binoculars

Optics

Light is an electromagnetic wave, and can reflect, refract, and diffract. By understanding how light (and other waves) behave at interfaces and boundaries, we can not only understand a wide variety of natural phenomena, but also harness these waves for use in a variety of applications, ranging from eye glasses, binoculars and telescopes to manufacturing, medicine, and microelectronics!

 

Objectives

  1. Explain the law of reflection.
  2. Analyze the behavior of plane and curved mirrors.
  3. Understand and apply Snell’s law.
  4. Calculate the index of refraction in a medium.
  5. Determine the critical angle for an interface.
  6. Analyze the behavior of convex and concave lenses.
  7. Relate the diffraction of light to its wave characteristics.
  8. Describe Young’s double-slit experiment.
  9. Recognize characteristics of EM waves and determine the type of EM wave based on its characteristics.

Topics of Study

  1. Reflection
  2. Refraction
  3. Diffraction
  4. Electromagnetic Spectrum

 

Video Tutorials

  1. Reflection
  2. Refraction
  3. Diffraction
  4. Electromagnetic Spectrum