PHY 104

Reflection and refraction at plane and spherical surfaces

Light exhibits various behaviors when it interacts with different surfaces. Two fundamental optical
phenomena are reflection and refraction, which describe how light waves behave when they
encounter different media.

Reflection

Reflection occurs when light bounces off a surface without changing its medium. It follows two
key laws:

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

2. The incident ray, the reflected ray, and the normal at the point of incidence all lie in the
same plane.

Reflection can be classified into specular reflection, which occurs on smooth surfaces like
mirrors, and diffuse reflection, which happens on rough surfaces.

Figure 1: The incident ray, the reflected ray and the normal at a plane

Considering a light ray traveling in air and incident at some angle on a flat, smooth surface, as
shown in Figure 1. The incident and reflected rays make angles 𝜃1 and 𝜃1′ , respectively, with a line
perpendicular to the surface at the point where the incident ray strikes the surface. This line is
known as the normal to the surface. However, experiments have shown that the angle of reflection
equals the angle of incidence:

𝜃1 = 𝜃1′ (1)

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When a light ray traveling in a transparent medium encounters a boundary leading into a second
medium, part of the incident ray is reflected back into the first medium. Figure 2a shows several
rays of a beam of light incident on a smooth, mirror-like reflecting surface. The reflected rays are
parallel to one another, as indicated in the figure 2a. The reflection of light from such a smooth
surface is called specular reflection. On the other hand, if the reflecting surface is rough, as in
Figure 2b, the surface reflects the rays in a variety of directions. Reflection from any rough surface
is known as diffuse reflection.

Figure 2: (a) specular reflection, where the reflected rays are all parallel to one another, and
(b) diffuse reflection, where the reflected rays travel in random directions.

Refraction of Light at Plane Surface

When a ray of light traveling through a transparent medium encounters a boundary leading into
another transparent medium, as in shown in Figure 3a, part of the ray is reflected and part enters
the second medium. The ray that enters the second medium bends at the boundary and is said to
be refracted. The incident ray, the reflected ray, the refracted ray, and the normal at the point of
incidence all lie in the same plane.

Figure 3: (a) The wave under refraction model. (b) Light incident on the Lucite block refracts
both when it enters the block and when it leaves the block

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The angle of refraction, 𝜃1 as shown in Figure 3a depends on the properties of the two media and
on the angle of incidence, through the relationship.

sin 𝜃2 𝑣2
= = 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡 (2)
sin 𝜃1 𝑣1

where 𝑣1 is the speed of light in medium 1 and 𝑣2 is the speed of light in medium 2. Note that the
angle of refraction is also measured with respect to the normal.

Experiment shows that the path of a light ray through a refracting surface is reversible. For
example, the ray in Figure 3a travels from point A to point B. If the ray originated at B, it would
follow the same path to reach point A, but the reflected ray would be in the glass.

When light moves from a material in which its speed is high to a material in which its speed is
lower, the angle of refraction 𝜃2 is less than the angle of incidence. The refracted ray therefore
bends toward the normal, as shown in Figure 4a. If the ray moves from a material in which it
travels slowly to a material in which it travels more rapidly, 𝜃2 is greater than 𝜃1 , so the ray bends
away from the normal, as shown in Figure 4b.

Figure 4: The refraction of light as it (a) moves from air into glass and (b) moves from glass into
air

The Law of Refraction

When light passes from one transparent medium to another, it is refracted because the speed of
light is different in the two media. The index of refraction, 𝑛, of a medium is defined as the ratio
𝑐
;
𝑣
speed of light in vacuum 𝑐
𝑛 = speed of light in a medium = 𝑣 (3)

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As light travels from one medium to another, its frequency doesn’t change. As shown in
Figure 5. Wave fronts pass an observer at point A in medium 1 with a certain frequency and are
incident on the boundary between medium 1 and medium 2. The frequency at which the wave
fronts pass an observer at point B in medium 2 must equal the frequency at which they arrive at
point A. If not, the wave fronts would either pile up at the boundary or be destroyed or created at
the boundary. Because neither of these events occurs, the frequency must remain the same as a
light ray passes from one medium into another.

