An all-in-one bright point source, illuminated crossed-arrow object, primary-color source, and ray box with up to five parallel rays.
- 1x Universal AC Adapter
- 1x Spare Bulb (stored under access cover)
See the Buying Guide for this item's required, recommended, and additional accessories.
Product Summary
The Basic Optics Light Source is an excellent source for a variety of optics experiments. A single 10-watt quartz-halogen bulb provides bright, easy-to-see illumination without a lot of heat. By turning the box to a different side, it becomes a:
- Crossed Arrow Object with Metric Scale: Ideal for showing images, focal point, and magnification.
- Bright Point Source: The very small filament of the halogen bulb provides an excellent point source for experiments involving shadows or the Inverse Square Law.
- Three Primary Colors Source: The red, green, and blue filters produce three rays of light that can easily be combined with a lens to study color mixing.
- One, Three, or Five Ray Sources: Simply rotate the knob in front of the Light Source to vary the number of rays produced.
What's Included
- 1x Universal AC Adapter
- 1x Spare Bulb (stored under access cover)
Product Specifications
| Bulb Type | G4 halogen, 12 V, 10 W |
| Input Power (to included AC adapter) | 100 to 240 VAC, 50 to 60 Hz |
| Dimensions | 16 cm × 11 cm × 9 cm |
Buying Guide
| Also Available | P/N | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Ray Optics Kit | OS-8516A | -- |
Product Guides & Articles
Optics System Guide
Our expandable optics system provides everything you need to perform high-quality investigations in any physics lab. Introduce students to the fundamentals of optics with our comprehensive Basic Optics System; then build on the basics with a variety of optics accessories that support detailed studies of color, interference and diffraction, polarization, and more.
AP Physics 2 Lab Manual Overview
Authored by physics educators, the Advanced Physics 2 Lab Manual includes sixteen guided inquiry labs that cover AP Physics 2 topics such as fluid dynamics, optics, interference and diffraction, magnetic fields, electricity, RC Circuits, and Planck’s Constant.
Experiment Library
Perform the following experiments and more with the Basic Optics Light Source.
Visit PASCO's Experiment Library to view more activities.
Light Intensity vs. Distance
The relative light intensity versus distance from a point light source is plotted and compared to theory.
Focal Length of a Concave Mirror
Use a light source, concave mirror, and half-screen, all on an optics bench, to measure the focal length of the concave mirror.
Refraction
Use Snell’s Law of refraction to experimentally determine the index of refraction of a D-shaped acrylic lens.
Reflection
Experimentally confirm the Law of Reflection for flat, concave, and convex mirrors.
Dispersion
You will observe dispersion through an acrylic rhomboid and calculate the different indices of refraction for different color light.
Refraction
Use Snell’s Law of refraction to experimentally determine the index of refraction of a D-shaped acrylic lens.
Reflection
Experimentally confirm the Law of Reflection for a flat, concave, and convex mirror.
Brewster's Angle
In this experiment you will explore how the intensity and polarization of light changes when reflected from the surface of a transparent medium, and then compare your experimental results to a theoretical value known as Brewster's...
Support Documents
| Manuals | ||
|---|---|---|
| Basic Optics Light Source Manual | English - 539.83 KB | |
| Knowledge Base | ||
| Replacement bulb, power supply, and AC adapter for OS-8470 Basic Optics Light Source or OS-8517 Basic Optics Light Source | Jan 30th, 2023 | |
