جامعة الفرات الاوسط التقنية
املعهد التقين /النجف
تقنيات حفص البرص
امس املادة :الفزيايء البرصية
Optical physics
احملارضة الاوىل :كيف ينتقل الضوء يف العي
How dose light travel in the eye
املرحةل :الاوىل
اعداد :د .رنمي محمد عباس
Optical physics First lecture
The Eye & Vision
The human eye achieves vision by forming an image that stimulates nerve
endings, creating the sensation of sight. Like a camera, the eye consists of an aperture
and lens system at the front, and a light-sensitive surface at the back. Light enters
the eye through the aperture- lens system, and is focused on the back wall. The lens
system consists of two lenses: the corneal lens on the front surface of the eye, and
the crystalline lens inside the eye. The space between the lenses is filled with a
transparent fluid called the aqueous humor. Also between the lenses is the iris, an
opaque, colored membrane. At the center of the iris is the pupil, a muscle-controlled,
variable- diameter hole, or aperture, which controls the amount of light that enters
the eye. The interior of the eye behind the crystalline lens is filled with a colorless,
transparent material called the vitreous humor. On the back wall of the eye is the
retina, a membrane containing light-sensitive nerve cells known as rods and cones.
Rods are very sensitive to low light levels, but provide us only with low-resolution,
black-and-white vision. Cones allow us to see in color at higher resolution, but they
require higher light levels. The fovea, a small area near the center of the retina,
contains only cones and is responsible for the most acute vision. Signals from the
rods and cones are carried by nerve fibers to the optic nerve, which leads to the brain.
The optic nerve connects to the back of the eye; there are no light-sensitive cells at
the point where it attaches, resulting in a blind spot.
The Refraction of Light by the Eye
Light entering the eye is first bent, or refracted, by the cornea -- the clear window
on the outer front surface of the eyeball. The cornea provides most of the eye's
optical power or light bending ability. After the light passes through the cornea, it is
bent again -- to a more finely adjusted focus -- by the crystalline lens inside the eye.
The lens focuses the light on the retina. This is achieved by the ciliary muscles in
Optical physics First lecture
the eye. They change the shape of the lens, bending or flattening it to focus the light
rays on the retina. This adjustment in the lens is necessary for bringing near and far
objects into focus. The process of bending light to produce a focused image on the
retina is called "refraction". Ideally, the light is "refracted" in such a manner that the
rays are focused into a precise image on the retina. Many vision problems occur
because of an error in how the eyes refract light. In nearsightedness (myopia), the
light rays form an image in front of the retina. In farsightedness (hyperopia), the rays
focus behind the retina. In astigmatism, the cornea is shaped like a football instead
of a baseball. This causes light rays to focus on more than one plane, so that a single
clear image cannot be formed on the retina. As we age, we find reading or
performing close-up activities more difficult. This condition is called presbyopia,
and it results from the crystalline lens loosing flexibility, and therefore the ability to
bend light.
Spherical Refracting Surfaces:
A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound
lens consists of several simple lenses (elements), usually arranged along a
Optical physics First lecture
common axis. Lenses are made from materials such as glass or plastic. A lens can
focus light to form an image, unlike a prism, which refracts light without focusing.
Devices that similarly focus or disperse waves and radiation other than visible light
are also called lenses.
Lenses are used in various imaging devices like telescopes and cameras. They are
also used as visual aids in glasses to correct defects of vision such
as myopia and hyperopia.
Types Of Thin Lenses
The classification of a lens depends on how the light rays bend when they pass
through the lens. The two main types of lenses are:
• Convex Lens (Converging)
• Concave Lens (Diverging)
A transparent material bound by two surfaces, of which one or both surfaces are
spherical, forms a lens. This means that a lens is bound by at least one spherical
surface. In such lenses, the other surface would be plane. A lens may have two
spherical surfaces, bulging outwards. Such a lens is called a double convex lens. It
is simply called a convex lens. It is thicker at the middle as compared to the edges.
Convex lens converges light rays as shown in Fig
Optical physics First lecture
Double concave lens is bounded by two spherical surfaces, curved inwards. It is
thicker at the edges than at the middle. Such lenses diverge light rays as shown in
Fig. Such lenses are also called diverging lenses. A double concave lens is simply
called a concave lens.
FOCAL POINTS AND FOCAL LENGTHS
Diagrams showing the refraction of light by convex lens and by concave lens are
given in figure. The axis in each case is a straight line through the geometrical center
of the lens and perpendicular to the two faces at the points of intersection. For
spherical lenses this line which joins the centers of curvature of the two surfaces.
Optical physics First lecture
Ray diagrams shown in the figure illustrates the primary and secondary focal points
F and F' and the corresponding focal lengths f and f' of thin lenses.
The primary focal point (F) of convex lens: an axial point having the property that
any ray coming from it , travels parallel to the axis after refraction.
The secondary focal point (F') of convex lens: an axial point having the property that
any incident ray traveling parallel to the axis will, after refraction, proceed toward.
The primary focal point (F) of concave lens: an axial point having the property that
any ray proceeding toward it travels parallel to the axis after refraction.
The secondary focal point (F') of concave lens: an axial point having the property
that any incident ray traveling parallel to the axis will, after refraction, appear to
come from, F'.
Focal length: The distance between the center of a lens and either of its focal points,
these distances denoted by f and f ' in the below figure.
lens equations :
1) 1/f =1/O+ 1/i , (Gaussian law for thin lens )
Optical physics First lecture
(f is always negative for concave lens , and always positive for convex lens
2) Magnification , m = - i/ o = hi/ ho, (m, hi : negative for inverted image and
positive for upright image ) , (m >1 / the image larger than object )
(m<1/ the image smaller than object , m =1/ the image in the same size with object)
3)O is always positive if the object in front of lens , i positive for real image and
negative for virtual image
