Module Identifier PH22010  
Module Title OPTICS  
Academic Year 2001/2002  
Co-ordinator Dr Geraint Thomas  
Semester Semester 2  
Other staff Dr Xing Li  
Pre-Requisite Core Physics Modules at Level 1  
Course delivery Lecture   20 lectures  
  Seminars / Tutorials   3 seminars/workshops/exercise classes; 2 tutorials  
Assessment Course work   /Example Sheets Example Sheets 11,12,13,15,16 & 17 Deadlines are detailed in the Year 3 Example Sheet Schedule distributed by the Department   30%  
  Exam   2 Hours End of Semester Examinations   70%  

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.

Additional learning activities


Video on Optical Interference.

Module objectives / Learning outcomes


After taking this module students should be able to:

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
P.A. Tippler. Physics for Scientists and Engineers. W.H. Freeman 1999 ISBN 1572596732
Jenkins and White. Fundamentals of Optics. ISBN 0070323305