Optics Definition and 999 Threads

Homework Statement A collimated beam from a white-light source is incident normally on a transmission grating with 500 lines per mm. The transmitted light then passes through a lens which is used to project the visible (380–780 nm) spectrum of the light source on to a strip of photographic film...

Hey everybody, I have a question concerning the difference (if any) of the Fizeau and Wedge Interferometry. I am currently writing my thesis on a project which uses a glass wedge with air in between. This concept is fairly well discussed and background of this can be found in several textbooks...

Homework Statement Given a "new type" of optical fiber (index of refraction n = 1.23), a laser beam is incident on the flat end of a straight fiber in air. Assume nair = 1.00. What is the maximum angle of incidence Ø1 if the beam is not to escape from the fiber? (See attached file for...

Homework Statement For your science fair project, you need to design a diffraction grating that will disperse the visible spectrum (400-700nm) over 30 degrees in first order. How many lines per mm does your grating need?Homework Equations sin(Θ) = mλ/d y = Ltan(Θ) I'm pretty sure the only...

Hello, I'm not sure whether this thread should be in a guidance section or here, but I think its more closely related to this area. As the title of the thread says, what are some current areas of research in Optics, if any? Thanks for any and all replies

Hi, I'm working on a project to determine the distance a pedestrian is away from a single digital camera but having never done optics before I'm struggling to find the right equation to use. I'd really appreciate any help! The method I am trying to use assumes you know the height of the camera...

hi guys ! i am currently in my 3rd year of my B.s in physics with a specialization in optics , but , i don't like optics at all , so i had this idea of taking a major in physics and minor in computer science. i would like to know if you think its a good combination . need some insights...

2015 is the International Year of Light and Taylor & Francis have a free online article collection. Find out more and read the articles here: http://explore.tandfonline.com/content/est/physics

I want to make fiber optics from seaweed or jelly.. It will be happen? Please give me the literature or journal.. Thank you very much for helping me.. :)

i just wanted to get this cleared that a beam falling on a diffraction grating with a shape gives the Fourier images of the grating object which can be reobtained by placing a biconvex lens that would converge the rays and form a focussed Fourier image at its focal length and the image of the...

I went through this article: http://users.df.uba.ar/sgil/physics_paper_doc/papers_phys/ondas_optics/caustica1.pdf But I think that when we do F=0, we are assuming the centre of the curve to be the origin and assuming the curve to be a circle, because only then will we be able to say that OP=ON...

Homework Statement According to my notes, if we have a sinusoidal aperture/transmission function of the form a(x)=1+sin(wx) and a 'top-hat' aperture function given by b(x)=1, -0.5d≤x≤0.5d, b(x)=0 otherwise, then their convolution should give a finite sinusoidal aperture function, i.e sinusoidal...

What happens if we keep the object at focus point of any lens system( like convex lens ,Plano convex lens etc) ? Does image forms at infinity? What is exact definition of focus point in optics?

Homework Statement First, thanks in advace. Let us consider a microscope where the objective L1 has f1=20mm and magnification 10x. In the image plane is located a diafragm M with diameter 19mm (see fig). The size of the CCD is 4,8mm (vertical) x 5,6mm (horizontal). 20mm before of the CCD...

In Feynman Lectures on Physics (you can find it online), chapter 33 of volume 1, the author derives Fresnel's formulas for the coefficient of reflection in an unusual way by making considerations about the different possible polarization of light. In this way he derives the squares of the...

Hi everyone. On these days, by watching solar panels and similar stuff, I just thought about it, and why they take such a wide surface to produce energy, and why their output is often low, as we all know. By navigating here on the internet, I've just seen a device called OPO (Optical...

A convex mirror has a focal length of 16cm. How far behind the mirror does the image of a person 3.0m away appear? I've tried using the equation 1/f = 1/do + 1/di The answer to the solution is -15cm but I'm not sure how to get there. I'm thinking that it might have something that deals with...

