Hwk #4 is out

Homework #4 is out. Check your email. If you do not see it, please email me.

Lab 2 procedure

Three mini-labs on image formation.

Schedule for Tomorrow

UPDATE: had it backwards

Reminder: group A has lab tomorrow in 322 Gallalee, group B has lecture in 311 Houser.

Roles reversed on Thursday ...

Polarization & Jones Calculus

UPDATE: Quite a bit added on how to write down the Jones vectors for different polarization states and combine them.

This went by pretty quickly today, and I didn't get time to go through the example calculations very well. For that reason, I typed up some quick notes with reference information and a few example calculations. When we return to polarization (on 1 March), we'll do some analysis of more complex situations.

Notes and such

Prof. Hewitt at Dalhousie University has some nice notes on optics here. Lecture 34 is relevant for tomorrow, we'll be discussing polarization and learning how to calculate multi-component optical systems from Jones matrices.

Basically, Jones matrices are similar to what you already know about vectors and rotations in 2D, general 'transformation matrices' that let you quickly calculate how polarized beams of light emerge from various optical components like polarizers. It is a lot like dealing with spin in quantum mechanics, which you'll see soon enough, but basically it is just rotating vectors.


These notes of mine discuss rotation & (mirror) transformation matrices a little bit, enough to give you the idea.

Adaptive glasses

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/13/business/13novel.html?src=me&ref=homepage
By the end of the semester, you should know how these work.

Updated schedule/labs

The Google calendar has been updated to reflect the revised schedule. We'll have a lecture on polarization tomorrow (so everyone comes to class, no lab) rather than geometric optics since Dr. Kung is out of town.

Here's what the rest of Feb. and early March look like:

15 Feb: Polarization 1 (8.1-6)
17 Feb: Geometric optics 2 (B; 5.4-7); Lab 1: optics components (A)
22 Feb: Geometric optics 3 (B, 6.1-4); Lab 2: refractive index (A)
24 Feb: Geometric optics 3 (A, 6.1-4); Lab 2: refractive index (B)
1 March: Polarization 2 (8.7-12)
3 March: Exam 1

Additionally, the syllabus will be updated shortly with the correct grading information. Here is the breakdown:

Labs 15%
Homework 15%
Exams (2) 20% each = 40% total
Final 30%

For the labs, you may work on the reports together as a group, but you should all turn in individual reports.

You can find the updated syllabus here (it is the same for PH and ECE).

Week of Feb. 14, 2011

Please note:

- On Tuesday, Feb. 15, everyone meets in class.

- On Thursday, Feb. 17, group A meets in the lab (Gallalee 322) while group B meets in the classroom.

Hint (Hwk#3, Pb 7)

In homework #3, problem #7, it asks you to show that the magnification is unchanged between the 2 situations:
- either using only L1
- or using the combination of L1 and L2, with L2 located at the focal point of L1.

Now, what the problem does not tell you is: (i) which focal point of L1 the second lens is located at, and (ii) what the focal length of L2 is. That is where you need to think a little about the apparently "not so useful" hint about wearing eyeglasses. All of us have a positive lens in our eyes. Let us call it L1. When glasses are worn, one can either use a positive (far sighted) or a negative lens (short sighted) to bring the image focused onto the retina of the eye. What this means, is that the eyeglasses play the role of L2.

Now this should help in solving this problem. As for (ii), the answer is actually independent of the focal length of L2.

Do solve it in BOTH CASES, i.e. have TWO ray diagrams: L2 is positive and L2 is negative.

Blog layout fixed

Somehow one of the last posts borked the blog layout, which made it somewhat challenging to read ... the offending html has been removed, and things should be more pleasant now.

HW3 is out

Here you go.

No class Thursday

Since the University will not open until 10am, the optics class and lab are canceled today. A follow-up post will tell you how it is rescheduled.

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A message from UNIVERSITY RELATIONS

Based on current weather conditions in Tuscaloosa, the University will delay regular business operations until 10 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 10. Although roadways in Tuscaloosa are passable, please check weather conditions on the roadways you travel to get to campus and make the best decision for your personal safety. Employees should call their supervisors if they are unable to work their regular schedule. The University strongly encourages each person to monitor weather updates from the National Weather Service and local media sources. Safety tips are posted at http://prepare.ua.edu/ and at http://www.fema.gov/hazard/winter/index.shtm.

Lab 1

Here is lab 1. Remember that the labs are held in 322 Galallee, so on your lab day you should go there instead of Houser ...

For those of you in group B, you'll do this lab tomorrow (Tues).
For those of you in group A, you'll do this lab on Thursday.

HW2 solutions

Sorry for the delay, here are the HW2 solutions.

Lab groups

All. As a reminder, here is the final A/B group assignment:
Group A=(Soner, Lee, Taurean, Taylor, Lucas, Joseph M, Ryan, Andrew, Kedrick)
Group B=(Mohamad, Scott, Daniel, Jelani, Joseph L, Cory, Allen, Raed, Hakki)

On Tuesday, Feb. 8, group A goes to class (Houser 311) and group B goes to the lab (Gallalee 322).
On Thursday, Feb. 10, this is swapped: group A goes to the lab and group A goes to class.