Geometrical Optics:
Geometrical Optics & Physics Optics.
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Huygens Principle:

Wavefronts.
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Reflection:

The first law of Geometrical Optics.
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Refraction:

The second law of Geometrical Optics: Snell's law.
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Critical angle:

Internal total reflection.
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images formed by reflection

Spherical concave mirrors. Mirror equation.
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images formed by refraction

Spherical convex mirrors ..
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Fermat's principle:

Fermat's principle for reflection and refraction..
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lenses:

Thin lenses and Lens-makers' equation ..
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prism:

Prism, colors minimum deviation ..
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Human eye:

near point, far point, nearsightedness, farsightedness..
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Microscope:

Microscope: simple, compound, and magnification..
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Telescope:

Telescope: magnification..
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Resolution:

optical microscope, electron microscope ..
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dispersion:

dispersion, more about the refractive index, and colors of a prism ..
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parallel sheet:

deviation by a parallel sheet ..
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thin films :

thin films and Newton's rings..
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Newton's rings:

thin films and Newton's rings..
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Descartes rainbow:

Primary and secondary rainbows ..
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Some applications

More fun with Optics ..
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Optics calculator:

Optics calculator: all the related calculations ..
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home

The fundamental, and just this ..
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scientificSentence

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Geometrical Optics Huygens’ Principle
Optics -     Geometrical Optics..





Huygens’ Principle:


   The method developed by Huygens (1629-1695) to explain the propagation of light has no mathematical proof. It is a principle; then accepted as true to be used as a basis for reasoning. Huygens stated that light emanating from a source moves forward as a wave; and each point of the wave is considered as a new source from which propagates new waves called wavelets. All the points equidistant from the source form a locus called wavefront. Equidistant means same distance, then same time and then same phase.
In the case of spherical waves (see figure), the lotus of the points is a sphere; within the points are either all crests, or troughs, or other points between. If the wave is plane, the wavefront is a plane surface.
Although the method of Huygens uses wave concept, it remains geometrical.
There is a second way to represent a propagating wave, it is a ray, such as a laser beam. The ray is the projection of the point source to the wavefront.The two ways enter in the Geometrical (ray) optics division of basic optics.



 

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