 |
 |
 |
 |
|
PIC |
| Chapter 1 |
| Chapter 2 |
| Chapter 3 |
| Chapter 4 |
| Chapter 5 |
| Chapter 6 |
| Chapter 7 |
| Chapter 8 |
| Chapter 9 |
| Chapter
10 |
|
|
|
|
Choose a system and follow the links.
| Ray Optics | Wave Optics | Laser |
After viewing a link, close the browser window to return to this page.
This site is part of Patterns in Nature from Arizona State University. The site explores how light reflects and refracts, how lenses and mirrors work, how color allows us to create masterpieces of art, and how nature creates her own masterpieces of light. Some of the activities on this site require the use of an Optics Discovery Kit, but there is enough other information to explore to make the site beneficial even if you don't have the kit.
Java applet that shows reflection and refraction at the boundary between water and air. You can select whether the light shines from the air or the water side of the boundary and the angle at which it is directed.
A brief tutorial on the reflection and refraction of light. Example problems with concave and convex mirrors are worked out.
Example problems are provided.
This page covers the law of reflection using an animated graphic. Links to other pages of The Physics Classroom are provided.
The ray nature of light is used to explain how light refracts at planar and curved surfaces; Snell's law and refraction principles are used to explain a variety of real-world phenomena; refraction principles are combined with ray diagrams to explain why lenses produce images of objects.
The ray nature of light is used to explain how light reflects off of planar and curved surfaces to produce both real and virtual images; the nature of the images produced by plane, concave, and convex mirrors is thoroughly illustrated.
This award-winning site is a list of links to virtual labs and simulations on the topics of reflection, refraction, dispersion, lens optics, and optics problems.
In this simulation it is possible to examine reflection, refraction, and total internal reflection.
Links to animations, slide shows, text descriptions, and interactive labs on various topics of optics. Topics include image formation and ray tracing basics, reflection off concave and convex mirrors, image formation by a diverging mirror, and converging and diverging lens labs.
More Physics Classroom pages that deal with angles of reflection and refraction in a practical way. Includes self-assessment questions at the end of each page.
Fiber optics work by total internal reflection. This site explains fiber optics and their applications.
A physics tutorial written for high school students.
Under "Light and Vision/Vision/" are generous models and diagrams of the eye and it's function in image formation.
In this section we start with Newton's corpuscular theory and
then move on to Huygens' theory and proof laws of reflection and refraction
using it. The superposition of waves: interference, interference sources and
polarization with Malus' law are also discussed in this section.
Christiaan Huygens Biographies — The following sites provide biographical information
about Christiaan Huygens.
Huygens
-
Electromagnetics
- Spotlight on Christian Huygens -
Short biography of Thomas Young
This applet is an attempt to explain the reflection and the refraction of waves by Huygens' principle.
Discusses Bragg's law and diffraction and how the atomic structure of crystals can be determined. The site includes an applet depicting two rays incident on two atomic layers of a crystal.
This applet shows the simplest case of diffraction, single-slit diffraction. You can vary the width of the slit and the color of the light.
Slide show that describes how diffraction occurs when light passes through a single slit
This is a simple activity from the Exploratorium that demonstrates diffraction and a single slit.
This HowStuffWorks page explains how light microscopes work.
Lots of interesting information on how a telescope works, the various types of telescopes, and telescope mounts and accessories
This page answers the question of why CDs and soap bubbles reflect rainbow colors in terms of constructive and destructive interference.
Applet simulating operation of a spectrophotometer. The experiment models emission of photons by a lamp, absorption of those photons by a solute in a sample solution, and detection of the photons by a photomultiplier tube. The photons are represented by little balls (a particulate matter model rather than a wave model). The simulation permits simultaneous use of two different wavelengths.
This site discusses Thomson's experiments and his contribution to our understanding of the atom.
This is a series of pages that outlines how our understanding of the atom and its structure have evolved and the contributions of various scientists to this knowledge.
Outlines the various models of the atom as held by Aristotle, Dalton, Bohr, de Broglie, and Schroedinger
The following sites are links to biographical entries.
A Science Odyssey: People and Discoveries
The Nobel e-museum's biography of J. J. Thomson
The following sites are links to biographical entries.
A Science Odyssey: People and Discoveries
The following sites are links to biographical entries.
The following sites are links to biographical entries.
Eric Weinstein's World of Biography
This applet lets you build atoms by creating neutrons and protons and adding electrons. You must keep the particles balanced as you add them or you end up with radioactive isotopes or ions that go off to bond with other ions to form molecules.
An excellent piece on the quantum theory of the atom. It is also available as a printable version in Adobe Acrobat.
The links on the right side of this page from the Hyper Physics website link to various pages related to topics such as the Bohr theory, quantum numbers, atomic structure, and atomic properties. You can explore these topics and more by linking to additional sites from these pages.
This page defines spectrum and discusses the quantum explanation of spectral lines.
Tutorial on development of the current atomic theory. There are practice questions throughout.
This site on Physics 2000 discusses the formation of spectral
lines.
This site outlines the work of Arthur L. Schawlow, a Bell Labs researcher, and Charles H. Townes, a consultant to Bell Labs, and their invention of the laser. Also includes links to information on lasers, how they work, and applications
Tutorial on lasers and how they work
This page has links to sites related to lasers, laser applications, and laser research throughout the United States.
A slide show on laser safety from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The first part covers laser basics.
This is a short tutorial that covers lasers, components of lasers, common laser wavelengths, and excimer laser wavelengths.
This applet illustrates a schematic operation of a laser.
A student page on lasers, how they work, and their applications. The color scheme makes it somewhat difficult to read.
Explains operation of a laser, the different types of lasers, and their applications. Also included is an extensive list of links to outside sources of information.