Lesson 13 – Diffraction Grating and Wave Plates
With the knowledge of interference and polarization, it is time to talk about the practical applications of both! Diffraction gratings are used to change the path of light and there
Lesson 12 – Polarization Revisited
Now that we have explored light waves, we can dive more in depth into polarization. In how to describe light, we mentioned that sunlight is a form of unpolarized light
Surface Accuracy
Surface accuracy is the measurement of the deviation between the actual shape and the intended shape of an optical surface. Surface accuracy is an important specification of an optical component.
Lesson 11 – Fringes and Interferometers
We left off in the interference post using water waves to represent the interference that occurs between light waves. A well known experiment having to do with interference of light
Objective Lenses
An objective lens is an important component of a microscopy or imaging system for a range of science research, biological, industrial, and general lab applications. An objective lens is located
Lesson 10 – Light Wave Interference
Besides explaining rainbows, why model light as a wave? The particle model of light is usually drawn with a particle traveling as a ray. Just by staring at a candle
Optical Filters
Electromagnetic spectrum covers many wavelength regions from Gamma ray, X ray, ultraviolet (UV), visible light, infrared (IR) to radio wave. Visible light is the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that
Lesson 9 – Light Waves
In “What is Light?”, we described light as both a wave and a particle under the conditions of the wave-particle duality. In the previous posts, we have mostly modeled light
Lesson 8 – Prisms and Total Internal Reflection
Besides lenses and mirrors, prisms are another group of common optical elements. White light that enters a prism leaves as many different colors due to the different refractive indexes of
Lesson 7 – The Eyepiece and Lens Requirements
In the previous post, we looked at how changing the focal lengths produced different images (and virtual images) for SINGLE lenses. Sometimes, however, a system of lenses is needed to
