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course PHY 202
3/13/15 at 8:10PM
Experiment 28: Image FormationNote: Due to the breakability of the original lenses this experiment has been modified to use a pair of thin plastic lenses. Click here for the instructions for the modified experiment.
Using the lenses from previous expreiments we investigate image formation, image size and object size. Results are analyzed using the lens equation.
For this experiment you will need two small but fairly intense sources of light. The candles included in your kit would work very well. As an alternative you can use two flashlights if you mask the lens of each so that only a circle in the center of about the radius of the bulb remains. The candles are probably much more convenient.
You will also need a dark room and a flat surface such as a tabletop.
In this experiment you will use your convex lenses to
• create images of your light source, with the light source at various distances from your lens
• create images of other objects
• explore the relationship among image distance, object distance, focal length and magnification
• make a spotlight.
Create images of a single light source
You will use both convex lenses. If you have not already done so, determine the focal length of both lenses by the most expedient method possible (recommendation: form a sharp image of a distant candle and measure the focal distance directly).
Begin by lighting one candle and placing it on a tabletop, or by turning on a flashlight and placing it on a tabletop aimed at the 4-inch lens.
Position the light source at the far end of the tabletop, at least 1 meter away from the other end (if your tabletop is too small, you might need to support the source on something at the same height as the tabletop).
About 20 cm from the other end of the tabletop, place the lens so it is facing the light source.
Place the screen behind the lens at the edge of the tabletop (about 20 cm from the lens), so that light shines from the source through the lens and onto the screen.
If the lights in the room are on, turn them off.
• Move the screen toward the lens until the image of your light source becomes as sharp as possible.
• Determine the distance from the center of the lens to the screen, and the distance of your light source from the center of the lens.
• Now move the light source to a distance of about 50 cm from the lens, locate the screen to form the sharpest possible image, and repeat your measurements.
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Distance from light source to lens: 0.8m
Distance from lens to screen for best image: 0.25m
Distance from light to lens: 0.5m
Distance from lens to screen: 0.29m
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Repeat for distances of 40, 30 and 20 cm from the lens. For some of these measurements it might be necessary to change the position of your lens (it might be too close to the tabletop).
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Distance from light to lens: 0.4m
Distance from lens to screen: 0.35m
Distance from light to lens: 0.3m
Distance from lens to screen: 0.51m
Distance from light to lens: 0.2m
Distance from lens to screen: N/A, could not get sharp image
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Create images of a double light source
Light both candles and place them side by side.
Place the lens about 50 cm away from the two candles. The line from the candles to the lens should be perpendicular to the line connecting the two flames, so that has seen from the lens one candle lies a few centimeters to the right and the other a few centimeters to the left.
• Position the screen to form a sharp image of the two flames.
• Measure the distance from the candles to the center of the lens and from the center of the lens to the image.
• Measure the separation of the two flames, and the separation of their images.
• If you place something in front of the candle on the left, which image should disappear, the one on the left or the one on the right? Why?
Report your observations:
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Distance from light to lens: 0.5m
Distance from lens to image: 0.33m
Distance between flames: 0.07m
Distance between image flames: 0.05m
When the candle on the left is blocked from view, the image on the right disappears because the image is inverted.
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Repeat for distances of 30 and 20 cm. If the images get too far apart, you might have to form one image at a time on the screen.
Report your observations:
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Light to lens distance: 0.3m
Lens to image distance: 0.54m
Distance between image flames: 0.15m
Left/Right Inverted
Light to lens distance: 0.2m
Lens to image distance: N/A, could not get sharp image
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Now move the candles to within 3 cm of the focal distance and repeat.
Repeat for distance of 1 cm outside the focal distance.
Report your observations:
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Light to lens distance: 0.23m
Lens to image distance: N/A, could not get sharp image
Light to lens distance: 0.21m
Lens to image distance: N/A, could not get sharp image
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Make a spotlight
Place your lens on the tabletop at least 2 meters from a wall, with the wall behind the lens.
Place your source at a distance in front of the lens equal to the focal distance of the lens.
Look at the image formed on the wall. It should have the same shape and size as the lens, and should be sharply defined.
If this is not so, adjust the position of the lens so that it becomes so.
• Accurately measure the distance from the source to the center of the lens.
Report your observations:
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Wall to lens distance: 2m
Lens to light distance: 0.21m
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If you have a larger darkened area available, see how sharply you can make the image of the lens at a distance of several meters from a wall.
• Do the sharpness and the size of the sharpest image change with distance?
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Not enough space in dark room
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Create an image
Now you will create an image of another object.
Select an object not more than a few inches high and not less than an inch high, and with a significant amount of white in its background. As an alternative, you could make a cone about 3 inches high out of aluminum foil use it as your object.
Place this object on the tabletop about 40 cm in front of your 4-inch lens.
Use your light source and the 3-inch lens as a spotlight to illuminate the object as brightly as possible.
• Place the screen behind the first lens and determine the distance of the object from the center of the lens, and the distance from the center of the lens at which the sharpest image of your object appears.
• Measure the height of the object and of its image.
Report your observations:
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Object to lens distance: 0.4m
Lens to image distance: 0.25m
Object height: 0.07m
Image height: 0.021m
I had a very difficult time setting this up so that the object was well lit and showed up clearly on the screen at all. I was somewhat surprised to see that the image was so much smaller than the actual object.
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Repeat for the same object a distance of 30 cm in front of this lens.
Report your observations:
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Object to lens distance: 0.3m
Lens to image distance: 0.19m
Object height: 0.07m
Image height: 0.23m
It was difficult to determine the distance at which the image was sharpest, since it seemed rather blurry.
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Analyze your results
If image distance is i, object distance is o and focal distance is f, then 1/f = 1/i + 1/o.
• Verify this formula for the image and object distances observed in each part of this experiment.
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Image of Light Source
a) 1/0.25 + 1/0.8 = 1/f
f = 0.19m
b) 1/0.29 + 1/0.5 = 1/f
f = 0.18m
c) 1/0.35 + 1/0.4 = 1/f
f = 0.19m
d) 1/0.51 + 1/0.3 = 1/f
f = 0.19m
Image of Double Light Source
a) 1/0.33 + 1/0.5 = 1/f
f = 0.20m
b) 1/0.54 + 1/0.3 = 1/f
f = 0.19m
Spotlight
1/2 + 1/0.2 = 1/f
f = 0.18m
Creating an Image
1/0.25 + 1/0.4 = 1/f
f = 0.15m
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If image distance is i and object distances o, then the magnitude of the magnification is the ratio i / o; this ratio is equal to the magnitude of the ratio of image size to object size.
• Verify this formula for the image an object sizes and distances obtained for the object in the last part of this experiment.
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m = i/o
= 0.02 / 0.07
m = 0.29
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For the two-candle images, verify that the distances between the images of the flames are in the same proportion to the actual distance as the image distance i to the object distance o.
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Image distance: 0.05m
Object distance: 0.07m
m = 0.05/0.07
m = 0.71
This is not equivalent to the magnitude of magnification calculated for the previous question, but I did have a difficult time determining where the image was sharpest in the last part of the experiment, so this can play a significant role in the discrepancy.
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What is the evidence that the images of the two candles are inverted?
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When one candle is blocked from view or from the path of the lens, the image on the opposite side disappears, which means that left and right are opposite, which means that the image is inverted.
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&#This lab submission looks very good. Let me know if you have any questions. &#