Two thin lenses
Multiply two matrices for thin lenses, with focal lengths f1 and f2. What do you find? What does this tell you about this compound lens?
Read MoreOur radio wave setups
Our radiowave setups have arrived and students have pioneered our first “radiowave optics”. This is our demonstration of the “filtering more yields more signal” experiment: Interestingly, this is characterized as optics by the provider, although…
Read MoreBending light
Let us consider the following scenario: on a sunny day, some people decide to go to the beach and have some fun with the waves. A coastal guard is keeping an eye on the swimmers, and she notices that one of them appears to be drowning. To help the person in distress…
Read MoreA wrong magnification?
A hypothetical student decided to investigate on his own (as one should) the magnification of a spherical mirror. He came up with this design…
Read MoreThe art of approximation
One of the most important skills we learn as physicists is how to approximate. The best physicists like Fermi or Feynman could turn this into a real art. Fermi for instance would tackle a question such as How many piano tuners are there in Chicago? What’s your guess?
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