Figure 5: A wave travels from medium 1 to medium 2, in which it moves with lower speed

From 𝑣 = 𝑓𝜆 must be valid in both media and because 𝑓1 = 𝑓2 = 𝑓. Therefore, 𝑣1 = 𝑓𝜆1 and
𝑣2 = 𝑓𝜆2 . Because 𝑣1 ≠ 𝑣2 ., it follows that 𝜆1 ≠ 𝜆2 . A relationship between the index of
refraction and the wavelength can be obtained by dividing these two equations and making use of
the definition of the index of refraction given by Equation 3:
𝜆1 𝑣1 𝑐 ⁄𝑛1 𝑛
= = = 𝑛1 (4)
𝜆2 𝑣2 𝑐 ⁄𝑛2 2

𝜆1 𝑛1 = 𝜆2 𝑛2 (5)

Let medium 1 be the vacuum so that 𝑛1 = 1. It follows from Equation 5 that the index of
refraction of any medium can be expressed as the ratio

𝜆
𝑛 = 𝜆𝑜 (6)
𝑛

where 𝜆𝑜 is the wavelength of light in vacuum and 𝜆𝑛 is the wavelength in the medium having
index of refraction n. Figure 5 is a schematic representation of this reduction in wavelength when
light passes from a vacuum into a transparent medium.

𝑛1 sin 𝜃1 = 𝑛2 sin 𝜃2 (7)

The equation is therefore known as Snell’s law of refraction

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 Reflection of light at spherical surface
A spherical mirror, as its name implies, has the shape of a segment of a sphere. Figure 6 shows
a spherical mirror with a silvered inner, concave surface; this type of mirror is called a concave
mirror. The mirror has radius of curvature R, and its center of curvature is at point C. Point V is
the center of the spherical segment, and a line drawn from C to V is called the principal axis of
the mirror. By considering a point source of light placed at point O in Figure 6b, on the principal
axis and outside point C. Several diverging rays originating at O are shown. After reflecting from
the mirror, these rays converge to meet at I, called the image point. The rays then continue and
diverge from I as if there were an object there. As a result, a real image is formed. Whenever
reflected light actually passes through a point, the image formed there is real.

Figure 6: (a) A concave mirror of radius R. The center of curvature, C, is located on the principal
axis.
(b) A point object placed at O in front of a concave spherical mirror of radius R, where O is any
point on the principal axis farther than R from the surface of the mirror, forms a real image at I.

Figure 7: A spherical concave mirror inhibits spherical aberration when light rays make large
angles with the principal axis.

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Figure 7, converge to other points on the principal axis, producing a blurred image. This effect,
called spherical aberration, is present to some extent with any spherical mirror. Geometry can
be used, as shown in Figure 8, to calculate the image distance q from the object distance p and
radius of curvature R. By convention, these distances are measured from point V. The figure shows
two rays of light leaving the tip of the object. One ray passes through the center of curvature, C,
of the mirror, hitting the mirror head-on (perpendicular to the mirror surface) and reflecting back
on itself. The second ray strikes the mirror at point V and reflects as shown, obeying the law of
reflection. The image of the tip of the arrow is at the point where the two rays intersect. From the
largest triangle in Figure 8, it can be seen that tan 𝜃 = ℎ⁄𝑝; the light-blue triangle gives 𝜃 =
′
− ℎ ⁄𝑝. The negative sign has been introduced to satisfy our convention that h is negative when
the image is inverted with respect to the object, as it is here.

Figure 8: The image formed by a spherical concave mirror, where the object at O lies outside the
center of curvature, C.

ℎ′ 𝑞
𝑀= = (8)
ℎ 𝑝
ℎ ℎ′
tan ∝= and tan ∝= − 𝑝−𝑅
𝑝−𝑅
ℎ′ 𝑅−𝑞
= (9)
ℎ 𝑝−𝑅
𝑅−𝑞 𝑞
= therefore, Simple algebra reduces this equation to
𝑝−𝑅 𝑝
1 1 2
+𝑞 = (10)
𝑝 𝑅

This expression is called the mirror equation.

