Optics Answers

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 material of 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.

Unpolarized light passes through two polarized sheets. The transmission axis of the analyzer makes an angle of 35 degrees with the axis of the polarizer. What fraction of the original unpolarized light is transmitted through the analyzer? What fraction of the original light is absorbed by the analyzer?

Light of wavelength 620 nm falls on a double slit, and the first bright fringe of the interference pattern is seen at an angle of 15.0 degrees from the central maximum. Find the separation between the slits.

Why is it so much easier to perform interference experiments with a laser than with an ordinary light source?

Two converging lenses having focal lengths of f1=10.0cm and f2=20.0cm are placed d=50.0cm apart. The final image is to be located between the lenses, at the position x=31.0cm. How far to the left of the first lens should the object be positioned? What is the overall magnification to the system? Is the final image upright or inverted?

Object O1 is 15.0cm to the left of a converging lens with a 10.0cm focal length. A second lens is positioned 10.0cm to the right of the first lens and is observed to form a virtual image at the position of the original object O1. What is the focal length of the second lens? What is the overall magnification of this system? What is the nature of the final image?

An object is placed 50.0cm from a screen. Where should a converging lens of focal length 10.0cm be placed to form an image on the screen? Find the magnification of the lens.

A concave mirror has a radius of curvature of 24.0cm. Determine the object position for which the resulting image is upright and larger than the object by a factor of 3.00. Is the image real of virtual?

A dedicated sports car enthusiast polished the inside and outside surfaces of a hubcap that is a section of a sphere. When he looks into one side of the hubcap, he sees an image of his face 30.0cm in back of it. He then turns the hubcap over, keeping it the same distance from his face. He now sees an image of his face 10.0cm in back of the hubcap. How far is his face from the hubcap? What is the magnitude of the radius of curvature of the hubcap?

Does your bathroom mirror show you older or younger than your actual age? Compute an order of magnitude estimate for the age difference, based on data you specify.