General Physics 2 NOTES

(4th Quarter)

Gauss’s Law for electrostatics states that the electric flux through a surface is proportional to the total electric charged
enclosed by the surface. It is analogous to Ampere’s Law. In the same manner, the total magnetic flux through a closed
surface is proportional to the “magnetic charge” enclosed by the surface. However, no monopole is found to exist. Poles
always come as dipoles. In addition, magnetic field lines form closed loops, that is, every field line that enters always
exits through the surface. Therefore, the magnetic flux through a closed surface is always zero. This statement is called
Gauss’s law for magnetism.

IF a bar magnet is broken and divided into two pieces, there is a magnetic attractive force between the broken pieces.

Figure 1

In figure 1 above, a point charge +q C is moving at a velocity of V m/s towards the North. Magnetic field B is shown. The
direction of the charge is towards the West.

A wire has a conventional current I directed to the right. At the instant shown in figure 2, an electron has a velocity
directed to the left. The magnetic force on the electron at this instant is directed towards the bottom of the page.

Figure 2

A current-carrying wire is in a B-field. The wire is oriented to the B-field as shown in figure 3. What is the
direction of the magnetic force on the wire? Answer: out of the page

Figure 3
The magnetic field inside a solenoid of length l is B. A second solenoid has twice as many turns as the
first one and is the same length. Both solenoids have the same current passing through them. The
magnetic field inside the second solenoid is twice the magnetic field (2B).
Faraday’s 2nd Law states that the magnitude of the emf induced is directly proportional to rate of change of
flux.

The potential energy of a test charge increases when moved from a lower potential point to a higher
potential point.

When a conductor is moved through a magnetic field a voltage is always induced. The rate at which the
conductor is moved is always proportional to the amount of induced voltage.

A current generated in a conductor by a changing magnetic field is proportional to the rate of change of the
magnetic field. This effect is called INDUCTANCE. The following conditions will increase the inductance of a
coil:
(a) When the number of turns of the coil increases.
(b) When more area of each turn is provided.
(c) When permeability of the core increases.

A RESISTOR is a circuit element responsible for damping in an RLC series circuit.

Maxwell’s equations are physical laws that govern the relationship of electric and magnetic field. It describes
the integration of two fundamental forces: Electricity and Magnetism.

Electromagnetic induction is the process of inducing a voltage or current by a change in magnetic flux.
Faraday’s law states that the induced voltage is equal to the rate of change of the magnetic flux. Lenz’s law
states that the induced current flows in a direction opposing the change that causes it.
Faraday’s law is applied in the operation of a generator, a motor, and a transformer. A generator converts
mechanical energy to electrical energy. A motor is a generator operating in reverse. A transformer either
increases or decreases an input voltage.
When the current in coil changes, an electromotive force is induced in the coil and in nearby coil.

The oscillation in an LC circuit is analogous to simple harmonic motion of a mass attached to a spring. If a
resistor is connected, the oscillation maybe underdamped, overdamped, or critically damped.

The resistance to the flow of an alternating current is called impedance. This depends on the resistance,
inductive reactance, and capacitive reactance.

EM waves or electromagnetic waves are waves that are created as a result of vibrations between an electric
field and a magnetic field. The order of electromagnetic radiation with increasing frequency is Radio Waves,
IR Radiation, Visible Light, UV Radiation, X-Rays, γ –Rays. The main difference between an infrared and
visible light is that they have different wavelengths.
Electromagnetic waves are transverse waves formed by oscillating electric and magnetic fields. Maxwell’s
equations predict the existence of electromagnetic waves. Heinrich Hertz was able to prove Maxwell’s
prediction through his discovery of radio waves.

Electromagnetic waves have a common speed c in a vacuum equal to 3 x 108 m/s.

When ultraviolet light reflects from a violet surface, we can see the color black.

OPTICS is the study of light and its properties. Optics is categorized as geometric optics and wave optics. In
geometric optics, light is modeled as a ray. In wave optics, light is modeled as a wave.

When light passes from one medium to another, it is partly reflected and partly refracted. Reflection and
refraction are two major aspects of geometric optics.

For refracted light rays, the angle of refraction can be less than, greater than or equal to the angle of
incidence.

Unpolarized light passes through a polarizer-analyzer combination. What must be the angle between the
transmission of a polarizer and of an analyzer for the intensity of the transmitted light to be 0.5 of its original
value? Answer: 45 ˚

Diffraction is the bending of light around an obstacle and the subsequent spreading of light waves into the
region behind the obstacle. The obstacle may be a slit, wire, hole, strands of hair, feather, strings,
straightedge, or razor blade. When the lens produces light rays that are parallel, the image is non-existent.
Reflection is the bouncing back of light after hitting a surface into the original medium where it has been
traveling.
For total internal reflection to occur, light must pass from a denser medium to a less dense medium, and the
angle of incidence must be greater than the critical angle.
Refraction is responsible when a light beam changes its direction when it strikes a boundary between the air
and water.
The index of refraction of a material medium is the ratio of the speed of light in vacuum to the speed of light in
the material medium.
Dispersion is the breaking down of light into its component colors when light passes through a prism.
Light is said to be polarized if its vibrations are confined to a single plane. Polarization shows that light is a
transverse wave.
As light moves from one medium to another, both energy and frequency remain constant.

A lens is any piece of transparent material having at least one spherical surface. A lens which is thicker at the
middle is a convex lens; a lens thicker at the edge is a concave lens. The images formed by a concave lens
are virtual, upright, and smaller than the object. The type of image formed by a convex lens depends on the
distance of the object from the lens.

