CHAPTER 1

The Nature of Light

In some ways lght is an enigma. We know that it is a form of energy that is
transmitted from one place to another at finite velocity and that it can be detected
with the eye. In many ways it behaves as trough it were composed of numerous
tiny particles that travel bullet-like from one point to another. But it also behaves
as it were a wave phenomena in which the energy moves somewhat waves like
the waves started by dropping a pebble in a pond
itself to interpretation by simple. Analogs, such as bul-, lets or waves, but can be
underStood only in abstract 4 p11,-. mathematical form. Both the arp theo-ries
,o\ . ries have been shown to be correct, g just that ,, their'simple"foiinS, neither
delribes They are complementary theories and both can be used
C cu'rnP effectively in appropriate contexts. Because wave the(.9.) dropping a prebbl'eu a pold Because light behaves in these two sleniingly
contradictory ay s, two differ-ent theories, anicl.e.theiyj- and the wave eory, have
been developed to explain it. kpartjeleL_ jieoryi light is considered to be composed of subatomic particles called photons. When atoms are sufficiently xcited,
the electrons are forced finto a higher-than-normal energy level./When the
electrons to theirlnor-__ lx sycA mal energy level, a small amount of energy
released in the form of a photon, which is a small particle with essentially zero
mass. -t.t. The Jwave theofflconsiders light to be a form of ra-diant energy that
travels wave-like from one point to another. These waves have both electrical and
mag-netic propeLties and are tl-ielk?a) called electromag-netic radiation. Light is
just a small portion of a con-tinuous spectrum of radiation from cosmic raes i be
tC;,, radio wave_s and long electric_al waves the ier (Figure 1.1) FA Modem
theories of master and and enrgy invoiving quantia mechanics have reconciled
the le-iikitry contradictory particle and wave theories of light. Un-- fortIPy,
much of quantiiiiimechanics does not lend roo
S.
ory very effectively describes the phenomena of po-larization, reflection,
refraction, and interferencetle
ffiet of an optical mineralogy coursethis book treats light 'S alctromagnetic
radiation. Electromagnetic Rediation All electromagnetic radiation, light included,
is con-sidered to consist,df electric and magnetic vectors that vibrate at right
angles to the-direction in which the ra-diation is moving (Figure 1.2). For
purposes_o_f_min-eral optics it is necessary to consider only the vibra-tion of the
electric vector. It is the interaction of the electric vector with the electrical
character of the atoms and chemical bonds in minerals that affects the be-havior
of light. Forces rising rm the magnetic vec-tor of light are generally very small
and can be ignored for our purposes. It is important to note that the vi-bration
direction of the electric vector is transverse: it vibrates perpendicular to the
direction in which the light wave is propagating. The vibration direction of the
electric vector is, in some ways, analogous to the movement of water in a water
wave or the move-ment of the solid earth with the passage of an earth-quake S
wave. In both cases, the energy is propagated through the material, but the
particles of water or earki move from side to side as the wave passes. The anal-1

Figure 1.1 The electromagnetic spectrum. Visible light is a small portion of the
electromagnetic spectrum and has wavelengths of between about 400 and 700 nm
(1 nm = 10' cm) in a vacuum.
The analogy is not complete, however, because with light it is not matter that
vibrates from side to side but rather an electric field that oscillates from side to
side. In the chapters that follow, the vibration direction of light is discussed at
length. In all cases, it will be the electric vibration direction to which reference is
being made. A light wave can be described using the same nomenclature applied
to any wave phenomenon. It has velocity, frequency, and wavelength (Figure 1.3),
which are related by the equation . where V is the velocity, X is the wavelength or
distance from one wave crest to another, and f is the frequency or number of wave
crests per second that pass
Figure 1.2 Electromagnetic radiation consists of electric and magnetic components
that vibrate at right angles to each other and at right angles to the direction that
the light is propagating.
a particular point. Frequency is usually expressed as cycles ,per second or hertz
(Hz). With some exceptions involving fluorescence that do not affect us here, the
frequency of light remains constant regardless of the material that the light travels
through. Hence, if the velocity changes, the wavelength also must change.
Consider a wave train that is slowed when it passes through a piece of glass
(Figure 1.4). The number of wave crests that enter the glass per second is the
same as the number that exit the glass. Hence, the number of crests that pass a
point inside the glass per second is the same as outside the glass, so the
frequency remains constant. However, because the velocity in the 'glass is
substantially slower than in the air, the waves bunch up and the wavelength
decreases.
Figure 1.3 Wave nomenclature. The wave is traveling to the right with velocity V.
The wavelength (X) is the distance between successive wave crests. The frequency
(f) is the number of wave crests that pass some point per second and is expressed
as cycles per second or hertz (Hz). The amplitude (A) is the height of the wave.
The intensity or brightness of the light is proportional to the square of the
amplitude (A).