We have an advanced spectrometer in our geometrical optics lab! I'm seeking for any experiment in geometrical optics to include it!

Hi, I'm trying to solve the following problem: "What is the optical power (in dioptres) of a concave-convex eyeglass lens (n = 1.5) with the radiuses r1 = 12cm and r2 = 18cm?" The attempt at a solution: I'm usually solving such questions with the following equation: ## \dfrac{1}{f} =...

Supposed there is a tree on a perfectly flat plane. If an observer in front of that tree moves further and further away from the tree, the tree would look smaller and smaller. When the observer moves further and further away, would the lower part of the tree's trunk seem to disappear as if...

I am currently pursuing a Master's degree in physics with optics as my major and my interests are fiber optics and biosensors. I have also worked on a couple of projects in the past that dealt with a lot of image processing. I will soon begin working on my Master's thesis and want to decide a...

Homework Statement I have to find the ray transfer matrix for a Plano convex lens, with a 5 cm radius and refraction index n=1.8. I'm supposed to use the paraxial approximation. Attached a homemade picture of the lens. Homework Equations Refraction at a curved surface: \begin{pmatrix} 1 & 0\\...

Simple question about this: Say you have a wire diffraction grating. Does the incoming light excite the electrons in the metal, which scatter new light *or* does the incoming light simply pass through the "holes" in the mesh and get absorbed by the grating? I've seen it explained both ways, yet...

Hi, Apologies if this is a really basic question, but I'm not a physicist by training. I was wondering how two waves of plane-polarised light will interfere if they have equal intensity, are completely in phase, but their planes of oscillation are perpendicular to one another?

Its an often prøven fact that a convex lens focused rays parallel with the optical axis into the focal point of the lens, but what about rays that are parallel with each other and with a small angle to the optical axis? In ray diagrams with telescopes (such like the one below) one often draws...

I know that the refractive index is determined by a material's dielectric constant and magnetic permeability. It's also true that we can treat the refractive index as a complex function with the imaginary part giving you an absorption spectrum. You can then get the index of refraction from...

The energy of photon is $$E=\frac{hc}{\lambda}$$ Now if we have an isotropic point light source of power P, Number of photons $$N=\frac{P}{E} = \frac{P \lambda}{hc}$$ Hence one can find the change in momentum and hence the force exerted by a beam or light sources. But let's say we keep an...

If I have a parallel beam of light parallel to x-axis, with the speed of light varying from bottom to top. Let it decrease from bottom to top. (To get such a beam one can pass the beam through a glass slab normal to its surface, whose refractive index increases linearly from bottom to top). Now...

Homework Statement A rectangular slab of length l=20cm and thickness d=4cm is placed in left of a converging lens of focal length f=20cm. A screen is placed in the focal plane plane of lens (right side of lens).Refractive index of the material of slab increases linearly from u0 at the bottom by...

I was thinking about the situation given my text about a plano convex lens which was produced with a manufacturing defect. It's plane surface is tilted outwards by a small angle 'z'. In the text its written that when a parallel light beam enters the lens parallel to x-axis , it will still be...

i have recently made a hollow prism for my science exhibition in my school ... to find refractive indices of fluids. i made it using 3 rectangular pieces of glass (0.5cm) on a glass triangular base ..with obviously a hollow part in the middle it worked perfectly fine with water i got n=1.33...

Homework Statement Show that the real and imaginary parts of the following susceptibility function satisfy the K-K relationships. Use the residue theorem. $$ \chi(\omega) = \frac{\omega_{p}^2}{(\omega_0^2-\omega^2)+i\gamma\omega} $$ Homework Equations The Kramers-Kronig relations are $$...

I noticed that the ray diagram for the "how the compound microscope works" and "how the telescope works" is wrong in my government sanctioned physics textbook(and countless other books and websites!) The diagram printed was this- Name: Physics Standard XI Printed by: Maharastra State Board of...

