Lenses, Mirrors, and Prisms

Lenses, Mirrors, and Prisms
Steve Beeson, Arizona State University

We encounter lenses and mirrors many times a day and are often oblivious to their form and function around us. In fact, you are probably using at least four lenses to read this page: the cornea and the crystalline lens in each eye. Many people even put lenses on their noses or directly on their eyeball to correct their vision. One of the first things you do in the morning is probably look in a mirror. You may eat breakfast with a device that has two different types of mirrors on it. You drive to and from work or school looking behind you with the help of different types of mirrors. In a nutshell, life would be difficult without the many different optical devices we use throughout our life. Let's take some time to understand a little more about the optics around us; but first, we'll delve a little deeper into the concept of refraction that we learned about in the last lesson.

Objectives

To explore and explain the dispersion of light in various materials

To explore the properties of various lenses, mirrors, and lens systems

To construct a basic telescope and microscope from simple lenses

Materials

Optical Society of America Optics Discovery Kit

Prism

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