CHAPTER - 11

THE HUMAN EYE

AND THE
COLOURFUL WORLD

Class :- X
Subject :- Science
Name of Teacher
:- Mr. NABIN SIR
School
:- D.A.V PUBLIC SCHOOL,
THE HUMAN EYE
1a) The human eye :-
The human eye is the sense organ which helps us to see the
colourful world around us.
The human eye is like a camera. Its lens system forms an image on
a light sensitive screen called retina. The eye ball is almost spherical
in shape with a diameter of about 2.3cm. Light enters the eye through a
transparent membrane called cornea. Behind the cornea is a muscular
diaphragm called iris which has an opening called pupil. The pupil
controls the amount of light entering the eye. The eye lens helps to
focus the image of objects on the retina. The ciliary muscles helps to
change the curvature of the lens and to change its focal length.

b) Working of the eye :-

The eye lens forms a real inverted image of the object on the
retina. The light sensitive cells in the retina then produce electrical
signals which are carried by the optic nerves to the brain. The brain
processes the information and sends the message to the eye and then
we see the object.
c) Power of accomodation of the
eye :-

The ability of the eye lens to see both near and

distant objects by adjusting its focal length is
called the power of accommodation of the eye.
The eye lens is composed of a fibrous jelly like
material. Its curvature can be changed to some
extent by the ciliary muscles. The change in the
curvature of the eye lens can change its focal
length. When the muscles are relaxed, the lens
becomes thin and its focal length increases and
when the muscles contract, the lens becomes
thick and its focal length decreases.
d) Near point :-
The minimum distance at which the eye can
see objects clearly is called the near point or
least distance of distinct vision. For a normal
eye it is 25cm.
e) Far point :-
The farthest distance upto which the eye can
see objects clearly is called the far point of the
eye. For a normal eye it is between 25cm and
infinity.
2) Defects of vision and their correction :-
i) Myopia or near sightedness :-

Myopic eye

Correction using concave lens

Myopia is a defect of vision in which a person can see nearby

objects clearly but cannot see distant objects clearly because the
image is formed in front of the retina.
This may be due to:-
i) Increase in curvature of the eye lens
ii) Increase in the length of the eye ball
It can be corrected by using suitable concave lens.
ii) Hypermetropia or far sightedness :-

Hypermetropic eye

Correction using convex lens

Hypermetropia is a defect of vision in which a person can see

distant objects clearly but cannot see nearby objects clearly
because
the image is formed behind the retina.
This may be due to:-
i) Decrease in curvature of eye lens
ii) Decrease in the length of the eye ball
It can be corrected by using a suitable convex lens.
iii) Presbyopia :-
Presbyopia is a defect of vision in old people in
which they are not able to see nearby objects clearly due
to the increase in the distance of near point.

This is due to the weakening of the ciliary muscles

and decrease in the flexibility of the eye lens. It can be
corrected by using suitable convex lens.

Sometimes they are not able to see both nearby and

distant objects clearly. It can be corrected by using
bifocal lenses consisting of both concave and convex
lenses. The upper part is concave for correction of
distant vision and the lower part is convex for correction
of near vision.
4) Refraction of light through a glass prism :-

Glass prism
Angle of deviation
Normal D
i e Angle of emergence
r

Incident ray Emergent ray

Air Glass Glass Air

Refracted ray

When a ray of light passes through a glass prism, it gets

bent twice at the air- glass interface and glass- air interface.
The emergent ray is deviated by an angle to the incident
ray.This angle is called the angle of deviation.
5a) Dispersion of white light by a glass prism :-

R
O
Y
G
B Spectrum
I
Beam of white light
V

Glass prism

When a beam of white light is passed through a glass

prism, it is split up into a band of colours called spectrum.
This is called dispersion of white light. The spectrum of
white has the colours violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow,
orange and red (VIBGYOR). The red light bends the least
and the violet light bends the most.
b) Recombination of the spectrum of white light
produces white light :-

White light

R R R

V
White light V V

Glass prisms

When a beam of white light is passed through a glass

prism, it is split up into its component colours. When these
colours are allowed to fall on an inverted glass prism it
recombines to produce white light.
c) Rainbow formation :-
Raindrop
Sunlight

Refraction and dispersion

Internal reflection

Refraction
Red Violet

Observer

A rainbow is a natural spectrum appearing in the sky

after a rain shower. It is caused by the dispersion of
sunlight by water droplets present in the atmosphere. The
water droplets act like small prisms. They refract and
disperse the sunlight then reflect it internally and finally
refract it again when it comes out of the rain drops. Due to
the dispersion of sunlight and internal reflection by the
water droplets we see the rainbow colours.
6) Atmospheric refraction :-

