PHYS 1230 - Light and Color

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Lecture Notes

  • Lecture set 1: Course overview
    • administrative details
    • pedagogical comments
    • outline: (i) what is light? (ii) applications. (iii) light perception
  • Lecture set 2: What is light?
    • charges, electric and magnetic fields
    • electromagnetic forces
    • electromagnetic waves
    • spectrum
    • generating and detecting electromagnetic radiation
  • Lecture set 3: Fundamentals of Electromagnetic waves
    • electromagnetic (EM) waves in vacuum
    • properties of light: wavelength, frequency, speed,...
    • EM spectrum
    • black-body radiation
    • color
    • quantum picture of light: photons
  • Lecture set 4: Light propagation: ray geometrical optics
    • from waves to ray picture
    • shadows and apertures
    • scattering
    • reflection
    • refraction
    • diffraction
    • absorption
  • Lecture set 5: Images: ray tracing optics
    • specular vs diffuse reflection
    • mirrors: plan, concave, convex
    • images in a mirror
    • mirage
    • refraction
    • dispersion
  • Lecture set 6: Spherical (concave/convex) mirrors
    • ray tracing
    • image formation
    • applications
  • Lecture set 7: Spherical (concave/convex) lenses
    • ray tracing
    • image formation
    • applications
  • Lecture set 8: Cameras
    • camera's essential parts
    • f-stop and numerical aperture NA
    • depth of field and focus
    • aperture
    • shutter speed
  • Lecture set 9: The eye
    • cornea and lens
    • iris and pupil
    • retina rods and cones
    • persistent response
    • light sensitivity
  • Lecture set 10: Optical instruments
    • cameras
    • correcting vision: glasses and contact lenses
    • magnifying glass
    • microscope
    • telescope

Additional Materials