GEK1532 Introduction to optics to understand the eye

Thorsten Wohland Dep. Of Chemistry S8-03-06 Tel.: 6516 1248 E-mail: chmwt@nus.edu.sg
http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/anatomy/ components.html http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/hframe.html

Total internal reflection

n 1 < n2
n1 n2 n1

n 1 > n2
n2

E F

E F

Total internal reflection (TIR) can happen only when light propagates in a denseer medium and comes to a interface with a less dense medium: Example: TIR happens from glass to air or water to air, but not from air to water or air to glass.

Interference
Interference describes the superposition of two or more em waves resulting in an amplification (constructive interference) or an attenuation (destructive interference) of the amplitudes of the em field and thus in intensities.

Revision: pigments
Pigment Class Porphyrin Carotenoid Compound Type chlorophyll carotene and lycopene xanthophyll flavone flavonol anthocyanin Colors green yellow, orange, red yellow yellow yellow red, blue, purple, magenta http://webexhibits.org/causesofcolor/1B.html

Flavonoid

Scattering and Pigmentation

Iris

Rayleigh scattering, stronger for blue light

Retina

Absorption of red and green light

(note: sometimes Rayleigh scattering is refered to as Tyndall scattering)

Scattering and Pigmentation

Yellow pigment (blue is absorbed)

Pictures from Andrew Parkers Seven Deadly Colors (Free Press)

Scattering Layer (RayleighScattering)

Whiteness or Silveriness
Snow, foam, chalk, paper all are examples of materials that scatter and reflect light in some way at many surfaces. The resulting color in all cases is white.

This white though can vanish when the air spaces are filled with some liquid (see oily paper, or wet chalk).

random structures -> matt appearance Regular structures -> shiny appearance (sometimes silverish)

Interference colors
As in bubbles interference can as well work in feathers and wings. Insect wings shimmer in many colors due to interference. A special example here is the peacock:

One can see very fine branches on the feathers. These are responsible for the multiple reflections and the interference effects of the peacocks feathers.

http://webexhibits.org/causesofcolor/15C.html

Is it really interference?

Seen under different angles the color of the peacock feather changes: a characteristic of interference colors

Albino peacocks do not possess any melanin thus most white light is reflected instead of absorbed. The white light is much stronger than the interference color and the peacock seems to be white.

Violet as an interference color

Structure in the wings responsible for the color

Ridges are 100 nm in size

Pictures from Andrew Parkers Seven Deadly Colors (Free Press)

White bar is 1/10 of a millimeter

Examples of bioluminescence

UV light can be absorbed will then be given off at a longer wavelength.

Snake, Benhams disk

http://www.michaelbach.de/ot/col_benham/index.html

Picture from Andrew Parkers Seven Deadly Colors (Free Press)

The eye

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/hframe.html

Mirrors, Virtual Images

Mirrors, Virtual Images

For the eye it looks like the light rays come from behind the mirror.

We call this a virtual image since the light does not really originate from the image.

Spherical Mirrors

Seeing the light, Fig 3.6

Optics: Lenses
positive lenses: Bi-convex OA x f x f Plano-Convex lens

negative lenses: Bi-concave Plano-Concave lens

OA

x f

x f

The function of lenses is based on refraction

n1 < n2
n1 n2 n1

n1 > n2
n2

E F

E F

Snells law: The difference between E and Fis the bigger, the bigger the difference is between n1 and n2. (n1sinE = n2sinF

Lenses: Refraction
E1 F1 E2 F2

na

ng

na < ng (refarctive indeces of air=1 and glass =1.5)

Lenses: Refraction for a Plano Convex lens

E1 F1 E2 F2

na

ng

na < ng (refarctive indeces of air=1 and glass =1.5)

The same processes happen as well at the Biconcave and Planoconcave lenses

Parallel incident rays will pass the focal point after passing a lens
x f x f and we say the lens has a focal length of f.

x f f Incident rays passing the focus will be parallel after passing the lens.

x f

x f

Rays passing the center of the lens pass undisturbed

One ray will follow both rules: the optical axis

OA x f x f

OA

x f

x f

Image Formation
Object x f x f Image

OA

Object x f x f Image

OA

Image Formation
Object

Image OA x f x f

Real images (all light rays are converging on the image) are upside down compared to the object.

Can we calculate the image position?

si x f so x f

Yes, with the so called lens equation:

1 1 1 !  f so si

1 1 1 !  ocal distance object distance image distance

Can we calculate the size of the image?

si x f so x f

Magnification:

si M! so
image distance magni ication ! object distance

Negative or concave lenses

Parallel incidents rays diverge and look like as if they would come from the back focal point. The lens has a focal length of -f OA x f x f

Rays thorough the center of the lens pas undisturbed.

OA

x f

f x

Image formation for a negative lens

Object

OA

x f Image

x f

Virtual images (the light rays are not converging on the image) are upright.

Image formation for a negative lens

Object Image

OA

x f si so

f x

1 1 1 !  f so si

si ! so

Example
When do we get an image that is equal in size to the object? Magnification is 1!

si ! !1 so

1 1 1 !  f so si
1 1 1 2 !  ! f so si so

si ! so
si x 2f x f so x f

s o ! si ! 2 f

2f x

The picture on the retina

The eye has a positive lens that creates a real picture on the retina. One of the facts that was unimaginable for many people is that the picture on the retina is as well upside down as we have seen for positive lenses.

Camera pictures
A camera uses a lens (or a combination of lenses) to produce an image on a film.

si so

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/hframe.html

Some special topics: Fresnel Lens

E1 F1 E 2 F2

na

ng

Light is refracted at surfaces between two materials. So only the surface of the lens is the active part. So can we reduce the weight of a lens and thus the material needed?

Seeing the light, Fig 3.29

Lens combinations

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/hframe.html

A single-lens reflex camera

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/hframe.html

Summary
Negative, positive lenses and description by lens equation Reversibility of light paths Lens combination (different back and front focal length) Image formation (real, virtual) Change in refractive index or lens curvature can change focal length Cameras (camera obscura, reflex camera) The eye, defects and corrections

Remember this experiment

Large slit: additive color mixing between spectra from both sides

Additive primary colors mix to yield subtractive primary colors