9.6 A prism is made of glass of unknown refractive index. A parallel beam of light is incident on a face of the prism. The angle of minimum deviation is measured to be 40°. What is the refractive index of the material of the prism? The refracting angle of the prism is 60°. If the prism is placed in water (refractive index 1.33), predict the new angle of minimum deviation of a parallel beam of light.

9.6 REFRACTION THROUGH A PRISM Figure 9.21 shows the passage of light through a triangular prism ABC. The angles of incidence and refraction at the first face AB are i and r1, while the angle of incidence (from glass to air) at the second face AC is r2 and the angle of refraction or emergence e. The angle between the emergent ray RS and the direction of the incident ray PQ is called the angle of deviation, d. In the quadrilateral AQNR, two of the angles (at the vertices Q and R) are right angles. Therefore, the sum of the other angles of the quadrilateral is 180°. FIGURE 9.21 A ray of light passing through a triangular glass prism. ÐA + ÐQNR = 180° From the triangle QNR, r1 + r2 + ÐQNR = 180° Comparing these two equations, we get r1 + r2 = A (9.34) The total deviation d is the sum of deviations at the two faces, d = (i – r1 ) + (e – r2 ) that is, d = i + e – A (9.35) Thus, the angle of deviation depends on the angle of incidence. A plot between the angle of deviation and angle of incidence is shown in Fig. 9.22. You can see that, in general, any given value of d, except for i = e, corresponds to two values i and hence of e. This, in fact, is expected from the symmetry of i and e in Eq. (9.35), i.e., d remains the same if i 239 Reprint 2025-26 Physics and e are interchanged. Physically, this is related to the fact that the path of ray in Fig. 9.21 can be traced back, resulting in the same angle of deviation. At the minimum deviation Dm, the refracted ray inside the prism becomes parallel to its base. We have d = Dm, i = e which implies r1 = r2. Equation (9.34) gives A 2r = A or r = (9.36) 2 In the same way, Eq. (9.35) gives Dm = 2i – A, or i = (A + Dm)/2 (9.37) The refractive index of the prism is FIGURE 9.22 Plot of angle of deviation (d) n 2 sin[( A + D m )/2] versus angle of incidence (i) for a n 21 = = (9.38) triangular prism. n1 sin[ A /2] The angles A and Dm can be measured experimentally. Equation (9.38) thus provides a method of determining refractive index of the material of the prism. For a small angle prism, i.e., a thin prism, Dm is also very small, and we get sin[( A + Dm )/2] A + Dm ) /2 ≃ ( n 21 = sin[ A /2] A /2 Dm = (n21–1)A It implies that, thin prisms do not deviate light much. 9.7 OPTICAL INSTRUMENTS A number of optical devices and instruments have been designed utilising reflecting and refracting properties of mirrors, lenses and prisms. Periscope, kaleidoscope, binoculars, telescopes, microscopes are some examples of optical devices and instruments that are in common use. Our eye is, of course, one of the most important optical device the nature has endowed us with. We have already studied about the human eye in Class X. We now go on to describe the principles of working of the microscope and the telescope. 9.7.1 The microscope A simple magnifier or microscope is a converging lens of small focal length (Fig. 9.23). In order to use such a lens as a microscope, the lens is held near the object, one focal length away or less, and the eye is positioned close to the lens on the other side. The idea is to get an erect, magnified and virtual image of the object at a distance so that it can be viewed comfortably, i.e., at 25 cm or more. If the object is at a distance f, the 240 image is at infinity. However, if the object is at a distance slightly less Reprint 2025-26 Ray Optics and Optical Instruments FIGURE 9.23 A simple microscope; (a) the magnifying lens is located such that the image is at the near point, (b) the angle subtanded by the object, is the same as that at the near point, and (c) the object near the focal point of the lens; the image is far off but closer than infinity. than the focal length of the lens, the image is virtual and closer than infinity. Although the closest comfortable distance for viewing the image is when it is at the near point (distance D @ 25 cm), it causes some strain on the eye. Therefore, the image formed at infinity is often considered most suitable for viewing by the relaxed eye. We show both cases, the first in Fig. 9.23(a), and the second in Fig. 9.23(b) and (c). The linear magnification m, for the image formed at the near point D, by a simple microscope can be obtained by using the relation 241 Reprint 2025-26 