Is Snoopy right with his warning to Woodstock?

Apparent Depth

Apparent depth is found from

d_i = - d_o (n₁/n₂)

In most cases, we will be concerned with the apparent depth of an image viewed from air where n₁ = 1. Then the apparent depth is given by

d_i = - d_o (1/n₂)

Remember, the minus sign tells us this is a virtual image.

All of this means that Charles Schulz's line for his Peanuts cartoon should read as this --

Suppose you stand in a swimming pool and look down at your toes and find that they appear to be 0.75 m below the water's surface. How deep is the water?

Images Formed by Curved Mirrors			Lenses
Return to Ch 24, Mirrors and Lenses

(c) Doug Davis, 2003; all rights reserved