Refraction

Rarer medium- A medium in which speed of light is more than that of

other medium is called optically rarer medium.
Denser medium- A medium in which speed of light is less than that of other
medium is called optically denser medium.

Refraction of light- The bending of a ray of light when it passes from one
medium to another is called refraction of light.

Interface- A plane surface seperating two different media is called interface.

Cause of Refraction- The cause of refraction of light is because of the fact

that speed of light is different in different media.
Laws of refraction-
1. The incident ray, the normal at the point of incidence and the refracted
ray , all lie in the same plane.
2. The frequency of light does not change when it travels from one medium
to another.
3. Snell’s law- For a pair of media, the ratio of sine of angle of incidence
to the sine of angle of refraction is constant.
 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑖
= 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡
𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑟
this constant is also known as refractive index of that medium.
𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑖
= 𝑛
𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑟
Refraction through Glass slab :- Consider a parallel side glass slab EFGH.
Let the incident ray strike the interface at point E. Draw the normal MEN at
E. then the ray of light AE (rarer to denser) on entering the glass will bend
towards its normal following the path EF. Now draw normal MN at F. After
that refracted ray FD (denser to rarer) will now come out from glass to air
moving away from its normal.

Observations- 1. The emergent ray is parallel to the incident ray because

angle of incidence is equal to angle of angle of emergence(i=e).
2. The perpendicular distance between the emergent ray and the actual path
of incident ray is called lateral displacement.
Factors on which lateral displacement depends–
1. Angle of incidence, i
2. Thickness of slab, t
3. Speed of light in glass, which depend upon the quality of glass
Special case- If a ray of light falls at 90° on a glass slab from air, it passes
straight without bending through the glass slab.
Example of refraction from daily life-
1. Twinkling of stars
2. A coin lying at the bottom of a container filled with water appears to be
raised.
3. A pencil dipped in water appears to be bent.
4. Bottom of a water tank appears to be raised.

Optical Density- The ability of a medium to refract light is called

Absolute refractive index- The ratio of speed of light in vacuum (or air) to
the speed of light in a medium is called the absolute refractive index.
𝑐
𝑛 =𝑣
** Refractive index is the ratio of same type of quantities so it has no unit.
Factors on which refractive index depends-
1. Nature of optical medium
2. Colour or wavelength of light
3. Temperature of medium

Refractive index of some media-

1. Air = 1.00033
2. Water = 1.33
3. Crown glass = 1.52
4. Flint glass = 1.65
5. Diamond = 2.42
6. Kerosine = 1.44
7. Ice = 1.31
Relative Refractive index- It is defined as the ratio of speed of light in
medium 1 to the speed of light in medium 2.
𝑉1
𝑛=
𝑉2

Refraction through spherical lens-

A lens is a transparent optical medium bounded by two spherical surfaces.

Types of lens-
1. Convex lens or converging lens- A lens which is thicker at the middle
and thinner at the edges is called a convex lens.
2. Concave lens or diverging lens- A lens which is thinner at the middle
and thicker at the edge is called a concave lens.

Terms used in lens:-

1. Optical centre- The point on the principal axis at the centre of the lens is
called the optical centre
2. Principal Axis- The principal axis is an imaginary line passing through
the centres of curvature and the pole.
3. Aperture- The area of the lens suitable for refraction is called aperture.
The aperture of the lens is the effective diameter of its light-transmitting
area.
4. Focus- When a parallel beam of light falls on a convex lens, it
converges to a point after refraction. This point F is called the focal
point or focus of a convex lens

5. Focal length- The distance between the focus and the optic center
is called the focal length of a lens.
 6. Centre of curvature- The centre of the spherical surface of which
the lens is a part is called the centre of curvature of lens.
7. Radius of curvature- The radius of the spherical surface of which
the lens is a part is called the radius of curvature of the lens. A lens
has two radii of curvature.
8. Focal plane - The imaginary plane passing through the focus of a
lens and perpendicular to the principal axis is called focal plane.

Rules for the formation of images in lenses-

1. Ray parallel to principal axis will pass through focus.
2. Ray passing through focus will become parallel to principal sxis.
3. Ray passing through optical centre will emerge without deviation.

Image formation by lenses-

Image formed by convex lens—
1. When object lies at infinity

● The image formed at – Focus (F2)

 ● The nature of the image formed – Real and inverted
● The size of the image formed – Diminished (smaller)
2. Object lies at beyond 2F

The image formed at – Between F2 and 2F2.

The nature of the image formed – Real and inverted

The size of the image formed – Diminished (smaller)

3. Object lies at 2F
The image formed at – C2 or 2F2.
The nature of the image formed – Real and inverted
The size of the image formed – Equal to the object size.

4. Object lies between F and 2F

The image formed – Behind the center of curvature (C2)
The nature of the image formed – Real and inverted
The size of the image formed – Enlarged

5. Object placed at focus

The image formed at – Infinity (opposite side of the object)

The nature of the image formed – Real and inverted
The size of the image formed – Enlarged
 6. Object between F and O

● The image formed – At the same side of the object behind 2F2.
● The nature of the image formed – Virtual and Erect.
● The size of the image formed – Enlarged
Image formation by concave lens
1. Object lying at infinity-

* The image formed at – Focus (F1)

* The nature of the image formed – Virtual and Erect
* The size of the image formed – Highly diminished
2. Object lying anywhere between O and infinity
 ● The image formed at – Between F1 and the optical center
● The nature of the image formed – Virtual and Erect
● The size of the image formed – Diminished
Uses of lenses-
● Convex lens- 1. Objective of a telescope
2. Lens of photocopying camera
3. Lens of projectors
4. Objective of microscope
5. Lens of thestre spotlights
6. Magnifying glass
7. Eye lens of many instruments
8. Spectecles for long sightedness
● Concave lens-
1. To correct eyesight of human beings who suffer from short
sightness.
2. In flashlight
3. In binoculars
4. In photography
5. In telescopes

Sign convention for lens-

Lens formula-

This formula denotes the relation between

1. Distance of object(u)
2. Distance of image(v)
3. Focal length(f)

𝟏 𝟏 𝟏
− = .
𝒗 𝒖 𝒇
Magnification:

1. The ratio of the height of an image (ℎi) to the height of an object (ℎo)
is defined as the magnification of a lens.
2. Also, magnification is equal to the ratio of image distance to that of
object distance.
3. The formula is

𝒉𝒊
𝒎= . Also,
𝒉𝒐
𝒗
𝒎 =
𝒖
Power of lens- It is the ability of lens to converge or diverge the rays of
light falling on it.
Power of a lens is equal to reciprocal of the focal length of the lens.

𝟏 𝟏𝟎𝟎
●𝑷= ,=
𝒇(𝒊𝒏 𝒎) 𝒇 (𝒊𝒏 𝒄𝒎)
● A lens having smaller focal length is more powerful.
● SI unit of power is dioptre (D).
● Power of lens is 1 dioptre if focal length of the lens is 1 metre.

1D = 1m-1

● A convex lens has positive power because its focal length is positive.
● A concave lens has a negative power because its focal length is
negative.
● Optician check the power of a lens with the help of an instrument
called Dioptremeter.

Combintion of lenses- To adjust the power of lenses, we can combine

lenses. Net power p of combination of lenses is given by the algebric sum
of their individual powers, i.e.

P= P1+P2+P3+P4+........