This document defines and describes key optical terms and concepts. It explains the differences between concave and convex lenses and mirrors, and how they bend and focus light. It also defines transparency, reflection, bioluminescence, and the parts of the eye. Various light properties and production methods are outlined as well, including amplitude, wavelength, frequency, fluorescence, and the electromagnetic spectrum.

1. Mr.Ilko

2.  Concave lens – a sunken in piece of glass that causes
light to spread out when light passes through it
 Convex Lens – a bulged piece of glass that causes light
to bend to a focal point when passed through it
 Concave mirror – a sunken in piece of glass that
bounces light into a focal point
 Convex mirror – a bulged out piece of glass that
bounces light away from its original path
 Focal point only happen on concave mirrors and convex
lenses in reality, the other two have imaginary focal
points

3.  ACRONYMN --- SERB
S – Straight – light travels in straight lines
 E – Energy – Light is a form of energy
 R – Reflected – light can be reflected
 B – Bent – Light can be bent

4.  Luminous – light (how bright it is)
 Transparent – Almost all of the light is able to
get through
 Translucent
– Some light is able to get
through and a small shadow is created
 Opaque– no light is able to get through, and
a shadow is cast

5.  RegularReflection – when the ray of light hits
off a smooth surface and bounces off at the
same angle it came in at
 Ex. Jacket reflectors
 DiffuseReflection – When light hits off a
rough surface and is scattered on random
directions and different angles
 Clothing around reflector tape

6.  LaserEyes surgery – reshapes the cornea of
the eye
 Compound eye – Usually on insects…eye is
broken up into individual parts called
ommatidium
 Camera eye – Human eye that is round, has a
cornea, retina and pupil

7.  Rods – High sensitivity to light
 Cones – Colour detectors
 Humans see in RED, GREEN, BLUE --- NOTHING
ELSE!!!!!
 In TV’s we see a colour like yellow by red and
green rods being close together

8.  Amplitude – The height of the Crest from the
resting point
 Wavelength – distance from the beginning of
a wave to the end
 Frequency – How often a wave length occurs
in a given time frame

9.  The ability for animals to produce their own
light
 Usually happens due to a chemical reaction or
bacteria

10.  Fluorescent – Uses electricity passing through
a gas in order to spark and create light
 Incandescent– Uses a heated up metal coil in
order to produce light
 Phosphorescent – Uses UV light on a phosphor
coating to produce light

11. 7 Ranges
 Radio Waves
 Microwaves
 Infrared waves
 Visible Spectrum -- ROYGBIV
 Ultra-violet waves
 X-Rays
 Gamma Rays

12.  Iris
 Pupil
 Retina
 Lens
 Cornea