Figure 1.4 Passage of a light wave through a piece of glass (shaded). The light
slows when it enters the glass. Because the frequency remains the same, the
wavelength in the glass
must be shorter than the wavelength in the air
surrounding the glass .
The light passing through a mineral or through space does not consist of a single
wave but rather can be considered to be composed of innumerable waves
traveling together. For this reason it is convenient to consider the waves en masse
and introduce a few more terms. A wave front is a surface that connects simi-lar
points on adjacent waves. For example, wave fronts one wavelength apart can be
drawn through each wave crest in Figure 1.5a. A line constructed at right angles to

the wave front is called the wave normal and rep-resents the direction that the
wave is moving. A light ray is the direction of propagation of light energy. In
isotropic materials (light velocity the same in all directions), the light ray and wave
normal coincide .5b). As we will see in Chapters 6 and 7, in anisotropic materials
(light velocity different in different directions) the wave normal and light ray
directions usually are not parallel (Figure 1.5e).
Phase : If two waves vibrate in the same plane and travel along the same path,
they can interfere with each other (Figure 1.6a). The distance that one wave lags
behind the other is called the retardation (A). It can be described either in terms of
the distance in nanometers that one wave lags the other, or in terms of the
number of wave-lengths that one wave lags the other. When the retardation
equals an integral number of wavelengths (Figure 1.6b),
where i is an integer, the two waves are in phase. They constructively interfere
with each other to produce a resultant wave that is the arithmetic sum of the two.
When the retardation equals etc., wave-lengths,
Figura 1.5 Wave fronts. (a) Wave fronts are surfaces connecting equivalent
on adjacent waves. Successive wave fronts are one wavelength apart.
isotropic materials, the wave normal and light rays are both perpendicular
wave front. (e) In anisotropic materials, light rays are typically not parallel
wave normal.

points
(b) In
to the
to the

Figure 1.6 Phase and interference in a single plane. (a) Wave A (dashed) lags wave
B (dotted) by retardation . The height of the resultant wave R (solid) at any point
is equal to the sum of the heights of waves A and B (a + b) at that point. (b) Waves
A and B are in phase iX), so they constructively interfere and produce resultant
wave (R). (c) Waves A and B are out of phase = (i +.;)k]. Because the amplitudes
of A and B are equal, they cancel and the result has zero amplitude. An observer
would see no light.
the two waves are out of phase. They destructively interfere and cancel each other
(Figure 1.6c). When the retardation is some intemediate value, the light is partially
in phase (or partially out of phase, if you prefer) and the interference is partially
constructive (or partially destructive) (Figure 1.6a). If two waves A and B vibrate at
an angle to each other, they can be resolved into a resultant wave by means of
vector addition. The vibration direction of the resultant wave R in Figure 1.7a is
obtained by constructing a parallelogram whose sides are parallel to the vibration
directions of waves A and B. Similarly, a component of a single wave may be
resolved into any arbitrary vibration direction, as shown in Figure 1.7b. The
component of wave X resolved into a new vibration direction Z, is obtained by
constructing a right triangle with X as the hypotenuse. The amplitude of Z is given
by the equation
where X is the amplitude of wave X and O is the an-gle between the vibration
direction of X and the new vibration direction Z. Note that if Z is 90 to the original
vibration direction, the resolved component must be zero. This is an important
observation and accounts for a ntimber of optical properties described in the
following chapters.
The Perception of Color

