Course Info

http://www.colorado.edu/physics/phys1230/phys1230_fa12/

Course Policies
Calendar
Office hours
Instructor contact info

Dr. Ellen Keister

Map to Help Room (G2B90)

Lecture room

Help room

1
 Chapter 1
Light rays Light waves (EM waves)
Laser beam Speed of light
Wavelength and
Ray propagation
frequency
Waves Amplitude
Rope waves
Wave medium The Electromagnetic
Wave propagation Spectrum
Other waves Visible light
Wave properties Radio waves
Electromagnetic waves Microwaves
Xrays

Light Rays
Rays are a convenient descriptive tool
Indicate the direction the light is traveling

2
 Light Rays

We only see light when a ray enters our eye

Light Rays: Bending

Light rays bend when they pass from one material

to another
This is the principle behind lenses (chapter 3)

Air

Glass or
water

3
 Light Rays: Reflection
Specular reflection Diffuse reflection

Mirror

Waves
A wave is a propagating disturbance or oscillation

The medium does not move very far, but the

wave disturbance does

4
 Rope Waves
Disturbance has some speed, but rope segments
do NOT move in direction of wave

Rope segments move up and down, not in the

same direction as the disturbance moves

Rays, Waves and Wavefronts

The wavefront is defined as a curve or surface
perpendicular (at a 90o angle) to all the rays
OR, rays are drawn at right angles to the
wavefront

5
 Wavefront Examples
Lets draw wavefronts for these rays:
What type of light source might produce these rays?

A laser Two light bulbs

Wave Properties
l Periodic wave

l Periodic wave

Aperiodic wave

6
Periodic Wave Properties (Vocabulary)

Wavelength ()
Amplitude

Ray: Direction of wave motion

Periodic Wave Properties (Vocabulary)

Ray: Direction of wave motion

Frequency (f) is the number of oscillations per

second at a fixed point in space
Period (T) is the inverse of frequency, is the time it
takes for one wavelength to pass a fixed point

7
 Clicker Question: Wavelength

What is the wavelength

of the red wave?
A) 1m
B) 2m
C) 3m

meters

Clicker Question: Period

What is the period of
the red wave?
A) 2 milliseconds
B) 2 seconds
C) 2 minutes

meters

8
 Periodic Wave Properties: Speed
For periodic waves, we can identify a speed (v)

speed = distance/time

speed = wavelength/period

speed = Wavelength x frequency

v = f

Light Waves: Properties

What do these properties mean for light waves?

The amplitude of a light wave is related to its

brightness

Light waves are special. They have a constant

speed over all colors, over billions of years, and
over all brightness.
We use the letter c to denote the
speed of light in a vacuum

9
 Light Waves: Properties
Recall:
v = f
for light waves we use
c = f
and c never changes.
Thus the wavelength and the frequency of light
waves have a fixed relationship:
= c/f or f = c/

Wavelength and Color

The wavelength or frequency of light waves is

related to the colors we perceive when the waves
enter our eyes

The wavelengths of light that our eyes and brain

see are in the 400-700 nanometer (nm) range.

One nanometer is 10-9 meters

10
 Clicker Question: Wavelengths
The wavelength of green 1 centimeter = 1x10-2 m
light is around 500 nm.
500 nanometers = 5x10-7 m
How many wavelengths of
green light fit into one 1x102 m
centimeter (0.4 inches, 5x107 m
about a fingertip)?
1
a) 20 thousand x 105
5
b) 50 thousand
c) Two million 0.2 x 105=2 x 104
d) Two billion =20 thousand
e) 5 billion

Wavelength and Color

Light with wavelength of 650 nm

appears red when it enters a
viewers eye

Light with wavelength of 520 nm

appears green when it enters a
viewers eye

Light with wavelength of 470 nm

appears blue when it enters a
viewers eye

11
 Clicker questions
Which of the light waves has
the longest wavelength?
Which of the light waves is a)
brightest?
Which of the light waves has
the highest speed in empty b)
space?
a) b) c)
d) They all have the same
speed c)

Clicker question
What does the
viewer see when the
wave at left with
wavelength 650 nm
goes by him?
a) Red
b) Blue
c) Green
d) White
e) Nothing

12
 What happens when two or more waves
with different wavelengths reach your eye?

Light with both wavelengths 650

nm and 520 nm appears yellow
when it enters a viewers eye

Light with only wavelength 580

nm also appears yellow when it
enters a viewers eye

What is white light?

Light which is a mixture of 650, 520 and 470 nm wavelengths

(and possibly more wavelengths) appears white when it
reaches your eye

No single wavelength (mono-chromatic) wave appears white

when it reaches your eye!

13
 White Light through a Prism

400 nm
700 nm

A prism spreads out the over- lapping wavelengths

in white light into different spatial locations where
they can be seen as colors.

14