Star Apparent position

Real position

Increasing
refractive index
of atmosphere
Eye

Atmospheric refraction is due to the gradual change in

the refractive index of the atmosphere. The refractive index
of the atmosphere gradually increases towards the surface
of the earth because the hot air above is less dense than
the cool air below. So light gradually bends towards the
normal. So the real position of a star is different from its
apparent position.
i) Twinkling of stars :-
The twinkling of stars is due to the atmospheric refraction
of star light and due to the changing in the position of the
stars and the movement of the layers of the atmosphere.
So the light from the stars is sometimes brighter and
sometimes fainter and it appears to twinkle.
Planets are closer to the earth than stars. The light from
stars are considered as point source of light and the light
from planets are considered as extended source of light.
So the light from the planets nullify the twinkling effect.
ii) Advance sunrise and delayed sunset :-
Apparent position Apparent position

Atmosphere
Horizon Horizon
Sunset Sunrise
Observer

Earth
Real position Real position

The sun is visible to us about 2 minutes before sunrise

and about two minutes after sunset due to atmospheric
refraction.
The apparent flattening of the sun’s disc at sunrise and
at sunset is also due to atmospheric refraction.
7) Scattering of light :-
i) Tyndall effect :-
When a beam of light passes through a colloidal solution, the path
of light becomes visible due to the scattering of light by the colloid
particles. This is known as Tyndall effect.
The earth’s atmosphere contains air molecules, water droplets, dust,
smoke etc. When sunlight passes through the atmosphere the path of
the light becomes visible due to the scattering of light by these
particles.
The colour of the scattered light depends upon the size of the
scattering particles. Very fine particles scatter blue light. Larger
particles scatter different colours of light.
ii) Why is the colour of the clear sky blue ?
The fine particles in the atmosphere have size smaller
than the wave length of visible light. They can scatter blue
light which has a shorter wave length than red light which
has a longer wave length. When sunlight passes through
the atmosphere, the fine particles in the atmosphere scatter
the blue colour more strongly than the red and so the sky
appears blue.
If the earth had no atmosphere there would not be any
scattering of light and the sky would appear dark. The sky
appears dark at very high altitudes.
iii) Colour of the sky at sunrise and sunset :-
Sun overhead

Blue light scattered away

Observer Atmosphere
Sun appears reddish
Sun near horizon Earth

At sunrise and at sunset the sun is near

the horizon and the light from the sun
travels through the thicker layers of the
atmosphere and longer distance through
the atmosphere. Near the horizon most of
the blue light and shorter wave lengths are
scattered away by the particles of the air
and the red light and longer wave lengths
reaches our eyes. So the sun appears
reddish at sunrise and sunset.
A student has difficulty reading the blackboard while
sitting in the last row. What could be the defect the child
is suffering from? How can it be corrected?

The student likely suffers from myopia,

commonly known as near-sightedness. In this
condition, distant objects appear blurry
because the eye’s shape causes light rays to
focus in front of the retina. To correct
this, concave (diverging) lenses are used in
glasses or contact lenses. These lenses help
by diverging light rays before they enter
the eye, ensuring they focus directly on the
retina. This correction enables clear vision
of distant objects like the blackboard12. If
the student wears glasses or contact lenses
with the appropriate concave lenses, they
can regain clear vision for distant objects,
which is crucial for academic performance
and comfort in the classroom
Do you know that our eyes can live even after our
death?

By donating our eyes after we die, we can light

the life of a blind person. About 35 million people
in the developing world are blind and most of
them can be cured. About 4.5 million people with
corneal blindness can be cured through corneal
transplantation of donated eyes. Out of these 4.5
million, 60% are children below the age of 12. So,
if we have got the gift of vision, why not pass it
on to somebody who does not have it? What do
we have to keep in mind when eyes have to be
donated?
1. Eye donors can belong to any age group or
sex. People who use spectacles, or those
operated for cataract, can still donate the eyes.
People who are diabetic, have hypertension,
asthma patients and those without
communicable diseases can also
MORE POINTS:-

2. Eyes must be removed within 4-6 hours after death.

Inform the nearest eye bank immediately.
3. The eye bank team will remove the eyes at the home of
the deceased or at a hospital.
3. Eye removal takes only 10-15 minutes. It is a simple
process and does not lead to any disfigurement.
4. Persons who were infected with or died because of
AIDS, Hepatitis B or C, rabies, acute leukaemia,
tetanus, cholera, meningitis or encephalitis cannot
donate eyes. An eye bank collects, evaluates and
distributes the donated eyes.
5. All eyes donated are evaluated using strict medical
standards. Those donated eyes found unsuitable for
transplantation are used for valuable research and
medical education. The identities of both the donor
and the recipient remain confidential. One pair of eyes
gives vision to up to FOUR CORNEAL BLIND
PEOPLE.
THANK YOU FOR
VISITING

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