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Light

1) Light travels in straight lines and reflects at the same angle it hits a surface. 2) Light bends when moving between materials of different densities, with the angle of bending determined by the refractive indices. 3) White light is a mixture of colors, and objects appear colored because they selectively absorb and reflect wavelengths of visible light.

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31 views

Light

1) Light travels in straight lines and reflects at the same angle it hits a surface. 2) Light bends when moving between materials of different densities, with the angle of bending determined by the refractive indices. 3) White light is a mixture of colors, and objects appear colored because they selectively absorb and reflect wavelengths of visible light.

Uploaded by

Prodoot
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Light

1) Properties of light
2) Reflection
3) Refraction
4) Colours
Properties of Light

Light travels in straight lines:

Laser
Light travels in straight lines
Light travels VERY FAST – around
300,000 kilometres per second.

At this speed it can


go around the world 8
times in one second.

3 x 10⁸ m/s
Light travels much faster than sound. For example:

1) Thunder and lightning


start at the same time,
but we will see the
lightning first.

2) When a starting pistol


is fired we see the
smoke first and then
hear the bang.
We see things because they
reflect light into our eyes:

Homework
Luminous and non-luminous objects

A luminous object is one that produces light.


A non-luminous object is one that reflects light.

Luminous objects Reflectors

-The Sun -The Moon


- Lamps - Mirrors
- Lights - People
- Lasers - Objects
- Campfires
Seeing light

How do you see an object?


Light from the object enters your eye.

Do you see all objects in the same way?

There are two ways you see objects:


 You see some objects because they are light sources.
 You see other objects by reflected light.
Shadows
Shadows are places where light is “blocked”:

Rays of light
Properties of Light summary

1) Light travels in straight lines


2) Light travels much faster than sound
3) We see things because they reflect light
into our eyes
4) Shadows are formed when light is blocked
by an object
Reflection
Reflection from a mirror:

Normal

Incident ray Reflected ray

Angle of Angle of
incidence reflection

Mirror
The Law of Reflection

Angle of incidence = Angle of reflection

In other words, light gets reflected from a surface at


THE SAME ANGLE it hits it.

The
same !!!
Law of Reflection
The angle of incidence is equal to the angle of
reflection (i.e. i = r).
Second Law of Reflection
The incident ray, the normal and the reflected
ray at the point of incidence all lie in the same
plane.
Image formed by a Plane Mirror

- Same size as the object


- Laterally inverted (left-to-
right inversion)
- Upright
- Virtual
- Same distance behind the
mirror as the
object is in front of the
mirror
Regular and Irregular Reflection
Clear vs. Diffuse Reflection

Smooth, shiny surfaces


have a clear reflection:

Rough, dull surfaces have


a diffuse reflection.

Diffuse reflection is when


light is scattered in
different directions
In both regular and irregular reflections, each
ray obeys the laws of reflection.

The Angle of Incidence


is
ALWAYS EQUAL
To
The Angle of Reflection
Refraction of light
Introduction
Refraction is the bending of light
when the light passes from one medium
to another.

air
glass
Introduction
Useful words to describe refraction of light
angle of
incidence

normal
air
glass

angle of
refraction
Introduction
From a less dense to a denser medium
• e.g. from air to glass

normal
air
glass

• Light is bent towards the normal.


Introduction
From a denser to a less dense medium
• e.g. from water to air

normal

water
air

• Light is bent away from the normal.


Refraction through a glass block:

Wave slows down and bends


towards the normal due to
entering a more dense medium

Wave slows down but is


not bent, due to entering
along the normal

Wave speeds up and bends


away from the normal due to
entering a less dense medium
Bending light
The speed of light waves depends on the material they
are travelling through.

air = fastest glass = slower diamond = slowest

If light waves enter a different material (e.g. travel from


glass into air) the speed changes.
This causes the light to bend or refract.

air
glass
Colour
White light is not a single
colour; it is made up of a
mixture of the seven
colours of the rainbow.

We can demonstrate
this by splitting white
light with a prism:

This is how rainbows


are formed: sunlight is
“split up” by raindrops.
Splitting white light
A prism splits a ray of
white light into the
colours of the
rainbow.

This process is known


as dispersion.
The colours that make
up white light are
called the spectrum.
Splitting white light

Long wavelength
refracted least

Short wavelength
refracted most

Violet will bend most and red will least.


The colours of the rainbow:

Red
Orange
Yellow
Green
Blue
Indigo
Remember: Roy G. Biv !!! Violet

Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain


Three Primary Colors

Red, Blue & Green

All at equal intensity


produces white light

Opposites are
complementary
Adding colours
White light can be split up to make separate colours.
These colours can be added together again.

The primary colours of light are red, blue and green:

Adding blue and red Adding blue and


makes magenta green makes cyan
(purple) (light blue)

Adding red Adding all


and green three makes
makes yellow white again
Seeing colour
The colour an object appears depends on the colours
of light it reflects.

For example, a red book only reflects red light:

White Only red light


light is reflected
Seeing red
Why does a red snooker ball look red in white
light?

The snooker ball absorbs


White light is all the colours of the
made up of a spectrum except red.
Only red light is reflected
spectrum of into your eye, so the
colours. snooker ball appears red.
Seeing green
Why does a green snooker ball look green in
white light?

The snooker ball


absorbs all the colours
of the spectrum except
green.
Only green light is
reflected into your
eye, so the snooker ball
appears green.
Seeing black
Why does a black snooker ball look black in
white light?

The snooker ball


absorbs all the
colours of the
spectrum.
No light is reflected
into your eye, so the
snooker ball appears
black.
Seeing magenta
Why does a magenta ball look magenta in
white light?

The snooker ball absorbs


all the colours of the
spectrum except red
and blue.
Red and blue light are
reflected into your eye,
so the snooker ball
appears magenta.
A pair of purple pants, in addition to being ugly, would
reflect purple light
(or red and blue, as purple is made up of red and blue):

Purple light

A white hat would reflect all seven colours:

White
light
In different colours of light this kit would look different:

Red
Shirt looks red
light

Shorts look black

Shirt looks black


Blue
light

Shorts look blue


Using coloured filters
Filters let certain colours of light pass
through, but absorb all other colours.

Using different coloured


filters placed in front of your
eye, look around the
classroom and see what
effect they have on your
vision.

object filter
Red, blue and green
A red filter filters
absorbs all
colours…
…apart from red
A blue filter light.
absorbs all
colours…
…apart from blue
A green filter light.
absorbs all
colours...
…apart from green
light.
Magenta, cyan and yellow filters
A magenta
filter absorbs
all colours…
…apart from red and
A cyan filter blue.
absorbs all
colours…
…apart from green and
A yellow filter blue.
absorbs all
colours...

…apart from red and


green.

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