PX32010 - OPTICS

Module Identifier

PX32010

Module Title

OPTICS

Academic Year

2003/2004

Co-ordinator

Dr Geraint O 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

Assessment Type	Assessment Length/Details	Proportion
Semester Exam	2 Hours End of semester examinations	70%
Semester Assessment	Course Work: Example Sheets Example Sheets 11,12,13,15,16 & 17 Deadlines are detailed in the Year 2 Example Sheet Schedule distributed by the Department	30%

Learning outcomes

After taking this module students should be able to:

Understand the basic principles of geometrical optics and apply them to the design of simple optical instruments.
Understand optical interference and its uses in optical devices and techniques.
Understand diffraction and the limits it sets to the resolution of optical instruments.
Understand the basic principles of polarisation and wave propagation in uniaxial crystals.
Answer numerical problems in geometrical and wave optics applied to simple systems.

Brief 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.

Content

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.

Transferable skills

Video on Optical Interference

Reading Lists

Books
** Recommended Text
Keller, Gettys and Skove Physics Classical and Modern
Jenkins and White Fundamentals of Optics ISBN 0-07-385346-0

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 6