Physics v  1 1   v  m = = v – 1 – u  v f =  f  Now according to our sign convention, v is negative, and is equal in magnitude to D. Thus, the magnification is  D  m = 1 + (9.39)  f  Since D is about 25 cm, to have a magnification of six, one needs a convex lens of focal length, f = 5 cm. Note that m = h¢/h where h is the size of the object and h¢ the size of the image. This is also the ratio of the angle subtended by the image to that subtended by the object, if placed at D for comfortable viewing. (Note that this is not the angle actually subtended by the object at the eye, which is h/u.) What a single-lens simple magnifier achieves is that it allows the object to be brought closer to the eye than D. We will now find the magnification when the image is at infinity. In this case we will have to obtained the angular magnification. Suppose the object has a height h. The maximum angle it can subtend, and be clearly visible (without a lens), is when it is at the near point, i.e., a distance D. The angle subtended is then given by  h  tan θo =  D » qo (9.40) We now find the angle subtended at the eye by the image when the object is at u. From the relations h ′ v = m = h u we have the angle subtended by the image h ′ h v h tan θi = = ⋅ = »q. The angle subtended by the object, when it −v −v u −u is at u = –f.  h  θi = (9.41)  f  as is clear from Fig. 9.23(c). The angular magnification is, therefore  θi  D m = (9.42)  θo = f This is one less than the magnification when the image is at the near point, Eq. (9.39), but the viewing is more comfortable and the difference in magnification is usually small. In subsequent discussions of optical instruments (microscope and telescope) we shall assume the image to be 242 at infinity. Reprint 2025-26 Ray Optics and Optical Instruments FIGURE 9.24 Ray diagram for the formation of image by a compound microscope. The A simple microscope has a limited maximum magnification (£ 9) for realistic focal lengths. For much larger magnifications, one uses two lenses, one compounding the effect of the other. This is known as a compound world’s microscope. A schematic diagram of a compound microscope is shown in Fig. 9.24. The lens nearest the object, called the objective, forms a largestreal, inverted, magnified image of the object. This serves as the object for the second lens, the eyepiece, which functions essentially like a simple microscope or magnifier, produces the final image, which is enlarged optical and virtual. The first inverted image is thus near (at or within) the focal plane of the eyepiece, at a distance appropriate for final image formation at infinity, or a little closer for image formation at the near point. Clearly,the final image is inverted with respect to the original object. http://astro.nineplanets.org/bigeyes.html telescopes We now obtain the magnification due to a compound microscope. The ray diagram of Fig. 9.24 shows that the (linear) magnification due to the objective, namely h¢/h, equals h ′ L m O = = (9.43) h f o where we have used the result  h   h ′  tanβ =  f o =  L  Here h¢ is the size of the first image, the object size being h and fo being the focal length of the objective. The first image is formed near the focal point of the eyepiece. The distance L, i.e., the distance between the second focal point of the objective and the first focal point of the eyepiece (focal length fe) is called the tube length of the compound microscope. 243 Reprint 2025-26 Physics As the first inverted image is near the focal point of the eyepiece, we use the result from the discussion above for the simple microscope to obtain the (angular) magnification me due to it [Eq. (9.39)], when the final image is formed at the near point, is  D  m e =  1 +  [9.44(a)]  f e  When the final image is formed at infinity, the angular magnification due to the eyepiece [Eq. (9.42)] is me = (D/fe ) [9.44(b)] Thus, the total magnification [(according to Eq. (9.33)], when the image is formed at infinity, is L   D  m = m om e =    (9.45)  f o   f e  Clearly, to achieve a large magnification of a small object (hence the name microscope), the objective and eyepiece should have small focal lengths. In practice, it is difficult to make the focal length much smaller than 1 cm. Also large lenses are required to make L large. For example, with an objective with fo = 1.0 cm, and an eyepiece with focal length fe = 2.0 cm, and a tube length of 20 cm, the magnification is L   D  m = m o m e =     f o   f e  20 25 250 1 2 Various other factors such as illumination of the object, contribute to the quality and visibility of the image. In modern microscopes, multi- component lenses are used for both the objective and the eyepiece to improve image quality by minimising various optical aberrations (defects) in lenses. 