Light, Colours and Reflection Review

Flashcards based on lecture notes about Light, Colors, and Reflection.

Plane Mirror Image Distance

If you stand three feet in front of a plane mirror, your image appears to be six feet away (three feet from you to the mirror, and three feet from the mirror to your image).

Plane Mirror Image

A plane mirror forms a virtual, upright image that is the same size as the object.

Concave Mirror Image (Object Beyond F)

When an object is located beyond the focal point (F) of a concave mirror, the image formed is real and inverted.

Angle of Incidence

The angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection.

Plane Mirror Image Distance Dependence

When viewing an object in a plane mirror, the distance from the mirror to the image depends on the distance from the object to the mirror.

Concave Mirror Image

The image seen in a concave mirror can be either real or virtual, depending on the object's position.

Convex Mirror Image

The image seen in a convex mirror will always be virtual.

Concave Mirror Parallel Rays

Rays of light traveling parallel to the principal axis of a concave mirror will come together at the focal point.

Negative Magnification

A negative magnification for a mirror means the image is inverted.

Reflection

Light that 'bounces' off a surface is said to reflect.

Transmission

Light passing through a substance is called transmission.

Light Travel

Light travels in a straight line until it hits an object.

Absorption

Light rays disappearing into a surface is called absorption.

Seeing Image in Mirror

Reflection is the reason you can see your image in the mirror.

Hot Pavement on Summer Days

Hot pavement on summer days is an example of absorption.

Electromagnetic Wave Speed in a Vacuum

All electromagnetic waves travel through a vacuum at the same speed.

Electromagnetic Wave Order (Longest to Shortest Wavelength)

Electromagnetic waves in order from longest to shortest wavelength: radio waves, infrared, visible light, X-rays.

Nature of Light

Light exhibits properties of both a wave and a particle.

Secondary Color of Light

Cyan is a secondary colour of light.

Light from Stars

Light from two different stars (one red and one blue) at the same distance from Earth, the light from each will reach Earth at the same time.

Snell's Law

Describes the relationship between the angles of incidence and refraction when light passes through different media, given by n1 \sin(\theta1) = n2 \sin(\theta2), where n is the refractive index.

Refraction

The bending of light as it passes from one medium to another due to a change in speed.

Index of Refraction

A measure of how much light slows down when passing through a medium, defined as n = \frac{c}{v}, where c is the speed of light in a vacuum and v is the speed of light in the medium.

Critical Angle

The angle of incidence beyond which total internal reflection occurs, given by \thetac = \sin^{-1}(\frac{n2}{n1}), where n1 > n2. Ensure n1 > n_2.

Total Internal Reflection (TIR

The phenomenon where light is completely reflected back into the original medium at the boundary with another medium, occurring when the angle of incidence exceeds the critical angle.