Exp 28

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course phy 202

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).  

*** Focal length for 50mm: 9.375cm

Focal length for 100mm: 17.5cm ****

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).

***Mine is exactly 100cm***

About 20 cm from the other end of the tabletop, place the lens so it is facing the light source.

***I have place it 20 cm away from the end of the table and the screen.***

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.

***The screen is 13cm from the lens and the light source is 80cm from 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.

***The screen is 14cm from the lends and the light source is 50 cm from the lens***

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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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***40cm from lens: 15 cm from screen

30cm from lens: 17 cm from screen

20cm from lens: 21.5cm from screen***

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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.

***The candles are 50cm from the lens and the lens is 14cm from the screen.***

• Measure the separation of the two flames, and the separation of their images.

***Candles are 1.5 cm apart and the image is 1.7cm apart.***

• 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:

***The image on the right will disappear if you place something in front of the one on the left. This is because each light source will go through the focal point and then come out the other side. It is how the convex lens works.***

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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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30: 1.5 cm for candles and 2.9cm on the screen

20: 1.5 cm for candles and 4.9cm on the screen

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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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The candles are 10cm away from the lens

1.5cm for the candles and 19.5 cm for the screen

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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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The distance is 10 cm

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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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Yes the images size gets bigger when the light source is moved closer and when it is move further is sort of splits.

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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.

***The object is 40cm from the lens, the object is sharpest when it is 35cm from the 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.

***The objects height is 6cm when 35 cm from the lens. The objects actual height is 5.25cm.***

Repeat for the same object a distance of 30 cm in front of this lens.

Report your observations:

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***The object is 30cm from the lens, the object is sharpest when it is 27cm from the lens.***

***The objects height is 6cm on the screen when 27 cm from the lens Its actual height is 5.25cm. They seem to be the same.***

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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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1/f = 1/i + 1/o

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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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• For double light souce:

o 1/9.75= 1/50+1/14

o 0.103=.091

For a single light source:

1/9.75= 1/80+ 1/13= .09

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.

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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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14/50 doesn’t equal 1.5/1.7.

But

1.5/2.9 is very close to 17/30

This is because the screen was 17cm from the lens when the image was the most clear.

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What is the evidence that the images of the two candles are inverted?

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I saw evidence just from running the experiment. When I moved one candle, the light on the opposite side would move. Also blocking one light caused the opposite image to go out.

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&#This looks good. Let me know if you have any questions. &#