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Figure 9: (a) Light rays from a distant object 𝑝 = ∞ reflect from a concave mirror through the
focal point F. (b) A photograph of the reflection of parallel rays from a concave mirror.

If the object is very far from the mirror i.e the object distance p is great enough compared with R
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that p can be said to approach infinity then 𝑝 ≈ 0, and we see from Equation 10 that 𝑞 ≈ 0. In
other words, when the object is very far from the mirror, the image point is halfway between the
center of curvature and the center of the mirror, as shown in Figure 9a. The incoming rays are
essentially parallel in that figure because the source is assumed to be very far from the mirror. In
this special case we call the image point the focal point F and the image distance the focal length
f, where
𝑅
𝑓 = 2 (11)
The mirror equation can therefore be expressed in terms of the focal length:
1 1 1
+𝑞 = 𝑓 (12)
𝑝

NB: Concave mirror

Object Distance (𝑢): The object distance is considered NEGATIVE when the object is placed in
front of the mirror (i.e., on the same side as the incoming light rays). This is because, in the formula,
distances measured from the mirror's surface towards the incoming light are conventionally taken
as negative.

Image Distance (𝑣): The image distance is considered NEGATIVE when the image is formed
on the same side as the incoming light rays, which happens for virtual images formed by concave
mirrors. Virtual images are those that appear to be formed behind the mirror, and hence, their
distances are taken as negative.

These conventions help maintain consistency and allow for easy interpretation of the sign
conventions in the mirror equation. They indicate the direction in which light rays are traveling
and where images are formed relative to the mirror.

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 Focal length
The focal length of a concave mirror is NEGATIVE due to the way light rays behave when they
reflect off the mirror surface.

Concave Mirror Shape: A concave mirror curves inward, meaning its reflecting surface is like
the inside surface of a sphere or parabola. This shape causes incoming parallel rays of light to
converge after reflection, focusing at a point called the focal point.

Focal Point Location: In a concave mirror, the focal point is located in front of the mirror
surface, on the same side as the incoming light rays. This is because the mirror's curvature causes
the reflected rays to converge toward this point.

1. Ray Convergence: When parallel rays of light approach a concave mirror, they reflect and
converge towards the focal point. As these rays converge before the mirror's surface, the focal
point is considered to be in front of the mirror.

2. Sign Convention: To maintain consistency in optical calculations, a sign convention is adopted.

Distances are measured relative to the mirror, with distances towards the mirror considered
negative and away from the mirror considered positive.
For concave mirrors, the focal length is defined as the distance from the mirror's surface to the
focal point along the principal axis.
Since the focal point lies in front of the mirror, the focal length is considered NEGATIVE to
adhere to the sign convention.

3. Mathematical Representation: In mathematical formulas, such as the mirror equation

1 1 1
= + 𝑢 , where 𝑓 is the focal length, 𝑣 is the image distance, and 𝑢 is the object distance:
𝑓 𝑣

The negative focal length for a concave mirror ensures that when objects are placed in front of
the mirror (resulting in negative object distances), the corresponding image distances are also
negative for real images (formed on the opposite side of the mirror) and positive for virtual
images (formed on the same side as the object).

Therefore, the negative focal length for a concave mirror reflects both the physical behavior of
light rays and the adopted sign convention for optical calculations.

For the concave mirrors in Figures 9a and 9b, the rays are drawn as follows:
1. Ray 1 is drawn parallel to the principal axis and is reflected back through
the focal point F.
2. Ray 2 is drawn through the focal point and is reflected parallel to the
principal axis.
3. Ray 3 is drawn through the center of curvature, C, and is reflected back on itself.

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Convex Mirror

Figure 10 shows the formation of an image by a convex mirror, which is silvered so that light is
reflected from the outer, convex surface. It is sometimes called a diverging mirror because the
rays from any point on the object diverge after reflection, as though they were coming from some
point behind the mirror. The image in Figure 10 is virtual rather than real because it lies behind
the mirror at the point the reflected rays appear to originate. In general, the image formed by a
convex mirror is upright, virtual, and smaller than the object. We won’t derive any equations for
convex spherical mirrors. If we did, we would find that the equations developed for concave
mirrors can be used with convex mirrors if particular sign conventions are used. The region in
which light rays move the front side of the mirror, and the other side, where virtual images are
formed, is called the back side.