9.7.2 Telescope The telescope is used to provide angular magnification of distant objects (Fig. 9.25). It also has an objective and an eyepiece. But here, the objective has a large focal length and a much larger aperture than the eyepiece. Light from a distant object enters the objective and a real image is formed in the tube at its second focal point. The eyepiece magnifies this image producing a final inverted image. The magnifying power m is the ratio of the angle b subtended at the eye by the final image to the angle a which the object subtends at the lens or the eye. Hence h f o f o m . (9.46) 244 f e h f e Reprint 2025-26 Ray Optics and Optical Instruments In this case, the length of the telescope tube is fo + fe. Terrestrial telescopes have, in addition, a pair of inverting lenses to make the final image erect. Refracting telescopes can be used both for terrestrial and astronomical observations. For example, consider a telescope whose objective has a focal length of 100 cm and the eyepiece a focal length of 1 cm. The magnifying power of this telescope is m = 100/1 = 100. Let us consider a pair of stars of actual separation 1¢ (one minute of arc). The stars appear as though they are separated by an angle of 100 × 1¢ = 100¢ =1.67°. FIGURE 9.25 A refracting telescope. The main considerations with an astronomical telescope are its light gathering power and its resolution or resolving power. The former clearly depends on the area of the objective. With larger diameters, fainter objects can be observed. The resolving power, or the ability to observe two objects distinctly, which are in very nearly the same direction, also depends on the diameter of the objective. So, the desirable aim in optical telescopes is to make them with objective of large diameter. The largest lens objective in use has a diameter of 40 inch (~1.02 m). It is at the Yerkes Observatory in Wisconsin, USA. Such big lenses tend to be very heavy and therefore, difficult to make and support by their edges. Further, it is rather difficult and expensive to make such large sized lenses which form images that are free from any kind of chromatic aberration and distortions. For these reasons, modern telescopes use a concave mirror rather than a lens for the objective. Telescopes with mirror objectives are called reflecting telescopes. There is no chromatic aberration in a mirror. Mechanical support is much less of a problem since a mirror weighs much less than a lens of equivalent optical quality, and can be supported over its entire back surface, not just over its rim. One obvious problem with a reflecting telescope is that the objective mirror focusses light inside 245 Reprint 2025-26 Physics FIGURE 9.26 Schematic diagram of a reflecting telescope (Cassegrain). the telescope tube. One must have an eyepiece and the observer right there, obstructing some light (depending on the size of the observer cage). This is what is done in the very large 200 inch (~5.08 m) diameters, Mt. Palomar telescope, California. The viewer sits near the focal point of the mirror, in a small cage. Another solution to the problem is to deflect the light being focussed by another mirror. One such arrangement using a convex secondary mirror to focus the incident light, which now passes through a hole in the objective primary mirror, is shown in Fig. 9.26. This is known as a Cassegrain telescope, after its inventor. It has the advantages of a large focal length in a short telescope. The largest telescope in India is in Kavalur, Tamil Nadu. It is a 2.34 m diameter reflecting telescope (Cassegrain). It was ground, polished, set up, and is being used by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore. The largest reflecting telescopes in the world are the pair of Keck telescopes in Hawaii, USA, with a reflector of 10 metre in diameter. SUMMARY 1. Reflection is governed by the equation Ði = Ðr¢ and refraction by the Snell’s law, sini/sinr = n, where the incident ray, reflected ray, refracted ray and normal lie in the same plane. Angles of incidence, reflection and refraction are i, r ¢ and r, respectively. 