Claire Gwenlan: First Year Optics Teaching Page

(Lecture notes and other material predominantly from previous course by Prof. Jonathan A. Jones)

Prelims paper CP2

Syllabus and book list.  Note that in 2010 Optics moved from paper CP4 to CP2, and this may not be accurately reflected in all course materials.  For more past paper questions see paper CP4.

The syllabus was expanded in 2009 to include Fermat's principle (this was previously taught as an off-syllabus aside, but is now part of the main syllabus).  In 2011 it was expanded again to included systems with two lenses (telescopes and microscopes). Telescopes and microscopes are non-examinable for Prelims, but knowledge of these topics will be assumed by subsequent courses.

Michaelmas Term

Geometric Optics lecture notes (full slides) at 1 slide or 4 slides per page.

Geometric Optics Problem Sheet.

Hilary Term

Wave Optics lecture notes (full slides) at 1 slide or 4 slides per page.

Wave Optics Problem Sheet.

Document on conventions in describing waves (from Jonathan Jones).

Trinity Term

Exam questions for revision lecture: June 2006

 

Other resources

Treatise on Light, by Christiaan Huygens, Translated by Silvanus P. Thompson, for Project Gutenberg.

Opticks, by Isaac Newton, Project Gutenberg.

HyperPhysics and Wikipedia Optics.