The human eye is constructed so that it is able to discriminate the different

wavelengths of light. Light whose wavelength in a vacuum is about 660 nm is
perceived as red, light whose vacuum wavelength is about 600 nm is perceived as
orange, and so forth. It would perhaps be better to talk about the different
frequencies of light rather than wavelengths because frequency does not change
on passing through different materials. However, the convention is to identify the
different colors with their wavelengths in a vacuum and that convention will be
followed here. If the light reaching the eye is essentially all one wavelength, it is
monochromatic light and it is perceived as whatever wavelength is present.
However. if polychromatic light, which consists of more than one wavelength,
strikes the color receptors of the eye. the combination of wavelengths is still
perceived as a single color, even though the wavelength associated with
Figure 1.7 Vector resolution of light waves. (a) Waves A (light shading) and B (dark
shading) form a resultant R. (b) A component Z of wave X can be resolved in a new
direction at angle O from X.
that color may not actually be present in the light. In fact, the sensation of all
colors except those corresponding to wavelengths of about 420, 500, and 660 nm
(violet, green, and red) can be produced by suitable combinations of two or more
different wavelengths. When all of the visible spectrum is present, the eye
perceives it as white. The eye also will perceive as white various combinations of
two colors called complementary light colors. There are an infinite number of
complementary light color sets. but none that include wavelengths in the green
field. Other color sensations such as purple and brown have no counterpart in the
visible spectrum and are formed by combining various wavelengths. The sensation
of purple is produced by mixtures of red and violet light; brown is formed by
mixtures of red, blue, and yellow light. About 4 percent of the population (mostly
male) have forms of color blindness that affect their perception of color. For most
day-to-day activities, these individuals have learned to adapt and the color blindness poses no significant difficulty. Unfortunately, the perception of color is
important to certain areas of optical mineralogy. and the inability to correctly
perceive color may pose a hardship. This problem is manageable, and most people
with it adapt by paying greater attention to the properties of minerals that do not
re-quire the accurate perception of color. The first step in dealing with the problem
is to recognize that it exists. Not all people that have color blindness are aware of
it because some forms are quite subtle. If an individual shows any indication of
color blindness, a vision specialist should be consulted.
Interaction of Light and Matter When light strikes matter, some of the light is
trans-mitted into the material and some is reflected from the surface.
TRANSMITTED LIGHT
Velocity : The velocity of light depends on the nature of the material that it travels
through and the wavelength of the light. The maximum possible velocity is 3.0 X
1010 cm/sec (3 X 1017 nm/sec) in a vacuum. When light enters any other medium,
it is slowed down. The detailed explanation of why the light slows down is beyond
the scope of this book, but it involves the interaction between the electric vector of
the light and the electronic environment around each atom. Each atom consists of
a positively charged nucleus sur-rounded by a number of negatively charged
electrons. The nucleus is generally too heavy to respond to the forces imposed by
the electric vector of light, but the electrons have low mass and can respond.
When the light strikes an atom, the electron cloud around the atom is excited and
is forced to vibrate or oscillate at the same frequency as the light. The excited

