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Chapter 6: Problem 1

Describe refraction and reflection. Explain how these processes enable astronomers to build telescopes.

Short Answer

Expert verified
Refraction is the bending of light as it passes from one medium to another, while reflection is the bouncing back of light when it hits a surface. In telescopes, refraction allows for the magnification of images as light is bent when it passes through lenses (refracting telescopes) and reflection enables the gathering of more light for detailed imaging as light is bounced off mirrors (reflecting telescopes).

Step by step solution

01

Understand Refraction

Refraction is a phenomenon that occurs when a wave passes from one medium to another and changes its speed. For example, when light travels from air (one medium) into water or glass (another medium), it slows down and this causes it to change direction slightly. In a diagram, this can be represented by a straight line (path of light) that bends when it hits a new medium.
02

Understand Reflection

Reflection is a physical phenomenon that occurs when a wave comes into contact with a surface and bounces back. For instance, when light waves meet a shiny surface, like a mirror, they bounce back which allows us to see our reflection in the mirror. The angle at which the wave hits the surface (angle of incidence) is equal to the angle at which it bounces back (angle of reflection).
03

Connect to Telescopes

Telescopes are based on these principles. In refracting telescopes, lenses are used to refract, or bend, light. This allows the telescope to collect more light than the human eye would alone, effectively 'magnifying' the image. Reflecting telescopes, on the other hand, use mirror-like surfaces to reflect light. Here, a large mirror collects a lot of light and reflects it into a focused point, creating a detailed and magnified image of distant objects in space.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

Compare an optical reflecting telescope and a radio telescope. What do they have in common? How are they different?

Use the Stary Night Enthusiast \({ }^{\mathrm{TM}}\) program to explore the concept of angular resolution. Click the Find tab to the left of the main view window to open the Find pane. Click on the magnifying glass icon at the left- hand side of the edit box at the top of the Find pane and select the Orbiting Objects item from the dropdown menu that appears. This will bring up a list of Solar System objects in the Find pane. Double-click the entry labeled The Moon. You can zoom in and zoom out using the Zoom buttons at the right side of the toolbar. You can also rotate the Moon by putting the mouse cursor over the image, holding down the mouse button and the Shift key on the keyboard, and moving the mouse. (On a two-button mouse, hold down the left mouse button.) (a) What is the size of the smallest detail that you can see? (You will have to make measurements on the screen using a ruler and compare it to the diameter of the Moon, which is \(3476 \mathrm{~km}\).) (b) The angular resolution of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is \(0.1\) arcsec. How far away from the Moon could HST be and still be able to resolve details as small as you determined in part (a)? Give your answer in kilometers and in astronomical units (AU).

No major observatory has a Newtonian reflector as its primary instrument, whereas Newtonian reflectors are extremely popular among amateur astronomers. Explain why this is so.

What is a spectrograph? Why do many astronomers regard it as the most important device that can be attached to a telescope?

What is diffraction? Why does it limit the angular resolution of a telescope? What other physical phenomenon is often a more important restriction on angular resolution?
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