Wave Phenomena

Physics 15c

Lecture 21
Geometrical Optics
(H&L Chapter 12)
What We Did Last Time
I (θ )  sin nx 
2

! Extended 2-body " n-body interference = 

I (0)  n sin x 
! Waves become more focused as n gets larger kd sin θ
x≡
! Diffraction gratings analyze light spectrum 2
! Discussed diffraction I (θ ) sin 2 α π a sin θ
= α≡
! Wide slits " Fraunhofer diffraction I (0) α 2
λ
! Slit and diffraction connected by Fourier
! The wider the slit, the narrower the angular distribution

! Diffraction limits resolution of optical devices λ

θ > 1.22
! Airy disc for round aperture " ×1.22
a
! Crystallography " Bragg condition
Goals for Today
! Introduce geometrical optics
! When wave-ness of light can be ignored
! Traditional optical devices designed this way
! Discuss lenses (and mirrors)
! How they focus (or defocus) light
! Imperfections – spherical and chromatic aberration
! How to avoid them

! Ideal (i.e. nonexistent) lenses

! Very-far-from-ideal lenses – Glass sphere
Lenses and Mirrors
! Optical devices are combination of lenses and mirrors
! Telescopes, microscopes, cameras, binoculars …
! Wave-ness of light creates interference phenomena
! Reflectivity depends on thickness d
! e.g. anti-reflective coating d λ = 1 4

! Resolution limited by diffraction due to aperture a

! Rayleigh diffraction limit θ > 1.22 λ a

! Magnitude of interference depend on λ/(size)

! If size >> wavelength, we can ignore these effects
! Most lenses satisfy this condition
Geometrical Optics
! Assume all elements (lenses/mirrors) are much larger
than the wavelength in aperture and thickness
! We can treat light as if it’s a particle
! Trajectory in each medium is a straight line θ1

! At boundaries, it either reflects or refracts

! Refraction angle given by Snell’s law
θ2
! Everything is determined by the elements’ sin θ1 n2
=
shapes, indices of refraction, and their sin θ 2 n1
geometrical arrangement
! Geometrical Optics = Analysis of optical devices using this
approximation
Optical Elements
! There are 4 major types:
! Concave and convex lenses
! Concave and convex mirrors
! Lenses may have different
radii on two surfaces
! Consider them as a combination
of two lenses with one side flat
Focal Points
! Lenses (mirrors) turn plane waves into spherical waves
! “Origin” of the spherical waves Real FP
is the focal point
! Light may or may not actually
go through the focal point
! If yes " real focal point f
! If not " virtual focal point Virtual FP

! Distance between the lens and its

focal point = focal length f
! If real " f > 0
−f
! If virtual " f < 0 convention
Diopter
! Your optometrist prescribes your glasses using diopter
! It’s just 1/f – called the optical power
! Larger number " shorter focal length " stronger

bending of light rays

! e.g. a –1.5 diopter lens has f = –0.7m
" concave lens
! A nearsighted (myopic) eye

needs a concave lens for

correction
! Now you know what those

mysterious numbers on your

prescription are
Convex Lens
! Let’s start with a flat-convex lens index n
! Convex side is spherical
θ2
! Snell’s law θ1 θ 2 − θ1
y
n sin θ1 = sin θ 2 θ1
ny f
sin θ 2 = R
R
! For small angles
y y y R
f = ≈ ≈ = Focal length
tan(θ 2 − θ1 ) θ 2 − θ1 R − R
ny y
n −1
! Incoming light converges at the focal point
But there are approximations
Concave Lens
! Now a flat-concave lens index n

! Snell’s law θ1
n sin θ1 = sin θ 2 θ2
y θ 2 − θ1 θ1
ny
sin θ 2 =
R −f
! For small angles R
y R
sign! −f = ≈
tan(θ 2 − θ1 ) n − 1
! Same formula, just a negative sign

Yeah, what about those approximations?

Aberration
! Two approximations were made
! Angles θ1 and θ2 are small y
θ1
θ2
θ 2 − θ1
θ1
! Index n is a constant f
R
! Both are incorrect for real lenses
! Angles may get large if the aperture is large
" Rays at different y do not converge at the same f
! Spherical Aberration

! Index varies with wavelength λ due to dispersion

" Rays with different λ do not converge at the same f
! Chromatic Aberration
Spherical Aberration
! For lenses with large aperture a, rays passing near the
perimeter over-refract
! Negligible if a ! R
! Camera lenses with a
small “f-stop” suffer
from spherical aberration R
f R
f-stop = =
a a (n − 1)
! Smaller f-stop = larger aperture = brighter (faster) lens
! Good 50mm lenses have f/1.4 or smaller
Large Aperture Lens
! Canon EL 50mm f/1.0(!) lens
! It reduces spherical aberration using
aspherical lenses and glass with
high index of refraction
R
! Latter is simple f =
n −1
! Larger n makes R larger for the same f

" smaller aberration for the same a

! Flint glass has n = 1.575–1.89
Aspherical
" n – 1 larger than normal glass by max 78% lenses
! Can a non-spherical lens eliminate aberration?
! Let’s try
Aspherical Lens
! Express the curved surface as x = x( y ) y
dx
! Slope at y satisfies tan θ1 =
dy
θ2
! Snell’s law n sin θ1 = sin θ 2 θ1 θ 2 − θ1
! Focal length is x
y f
f = − x( y )
tan(θ 2 − θ1 )
! 3 equations, 3 unknowns (x, θ1, θ2)
" Can be solved for x(y)
! Ugly differential equation

