Module Identifier | PX32010 | ||
Module Title | OPTICS | ||
Academic Year | 2000/2001 | ||
Co-ordinator | Professor Leonard Kersley | ||
Semester | Semester 2 | ||
Other staff | Dr Geraint Thomas, Professor Neville Greaves | ||
Pre-Requisite | Core Physics Modules at Level 1 | ||
Course delivery | Lecture | 20 lectures | |
Seminars / Tutorials | 3 seminars/workshops/exercise classes; 2 tutorials | ||
Assessment | Exam | End of semester examinations | 70% |
Course work | Example Sheets Coursework Deadlines (by week of semester): Example Sheets 11,12 and 13 Weeks 2,3 & 4 Example Sheets 16,17 and 18 Weeks 7,8 & 9 | 30% |
Module description
The aim of the module is to provide students with a basic understanding of the fundamentals of optics. Part of the course is concerned with geometrical or ray optics, from the basic principles of reflection and refraction to the properties of lenses and simple optical instruments. Another section deals with physical or wave optics, concerning interference, Fraunhofer and Fresnel diffraction and leading on to polarisation and the optical properties of birefringent crystals. The course ends with an introduction to the modern topics of holography and non-linear optics.
Module objectives / Learning outcomes
After taking this module students should be able to:
Additional learning activities
Video on Optical Interference
Outline syllabus
GEOMETRICAL OPTICS
Reflection and refraction, lenses, aberrations, optical instruments.
PHYSICAL OPTICS
Wave properties of light.
Interference, two-beam interference, then film interference and its applications.
Michelson interferometer, multiple-beam interference, Fabry-Perot etalon.
Diffraction, Fraunhofer, single slit resolution, double slit, diffraction grating, introduction to Fresnel diffraction.
Polarisation, birefringence, uniaxial crystals.
MODERN OPTICS
Introduction to holography and non-linear optics.
Reading Lists
Books
** Recommended Text
Keller, Gettys and Skove.
Physics Classical and Modern.
Jenkins and White.
Fundamentals of Optics. ISBN 0-07-385346-0