Figure 10: Formation of an image by a spherical, convex mirror.

Ray Diagrams for Mirrors

Conveniently the positions and sizes of images formed by mirrors by constructing ray diagrams
similar to the ones we have been using shall be discuss here. This kind of graphical construction
tells us the overall nature of the image and can be used to check parameters calculated from the
mirror and magnification equations. Making a ray diagram requires knowing the position of the
object and the location of the center of curvature. To locate the image, three rays are constructed,
as shown Figure 10. All three rays start from the same object point; for these examples, the tip of
the arrow was chosen.

NB: Convex Mirror

For a convex mirror, the sign conventions for focal length, object distance, and image distance
are as follows:

Focal Length (𝑓):

The focal length of a convex mirror is positive.
This is because the focal point lies behind the mirror, on the opposite side of the incoming light
rays.

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Thus, the focal length is measured as a positive distance from the mirror's surface to the focal
point along the principal axis.

Object Distance (𝑢):

The object distance for a convex mirror is typically NEGATIVE.

This is because objects are usually placed in front of the mirror, on the same side as the incoming
light rays.
Distances measured towards the mirror's surface are conventionally taken as negative.

Image Distance (𝑣):

The image distance for a convex mirror is also NEGATIVE.

This is because images formed by convex mirrors are virtual and located on the same side as the
object, behind the mirror.
Therefore, the image distance is measured as a negative distance from the mirror's surface to the
virtual image location.

Summary:

Focal length (𝑓) is positive.

Object distance (𝑢) is typically negative.
Image distance (𝑣) is negative for virtual images formed by convex mirrors.

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Figure 11: Ray diagrams for spherical mirrors and corresponding photographs of the images of
candles

Images Formed by Refraction

This section describe how images are formed by refraction at a spherical surface. Consider two
transparent media with indices of refraction 𝑛1 and 𝑛2 , where the boundary between the two media
is a spherical surface of radius R (Figure 12). Assuming the medium of the right has a higher index
of refraction than the one at the left: 𝑛2 > 𝑛1 . That would be the case for light entering a curved
piece of glass from air or for light entering the water in a fishbowl from air. The rays originating
at the object location O are refracted at the spherical surface and then converge to the image point
I. From Snell’s law of refraction, the simple geometric techniques show that the object distance,
image distance, and radius of curvature are related by the equation:
𝑛1 𝑛2 𝑛1 −𝑛2
+ = (13)
𝑝 𝑞 𝑅

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 ℎ′ 𝑛1 𝑞
𝑀= = (14)
ℎ 𝑛2 𝑝

Figure 12: Image formed by refraction at a spherical surface

Flat Refracting Surfaces

If the refracting surface is flat, then R approaches infinity and Equation 13 reduces to:

𝑛1 𝑛2
=
𝑝 𝑞
𝑛
𝑞 = 12 𝑝 (15)

From Equation 15, it was observed that the sign of 𝑞 is opposite that of 𝑝. Consequently, the image
formed by a flat refracting surface is on the same side of the surface as the object. This statement
is illustrated in Figure 13 for the situation in which 𝑛1 is greater than 𝑛2 , where a virtual image is
formed between the object and the surface. Note that the refracted ray bends away from the normal
in this case because 𝑛1 > 𝑛2 .

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 Figure 13: The image formed by a flat refracting surface

Practice questions to be solve in class

1. An object 3.00 cm high is placed 20.0 cm from a convex mirror with a focal length of
magnitude 8.00 cm. Find the position of the image, the magnification of the mirror, and
the height of the image.
2. Carbon disulfide (n=1.63) is poured into a container made of crown glass (n =1.52). What
is the critical angle for total internal reflection of a light ray in the liquid when it is incident
on the liquid-to-glass surface?
3. A light ray incident at 45° on a glass slab (n = 1.5) undergoes refraction. What is the
approximate angle of refraction?
4. An object 3.00 cm high is placed 20.0 cm from a convex mirror with a focal length of
magnitude 8.00 cm. Find the position of the image, the magnification of the mirror, and
the height of the image.

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