This document discusses several optical phenomena including atmospheric refraction, mirages, dispersion, rainbows, total internal reflection, and fiber optics. It explains that refraction causes light to bend when moving between media of different densities, and that mirages occur due to great temperature differences between air and ground layers. It also describes how dispersion is caused by the index of refraction changing with wavelength, causing separation of light into colors, and how rainbows form through the refraction and reflection of light in water droplets. Fiber optics utilizes the principle of total internal reflection to transmit light signals along thin glass fibers.

1. Optical Phenomena
By: Tayim and Quinton

2. Objectives
★Recognize atmospheric conditions that
cause refraction
★Explain dispersion and phenomena such
as rainbows in terms of the relationship
between the index of refraction and
wavelength.
★Demonstrate internal reflection with fiber
optics.

3. Introduction
Welcome! Today will be talking about
optical phenomena.

4. Atmospheric Refraction
● Refraction happens when a light wave
bends after it enters through a medium
● A mirage is an example of a phenomenon
of nature because of refraction in the
atmosphere.

5. Mirage Phenomena
• A mirage happens when there is great
temperature differences between the air
and the ground.

6. Dispersion
● Dispersion is the change of index of
refraction with wavelength.
● The index decreases while the
wavelength increases.
● It is also the phenomenon which gives
you the separation of colors through a
prism.
● Example: the rainbow

7. Rainbow Phenomenon
• The rainbow is an optical phenomenon
•
that is caused by reflection and refraction
in water droplets.
A rain drops acts like a prism and
separates the light into colors based on
their wavelengths

8. Total Internal Reflection
• Internal reflection happens when a
•
boundary between two transparent media
react.
When a ray of light in a medium of higher
index of refraction approaches the other
medium at an angle of incidence is
greater than the critical angle.

9. Fiber Optics
• Fiber optics is the use of a thin flexible
•
fiber of glass or solids to transmit light
signals.
Optical fibers are based from the principle
of total internal reflection.

10. Questions
• What is atmospheric refraction?
• Tell me similarities between fiber optics
and internal reflection.
• How does a mirage occur?
• How is a rainbow formed?
• What does index of refraction have to do
with dispersion?

11. Bibliography
ow Mirages Work. (n.d.). HowStuffWorks. Retrieved October 28, 2013, from
http://science.howstuffworks.com/mirage.htm
Mirages. (n.d.). Mirages. Retrieved October 28, 2013, from
http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/refrn/u14l4c.cfm
Nave, R.. "Dispertion ." Hyper Physics. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2013.
<http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/geoopt/dispersion.html>.
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