Study Guides
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1.
Optics and Telescopes Help
Basic Optics Until a few hundred years ago, the only instrument available for astronomical observation was the human eye. This changed in the 1600s when several experimenters, including such notables as Galileo Galilei and Isaac Newton, combined lenses and ...
Source: McGraw-Hill Professional -
2.
Your Home Observatory Help
Your Home Observatory Now that you have some knowledge of what goes on beyond the reaches of Earth’s atmosphere, you can more fully appreciate what you see when you look up after the Sun goes down. You don’t have to spend your life’s savings on ...
Source: McGraw-Hill Professional -
3.
Behavior of Light Help
Introduction Until a few hundred years ago, the only instrument available for observation of visible phenomena was the human eye. This changed as experimenters developed telescopes, microscopes, and other devices. Behavior of ...
Source: McGraw-Hill Professional -
4.
Physics and Lenses Help
Introduction The ways in which visible light is reflected and refracted can be used to advantage. This was first discovered when experimenters found that specially shaped pieces of glass can make objects look larger or smaller. The refractive properties of glass ...
Source: McGraw-Hill Professional -
5.
Refracting Telescopes Help
Introduction The first telescopes were developed in the 1600s. They employed lenses. Any telescope that enlarges distant images with lenses alone is called a refracting telescope . Galilean Refractor
Source: McGraw-Hill Professional -
6.
Reflecting Telescopes Help
Introduction The troubles that plague refracting telescopes, particularly lens sag, can be largely overcome by using mirrors instead of lenses as objectives. A first-surface mirror , with the silvering on the outside so that the light never passes through ...
Source: McGraw-Hill Professional -
7.
Telescope Specifications Help
Introduction Several parameters are significant when determining the effectiveness of a telescope for various applications. Here are the most important ones. Magnification The magnification ...
Source: McGraw-Hill Professional -
8.
The Compound Microscope Help
Introduction Optical microscopes are designed to greatly magnify the images of objects too small to resolve with the unaided eye. Microscopes, in contrast to telescopes, work at close range. The design is in some ways similar to that of the telescope, but ...
Source: McGraw-Hill Professional -
9.
Optics Practice Test
Review the following concepts if needed: Behavior of Light Help Snell's Law ...
Source: McGraw-Hill Professional -
10.
Snell's Law Help
Light Rays At A Boundary A qualitative example of refraction is shown in Fig. 19-2, where the refractive index of the first (lower) medium is higher than that of the second (upper) medium. A ray striking the boundary at a right angle (that is, ...
Source: McGraw-Hill Professional