Dear forum colleagues, I'm looking for universities which have a good research lab in the field of nonlinear optics, located in Canada. Can you please give me some hints or contacts? PS: If anyone need information about Brazil and Portugal, please don't hesitate and just ask! ;) Luis

Homework Statement A goldfish in a spherical fish bowl of radius R is at the level of the center of the bowl and at distance R/2 from the glass. What magnification of the fish is produced by the water of the bowl for a viewer looking along a line that includes the fish and the center, from the...

I have an online homework question and my classmate told me the answer but I would really like someone to explain to me how that answer was determined. I do not understand. Q: Consider the electric field observed at a point O that is far from the two slits, say at a distance r from the midpoint...

Hi Everyone, I am about to finish my PhD in underwater acoustics. I am thinking of postdoc positions and research areas which might cover: oceanography and optics with acoustics. I still have to learn a lot before generating any ideas on my individual research career. But was wondering if...

someone purchased cube beam splitter years ago, it was wrapped around in tracing paper, really delicately. I un-wrapped it , and used it for my experiment. Now, my experiment is done, and I don't know how to store it safely. If I leave it on the shelf carelessly, the beamsplitter will get...

Hi all, I have to estimate a photocurrent produced in the following simulation setup. Photodiode (detector) and LED (spaced 2cm) lie on one axis, oriented toward a wall (radiometer film) which is parallel to the axis and at a distance of about 10cm from the axis. How much photocurrent would an...

Dear all, In textbooks about optics in magneto-optic materials, we often come across a Hermitian permittivity tensor with off-diagonal imaginary components. These components are relevant to the Faraday rotation of plane of polarization of light through the material. Now my question is: Is the...

The force in the Casimir effect can be "explained" by two causes, see, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casimir_effect#Possible_causes In some optics experiments we must account for the fluctuations of the quantum vacuum to get the right experimental results. See, Vacuum noise...

Hi there, I am making a beam splitter for an FTIR, but I do not know the anatomy of a beamsplitter of this type, does anybody have information on the design of these? I plan to order KBr crystal windows and apply the Ge coating myself using physical vapor deposition and assuring quality with a...

Homework Statement [/B] Two parallel mirrors that face each other are placed along and perpendicular to the x-axis at x = +7.40 m and x = -7.40 m. Assume that a point source of light is placed on the axis at x = +3.30 m. In principle, there will be an infinite number of images generated...

Hi, Recently I did an experiment to try and discover what some objects look like microscopically, using a laser and looking at their diffraction patterns. We used the fact that the intensity profile you obtain is the Fourier transform of the object you're shining it through, so we can recover...

Homework Statement Given a system composed of a convergent lens and divergent lens (separation d between), how do I best calculate the focal length of the divergent lens? What is the best way to set up the system (converging lens first? diverging lens first?). There is plenty of documentation...

Homework Statement A beam of polarized light of intensity 43.0 W/m2 is sent through a system of two polarizing sheets. Relative to the polarization direction of that incident light, the polarizing directions of the sheets are at angles θ for the first sheet and 90 degrees for the second...

I'm serching around the web to find the best laser poiter (with real safety class). the below one is the only thing that I could find: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NQCF35G/?tag=pfamazon01-20 Do you know any other brands suitable for educational goals? we need to use laser pointer for some...

I was trying to determine the best oxide thickness and material for maximising the contrast of one atom thick material layer on top of silicon chip. Using Fresnel equations I was able to do plot the contrast with respect to oxide thickness and wavelength, but alas, contrast seems to be sometimes...

I am an undergraduate Physics major in my third year, and I'd like to concentrate in Astronomy or Astrophysics when I obtain my Masters and PhD. What kinds of physics classes should I take in preparation for this? I've already taken all explicitly-astronomy courses at my school. I was thinking...

I am studying Photonics and currently I am on my third semester of undergraduate studies. I am interested in ultrafast optics and mostly in attosecond optics to study electron's in atoms and other fundamental quantum mechanical phenomena. As my course is more engineering oriented than I would...