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Light – Reflection and Refraction

The big picture

Keep this table beside your book.

Light – Reflection and Refraction at a glance
TopicThe key line
Reflectioni = r, both from the normal, in one plane.
Curved mirrorf = R/2. F is halfway from P to C.
Image by a concave mirrorBetween C and F: real, inverted, bigger. Inside F: virtual, upright, bigger.
Image by a convex mirrorVirtual, upright, smaller, for a real object anywhere.
Ray diagramAny two standard rays cross, or seem to cross, at the image.
Mirror formula1/v + 1/u = 1/f, m = −v/u
RefractionInto a higher n: towards the normal. Into a lower n: away. sin i / sin r is fixed.
Lens formula1/v − 1/u = 1/f, m = v/u
Image by a concave lensVirtual, upright, smaller, for a real object anywhere.
PowerP = 1/f, f in metres. Unit: dioptre.
Glass slabA ray in air leaves parallel to the ray that entered, shifted sideways. The gap between the rays is the lateral displacement.

The scooter's bulb sits at the focus of its concave mirror. Rays that leave the focus come out parallel. That makes a long beam.

Read Chapter 9, Light – Reflection and Refraction, in your book. Try its exercises. The Human Eye and the Colourful World comes next.

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This track

  1. 0 Start here
  2. 1 Bouncing by the rule
  3. 2 Mirrors that are not flat
  4. 3 What the mirror does to an image
  5. 4 Two rays are enough
  6. 5 The mirror formula
  7. 6 Bending by a rule too
  8. 7 The lens formula
  9. 8 How strong a lens is
  10. 9 Through a glass slab
  11. 10 Checkpoint: mirrors, lenses and slabs
  12. 11 The big picture
  13. 12 Track quiz

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