What is an optranet kit ?

The optranet kit targets for teenagers (14-16 years old):

• Either at school with their teachers
• Or during trade-faires and exhibitions.

The pedagogical kit comes in the form of a small case in which there is optical material to carry out demonstrations and experiments about optical phenomena.

Thanks to the quality of the material, the teachers and presenters will show the key notions such as: the composition and decomposition of light, image formation, the propagation of light. They will discover a laser or an optical fibre and how they are used in everyday life. They will move on to the polarisation phenomena. They will understand the role of glass and optical components which enable the fabrication of light using devices.

Click here to download the Optical Kit for young users (PDF 1.5 Mb)

To download the educational documentation about history in the optical field and everyday life applications click here (PDF 0.6 Mb)

What materials ?

• An optical bench " synthesis "
• An hand spectroscope
• A sodium spectral lamp
• Filters on supports
• Optical fibres
• A lantern
• An optical bench
• An image -object
  
• A lens
  
• A screen
  
• Optical polarizer
  
• A laser (class2) HeNe
  
• A diffraction grating
  
• A slit
  
• A CD Rom
  
• Optical components in a box
  
• Objects (ping-pong ball, little car)
  

What topics ?

The topics introduced will be the following:

Intended learning outcome : Understand composition and decomposition (additive and subtractive synthesis)

Materials :

• An optical bench " synthesis "
  
• A hand spectroscope
  
• A spectral sodium lamp
  
• A lantern
  
• Filters on supports
  
• Optical fibres
  
• Objects (ping-pong ball, little car)
  

Experiments :

The optical bench " synthesis " shows that white light is composed with colours of light and all observed colours constitute the white spectrum.

Using objects and filters on supports.
Using spectroscope to spot colours
Using a spectral sodium lamp and a small car to simulate a passage through a tunnel and the corresponding colour change.

2/ Image formation

Intended learning outcome : How is an image formed ?

Materials :

- An optical bench
- An image -object
- A lens
- A screen

Experiments:

During the projection the image is reversed. Why?
When we hide half the lens, the whole image is still projected. Why?
When you hide one half of the object; the image is half hidden. Why?

3/ The polarizers

Intended learning outcome : Thanks to the polarizers, the notion of light waves is grasped.

Materials :

• Optical polarizers
  
• An optical bench
  

Experiments :

What is a polarizer? Where is it used? Under which conditions?
If you turn the polarisers around, there is an alternate of the passage of the light.
What happens when you insert between 2 polarisers a piece of glass or a piece of plastic?

4/ The Lasers

Intended learning outcome : How does the light propagate? What is a beam?

Materials :

• A laser (class2)
• A diffraction grating
• A slit
• A CD rom
  

Experiments :

The principal of diffraction can be explained.
Projection of a laser through a slit, in a diffraction grating on a CDRom
What a laser used for? Examples: industries, construction, light show.

Explanations :

What are optical components?
What are optical components used for?
Presentation of polishing phases and of the work of high precision optician
Some end products.

Kits come with supports to help teachers or presenters in order to explain:

- The purpose of the experiment
- The different phases
- How to use the materials

In some cases, there are transparencies to understand optical phenomena.

Be careful : it depends on the country you live in.
The optranet kits are available from March 15th

In France :
Case is available for three weeks
Contact Opticsvalley :
Bénédicte Peigne
Tel : 0033 (0) 1 69 31 75 07
Email b.peigne@opticsvalley.org

In United Kingdom :
Contact Dinali de Silva
Oxford Innovation
Oxford Centre for Innovation
Mill Street
Oxford OX2 0JX
Tel : 0044 (0) 1865 811 127
Email : d.desilva@oxin.uk

Optranet at school

In France:

The optical kits can be used in class at high school (4ème and 3ème), because the experiments can illustrate a part of the program.

You need a dark room, a big table to install materials, and if possible a screen.

Each topic can be introduced separately, because certain topics invoke more or less complex notions (for example: it's difficult to explain the polarizers to 4ème and 3ème grader).

We recommend that teachers dedicate at least 20 minutes for each topic.