Dispersion, Scattering

Flashcards covering dispersion, polarization, and scattering of light, including related phenomena and definitions.

Dispersion

The splitting of white light into its seven colors when passing through a prism.

Polarization

The process of transforming unpolarized light into polarized light in which the polarized light waves vibrates in a single plane.

Scattering of Light

A process by which small particles scatter light causing optical phenomena such as the blue color of the sky, red sunset, and halos.

Index of Refraction (n) and Wavelength

The index of refraction (𝑛) decreases with increasing wavelength and increases with decreasing wavelength in most materials.

Deviation of Light by a Prism

Deviation increases with higher refractive index (𝑛) and focal length (𝑓), and decreases with shorter wavelengths (𝜆

Primary Rainbow

Formed by 2 refractions and 1 total internal reflection, with a larger angle for red than violet.

Secondary Rainbow

Formed by rays via 2 refractions & 2 TIR; the angle Δ is larger for violet than for red.

Moonbow

A faint optical phenomenon created by the moon's light refracted through water droplets.

Polarizing Filters

Filters that allow only light waves with a certain polarization direction to pass through.

Brewster's Law

It states that the polarizing angle (𝜃𝑝) is where light is perfectly polarized when reflecting, defined by the equation 𝑡𝑎𝑛 𝜃𝑝 = 𝑛𝑏/𝑛𝑎.

Mie Scattering

It occurs when atmospheric particles are comparable to or larger than the light's wavelengths, affecting the scattering of light.

Rayleigh Scattering

The scattering of light by particles much smaller than the wavelength of light, such as atoms and molecules, with shorter wavelengths (blue light) scattered more than longer wavelengths (red light), making the sky appear blue.