2. The critical angle of incidence ic for a ray incident from a denser to rarer medium, is that angle for which the angle of refraction is 90°. For i > ic, total internal reflection occurs. Multiple internal reflections in diamond (ic @ 24.4°), totally reflecting prisms and mirage, are some examples of total internal reflection. Optical fibres consist of glass fibres coated with a thin layer of material of lower refractive index. Light incident at an angle at one end comes out at the other, after multiple internal reflections, even if the fibre is bent. Reprint 2025-26 Ray Optics and Optical Instruments 3. Cartesian sign convention: Distances measured in the same direction as the incident light are positive; those measured in the opposite direction are negative. All distances are measured from the pole/optic centre of the mirror/lens on the principal axis. The heights measured upwards above x-axis and normal to the principal axis of the mirror/ lens are taken as positive. The heights measured downwards are taken as negative. 4. Mirror equation: 1 1 1 + = v u f where u and v are object and image distances, respectively and f is the focal length of the mirror. f is (approximately) half the radius of curvature R. f is negative for concave mirror; f is positive for a convex mirror. 5. For a prism of the angle A, of refractive index n 2 placed in a medium of refractive index n1, n 2 sin ( A + D m ) / 2  n 21 = = n 1 sin ( A / 2 ) where Dm is the angle of minimum deviation. 6. For refraction through a spherical interface (from medium 1 to 2 of refractive index n1 and n 2, respectively) n 2 n 1 n 2 − n 1 − = v u R Thin lens formula 1 1 1 − = v u f Lens maker’s formula 1 ( n 2 − n1 )  1 1  = − f n1  R1 R 2  R1 and R2 are the radii of curvature of the lens surfaces. f is positive for a converging lens; f is negative for a diverging lens. The power of a lens P = 1/f. The SI unit for power of a lens is dioptre (D): 1 D = 1 m–1. If several thin lenses of focal length f1, f2, f3,.. are in contact, the effective focal length of their combination, is given by 1 1 1 1 = + + + … f f 1 f 2 f 3 The total power of a combination of several lenses is P = P1 + P2 + P3 + … 7. Dispersion is the splitting of light into its constituent colour. 247 Reprint 2025-26 Physics 8. Magnifying power m of a simple microscope is given by m = 1 + (D/f), where D = 25 cm is the least distance of distinct vision and f is the focal length of the convex lens. If the image is at infinity, m = D/f. For a compound microscope, the magnifying power is given by m = me × m0 where me = 1 + (D/fe), is the magnification due to the eyepiece and mo is the magnification produced by the objective. Approximately, L D m = × f o f e where fo and fe are the focal lengths of the objective and eyepiece, respectively, and L is the distance between their focal points. 9. Magnifying power m of a telescope is the ratio of the angle b subtended at the eye by the image to the angle a subtended at the eye by the object. β f o m = = α f e where f0 and fe are the focal lengths of the objective and eyepiece, respectively. POINTS TO PONDER 1. The laws of reflection and refraction are true for all surfaces and pairs of media at the point of the incidence. 2. The real image of an object placed between f and 2f from a convex lens can be seen on a screen placed at the image location. If the screen is removed, is the image still there? This question puzzles many, because it is difficult to reconcile ourselves with an image suspended in air without a screen. But the image does exist. Rays from a given point on the object are converging to an image point in space and diverging away. The screen simply diffuses these rays, some of which reach our eye and we see the image. This can be seen by the images formed in air during a laser show. 3. Image formation needs regular reflection/refraction. In principle, all rays from a given point should reach the same image point. This is why you do not see your image by an irregular reflecting object, say the page of a book. 4. Thick lenses give coloured images due to dispersion. The variety in colour of objects we see around us is due to the constituent colours of the light incident on them. A monochromatic light may produce an entirely different perception about the colours on an object as seen in white light. 5. For a simple microscope, the angular size of the object equals the angular size of the image. Yet it offers magnification because we can keep the small object much closer to the eye than 25 cm and hence have it subtend a large angle. The image is at 25 cm which we can see. Without the microscope, you would need to keep the small object at 25 cm which would subtend a very small angle. Reprint 2025-26 Ray Optics and Optical Instruments EXERCISES

9.21 At what angle should a ray of light be incident on the face of a prism of refracting angle 60° so that it just suffers total internal reflection at the other face? The refractive index of the material of the prism is 1.524.