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📚 College Physics 2e
Chapters ▾
1 Introduction: The Nature of Science and Physics2 Kinematics3 Two-Dimensional Kinematics4 Dynamics: Force and Newton's Laws of Motion5 Further Applications of Newton's Laws: Friction, Drag, and Elasticity6 Uniform Circular Motion and Gravitation7 Work, Energy, and Energy Resources8 Linear Momentum and Collisions9 Statics and Torque10 Rotational Motion and Angular Momentum11 Fluid Statics12 Fluid Dynamics and Its Biological and Medical Applications13 Temperature, Kinetic Theory, and the Gas Laws14 Heat and Heat Transfer Methods15 Thermodynamics16 Oscillatory Motion and Waves17 Physics of Hearing18 Electric Charge and Electric Field19 Electric Potential and Electric Field20 Electric Current, Resistance, and Ohm's Law21 Circuits and DC Instruments22 Magnetism23 Electromagnetic Induction, AC Circuits, and Electrical Technologies24 Electromagnetic Waves25 Geometric Optics26 Vision and Optical Instruments27 Wave Optics28 Special Relativity29 Quantum Physics30 Atomic Physics31 Radioactivity and Nuclear Physics32 Medical Applications of Nuclear Physics33 Particle Physics34 Frontiers of Physics

Chapter 25: Geometric Optics

Geometric Optics Light from this page or screen is formed into an image by the lens of your eye, much as the lens of the camera that made this photograph. Mirrors, like lenses, can also form images that in turn are captured by your eye.

People in white clothing covered from head to toe and wearing blue colored gloves are working in a research laboratory setting, one person holding a flash light and analyzing and another reading a manuscript and so on. Their images are seen on a smooth colored glass top of a work table.
Figure 25.1 Image seen as a result of reflection of light on a plane smooth surface.Image seen as a result of reflection of light on a plane smooth surface. (credit: NASA Goddard Photo and Video, via Flickr)

Our lives are filled with light. Through vision, light can evoke spiritual emotions, such as when we view a magnificent sunset or reveal a rainbow breaking through the clouds, amuse us in a theater, or warn us to stop at an intersection. It has innumerable uses beyond vision. Light can carry telephone signals through glass fibers or cook a meal in a solar oven. Life itself could not exist without light’s energy. From photosynthesis in plants to the sun warming a cold-blooded animal, its supply of energy is vital.

A breathtaking double rainbow arches across a pastel sunset sky over a vibrant coastal city with silhouetted palm trees and illuminated buildings along the beachfront.
Figure 25.2 Double Rainbow over the bay of Pocitos in Montevideo, Uruguay.Double Rainbow over the bay of Pocitos in Montevideo, Uruguay. (credit: Madrax, Wikimedia Commons)

Adapted from College Physics 2e by OpenStax (openstax.org), licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Changes were made. License: CC-BY-NC-SA-4.0.