! Look for a way around

A Step Back – Wave View
! Incoming light is plane waves y
! All rays have a same phase
as they enter the lens
! When they meet at the focal
point, they must have a x
same phase f
! Otherwise they won’t look

like spherical waves

! For this, all rays must take a same
time to reach the focal point
! This is a modified form of Fermat’s principle
Fermat’s Principle
! Fermat says “light takes the path of shortest time to get
from one point to another”
! Make “one point” infinitely far
! Among all the paths to F,
F
only the shortest one should be
actually taken
! For all the rays to reach F,
they must all be “the shortest”
! Difference in geometrical lengths is compensated by
the slow-down due to n inside the lens
! Let’s use this knowledge to calculate x(y)
 Aspherical Lens
! Time from the flat surface to F is y
n 1
t ( y) = (d − x( y )) + ( f + x( y )) 2 + y 2
c c
! If this is constant,
c(t ( y ) − t (0)) = −nx( y ) + ( f + x( y )) 2 + y 2 − f x F

=0 f
! Easy enough to solve

f + nx( y ) = ( f + x( y ) ) + y 2
2

( + ) (= + ) +
2 2
f nx ( y ) f x ( y ) y 2 d

(n 2 − 1) x 2 + 2(n − 1) fx − y 2 = 0 hyperbola
Spherical Aberration
! Spherical aberration can be reduced by
! High-index glass (flint glass)
! Aspherical (hyperbolic) lens shape
! Not a perfect solution: doesn’t work for off-axis light

! Difficult to make with traditional polishing technique

! Combining multiple lenses so that aberrations cancel

! Mathematical technique known since 1830

! Designing good lens remains on borderline between

art and science
! Photographers still believe 60-year-old Zeiss lenses are
better than modern computer-designed ones…
Chromatic Aberration
! Index of refraction varies
blue - - - - - red
with wavelength nblue > nred
! Blue light bends more than
red light
flint glass
! Shorter f for blue f = R
than for red n −1 crown glass

This is chromatic aberration

Achromatic Lenses
! How can we get rid of chromatic aberration?
! Idea: use two kinds of glass with different dispersion
flint glass

crown glass

! Blue bends more than red

" Combine convex and concave lenses so that the
dispersion cancels out " Achromatic lens
! See H&L Section 12.8 for details
Achromatic Lenses
! Flint glass was created in early 18th century
! Achromatic lens was invented by C.M. Hall in the 1730s
! He kept it secret, ordering the two lenses to different lens

companies
! G. Bass, a subcontractor of the two lens companies

realized the secret, but also kept it to himself

! Idea leaked to J. Dolland, who re-invented achromatic lens
in 1759, got patent, and made big money
Glass Sphere
! A glass ball is the worst case for spherical aberration
r
sin θ1 = n sin θ 2
θ1
sin θ1 =
R
r θ2 θ
! Total bending angle is 2 θ1
θ = 2(θ1 − θ 2 ) θ
R

Good
lens Spherical
aberration
r R
Rainbow
! You’ve probably heard of how rainbows are made
! But the scattering angle depends on
where the light enters the drop
! If you add up all possible positions,
rainbow will be washed out They lied
! Real rainbow is made by θ
1
the light that reflected
internally r θ2 θ
2
! Total deflection is θ2
θ = 2θ1 − 4θ 2 + π θ2 θ

θ1
Rainbow
r
θ = 2θ1 − 4θ 2 + π sin θ1 = sin θ1 = n sin θ 2
R
n = 1.33
! θ has a minimum around 137.5° π θ
! Illuminate a water droplet
with uniform light
! What is the distribution of θ min = 2.40
light intensity in θ ? r R
! A bit difficult problem
! Covered in Physics 143a and 151

r dr
! The answer: I (θ ) ∝ This goes to infinity
sin θ dθ at the turning point there
Rainbow
! Minimum of θ " Sharp peak of intensity I(θ)
θ I (θ ) ∞

θ min r < rmin

rmin r > rmin

r R
θ
! Reflection observed only at θ min
θmin # This depends on n,
which depends slightly on λ
! This is really how rainbow
is created θ min
Mirrors
! Mirrors are simpler than lenses
! For small angle θ θ
f =R 2 y θ
! No chromatic aberration
f
! To avoid spherical aberration,
R
you need a parabolic mirror
! Concave mirrors are used in place of
convex lenses in telescopes
! Easier to make a large mirror than a large lens
! Can make the overall length shorter
Hubble Space Telescope
! Hubble Space Telescope launched in April 1990
with a spherical primary mirror
! Spherical aberration made it nearly useless
! Corrective optics (COSTAR) added in December 1993
! “Eyeglasses for Hubble”
Summary
! Introduced geometrical optics
! Size of optical elements much larger than the wavelength
" Interference and diffraction can be ignored
! Discussed lenses
R
! Focal point and focal length f =
n −1
! Real lenses are imperfect – aberrations
! Spherical aberration when aperture is large

! Chromatic aberration due to dispersion of the glass

! There are solutions, but nothing is perfect

! Next: images made by optical devices