electron cloud then re-emits the light. Because of the nature of the interaction
between the electrons and the light, the re-emitted light is out of phase with the
incident light. The re-emitted light then strikes the next atom along the path
followed by the light, and the process is repeated. It can be shown that
interference between the re-emitted light and the original light produces a series
of new light waves with the same frequency, but with shorter wavelength and
lower velocity (Equation 1.1).
Index of Refraction It is well known that light is bent when passing from one
transparent material to another at any angle other than perpendicular to the
boundary (Figure 1.8). A measure of how effective a material is in bending light
coming from a vacuum is called the index of refraction (or simply index)
where Vv is the velocity of light in a vacuum and V is the velocity of light in the
material. The index of re-fraction of a vacuum is, therefore, 1.0; and for all other
materials, n is greater than 1.0. Most minerals have in-dices of refraction that fall
in the range of 1.4 to about 2.0. The velocity of light in air is almost the same as
the velocity in a vacuum, so can be considered 1.0 for our purposes. Note that a
high index indicates low velocity and vice versa.
Figure 1.8 Refraction. (a) Light passing from material 1 (low index) to material 2
(high index) is bent as shown. The amount of refraction is given by Snell's law. (b)
The wave fronts and wave normals (WN) must be bent at the interface because X2
is shorter than X1.
The equation that allows the calculation of how much the light will be bent on
traveling from one material to another is called Snell's law,
where n1 and n2 are the indices of refraction of materials 1 and 2, and 01 and 02
are the angles shown in Figure 1.8a between the wave normal and the normal to
the boundary. The wave normal is the line at right angles to the wave front (Figure
1.5), and the normal to the boundary is the line at right angles to the boundary.
This equation holds whether the light passes from 1 to 2 or from 2 to 1. In general,
light is refracted to-wards the normal to the boundary upon entering a material
with higher refractive index and is refracted away from the normal upon entering a
material with lower refractive index. That the light must be bent on entering a
material with a different index can be shown by referring to Figure 1.8b. Light in
material 1 with wavelength X1 strikes the boundary at angle 01. On entering
material 2, the light is slowed down. Because the frequency does not change,
Equation 1.1 tells us that the wave-length X2 must be shorter than X1 because the
velocity in 2 is lower than in 1. The only way for the wave fronts to be closer
together in material 2 is to bend them at the boundary as shown. The wave
normals, which are perpendicular to the wave fronts and indicate the direction the
waves are moving, must also be bent, hence the light is bent on entering material
2. Snell's law can be derived from Figure 1.8b. From Equation 1.1 we see that
and f = 2 or, because f is the same in both cases, Vi V2 X1 X9 where V1 a.nd V2
are the velocities in materials 1 and 2, respectively. But based on the geometry
shown in Figure 1.8b
where n1 and n2 are the indices of refraction of materials 1 and 2, respectively.
With substitution in Equation 1.5 and rearrangement, we get
which is Snell's law. Snell's law applies for both isotropic and anisotropic materials.
However, in anisotropic materials, the angles 01 and 02 must be measured from
the wave normals, not the rays. As we will see, rays and wave normals may not be

coincident in anisotropic minerals. Refraction in isotropic and anisotropic materials

is discussed in Chapters 5, 6, and 7.
REFLECTION : When light is reflected from the boundary between two materials,
the angle of incidence and angle of re-flection are identical (Figure 1.9). The
amount of light that is reflected from the surface depends on the index of
refraction of the two materials. If both materials are transparent, the percentage
reflection R is
where i is the angle of incidence, and r is the angle of refraction. When the
equation is solved for different angles of incidence for two materials with known indices of refraction, it will be found that minimum re-flection occurs at normal
incidence and maximum re-flection when the light barely grazes the surface. For
normal incidence, the equation simplifies to R = (n2 n )2 n 100 1.7 2 + ni
Figure 1.9 Reflection of light rays from a smooth surface between two materials.
The angles of incidence and reflection are the same (i). Light that enters the
material is refracted at angle r according to Snell's law (Equation 1.4) depending
on the numerical values of the indices of refraction n1 and n2.
If the reflecting material strongly absorbs the light (i.e., is opaque), the equation
becomes: (n2 _ n1)2 + k2 R = 100 (n2 + n1)2 1c2. where k is the absorption
coefficient of the reflecting. material. The absorption coefficient is a unitless
number that varies from sensibly zero for transparent materials to over 5 for
extremely opaque materials. The use of reflected light in identifying opaque
minerals is described in Chapter 8.
CRITICL ANCLE AND TOTAL INTERNAL REFLECTION When light travels from a lowndex material to a high-index material, at least some light can enter the higherindex material regardless of the angle of incidence. This is not the case when light
passes from a high-index material to a low-index material where the angle of
refraction is larger than the angle of incidence. Light with an angle of incidence
greater than the critical angle (CA) cannot be refracted into the low-index material.
The critical angle is the angle of incidence that yields an angle of refraction of 90.
Consider Figure 1.10. Rays a, b, and c are refracted into the low-index material
with angles of refraction that are larger than the angles of incidence according to
Equation 1.4. For ray c, the angle of incidence is slightly less than the critical angle
and the angle of re-