z +\frac{x^2+y^2}{2z})##. OK, then let's say a lens is placed such that its...