The image formed by a concave mirror depends on the object’s distance from the mirror. It may be virtual or
real; upright or inverted; and smaller, same size, or bigger than the object.
The image formed by a convex mirror is always virtual, upright, and smaller than the object.
Convex mirrors and concave lens diverge light rays.
For a normal eye, the image of an object seen is formed at the retina. The image is relayed to the brain by
optic nerves. The range of vision for a normal eye is 25 cm to infinity. The near point of the eye is at 25 cm,
while the far point is at infinity.
Vision defects include myopia or nearsightedness, hyperopia or farsightedness, presbyopia, and astigmatism.
They are corrected by diverging lens, converging lens, bifocals, and cylindrical lens.
A camera is a mechanical eye.
A simple magnifier is a converging lens that forms a virtual, enlarged, and upright image of an object at a
distance less than its focal length.
A microscope is an instrument used to see objects that are too small to be seen by the naked eye.
A telescope is a device that enables one to see distant objects. There are two types of telescope: refracting
and reflecting.
Ray diagrams may be drawn to determine the characteristics of an image produced from a lens or mirror.
It is difficult to see the roadway from a car during a rainy night because the road surface that is normally a
diffuse deflector when dry becomes a mirror surface when wet.
A candle is placed in front of a concave mirror. The image produced by the mirror is real, inverted and
demagnefied.

If you stand in front of a concave mirror, you will not see your image because there is none.

With the image below, the characteristic of the image for an object placed beyond the focal length with the lens will be
virtual, smaller, and upright.

Sometimes when you look into a curved mirror you see a magnified image (a great big you) and sometimes
you see a diminished image (a little you). If you look at the bottom (convex) side of a shiny spoon, you will see
a little you, a little side up.

A convex lens has a focal length f. An object is placed between infinity and 2f from the lens on its axis. The
image will be formed at location f.

A lamp is placed 1 m from a screen. Between the lamp and the screen is placed a converging lens of focal
length 24 cm. The filament of the lamp can be imaged on the screen. As the lens position is varied with
respect to the lamp, the image seen when the lens is either 40 cm from the lamp or 60 cm from the lamp is
sharp.
A MIRROR is any smooth reflecting surface which is capable of producing images by specular reflection of
light. Mirrors maybe plane or spherical. Plane mirrors have flat surfaces. Spherical mirrors may be thought of
as a portion of a reflecting sphere. It is concave if the reflecting surface is the outer portion of the sphere. A
shiny spoon maybe considered a double-sided mirror; concave mirror in front and convex at the back.
Characteristics of an image formed by a plane mirror:
(1) virtual and upright relative to the object
(2) same size as the object, that is the height of the object b, is equal to the height of the image b
(3) same distance as the object from the mirror but behind it, that is, the distance of the object from the mirror
is equal to the distance of the image from the mirror
(4) laterally reversed (the right becomes the left and the left becomes the right)

❑
Sin θ = n for bright hinges
d
1
Sin θ = (n + ) for dark hinges
2 d

Example 9.1 A double-slit experiment is performed using light wavelength 664 nm. The distance between the
slits is 1.2 nm, and the screen is located 2.5 from the slits. Find the (a)angle that locates the third order bright
fringe on the screen, (b)distance between the central bright fringe and the third order bright fringe, and
(c)distance between the second and third order bright fringe.
Given:  = 664 nm = 664 x 10-9 m; d =1.2 mm = 1.2 x 10-3 m L = 2.5 m
❑
a) Sin θ = n
d
n
θ = sin-1 ( ¿
d
= sin-1 3 ¿664 x 10-9 m)/ 1.2 x 10-3
θ = 0.095o
nL
b) Y3 = = {3(2.5m)(664x10-9m)}/ (1.2x10-3m) = 4.15x10-3 m ≈ 4.2 x10-3 m
d
nL
c) Y2 = = {2(2.5m)( 664x10-9m)} / (1.2x10-3m) = 2.767 x10-3 m ≈ 2.8 x10-3 m
d
Therefore, Y3- Y2 = (4.15 x 10-3m) – (2.767 x10-3 m) = 1.383 x10-3 m ≈ 1.4 x10-3 m

Interference occurs when light waves combine. Interference may be constructive or destructive.

In Young’s double-slit experiment, light passes through a narrow slit and produces an interference pattern consisting of
alternating dark and bright fringes. The bright fringes are the results of constructive interference; the dark fringes result
from destructive interference.

Diffraction is the bending of light around obstacles or edges of an opening. It involves interference of light coming from
different parts of the same slit.

A diffraction is a piece of glass or plastic consisting a large number of closely spaced parallel slits.

Q: if the wavelength of the light passing through the slits is doubled, the distance from the central maximum to the first
maximum will be___________. ANS: 1.2 m

Practice 8.31: How far from a convex lens of focal length 25.0 cm must an object be placed to produce an image that is
upright and magnified twice?

di
m=2= - = di = -2do
do
1 1 1
= + =
f do −2 do
1 2−1
cm = do = 12.5 cm ≈ 13 cm
25 2 do
Practice 8.32: What is the resulting focal length and power if two thin lenses of focal length +25cm and -50 cm are in
contact?

1 1 1 2−1
= - =
f 25 cm 50 cm 50 cm
f = 50 cm

P = 1/ f = 1/ 0.5 m = 2D