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May 24, 2024 · We know that light is a wave based on how it behaves – it exhibits the same properties of other waves we have examined – it interferes with itself, it follows an inverse-square law for intensity (brightness), and so on.
Light is a type of electromagnetic radiation that can be detected by the eye. It travels as a transverse wave. Unlike a sound waves, light waves do not need a medium to pass through, they...
Light as a Wave. Reflection and Refraction. All waves exhibit both reflection and refraction properties. When a wave moves from one medium into another, its direction of propagation changes; this is termed refraction.
Dec 28, 2020 · In plain terms, electromagnetic waves are simply known as light, though the term light is sometimes used to specify visible light (that which can be detected by the eye), and other times is used more generally to refer to all forms of electromagnetic radiation.
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- Light rays
The basic element in geometrical optics is the light ray, a hypothetical construct that indicates the direction of the propagation of light at any point in space. The origin of this concept dates back to early speculations regarding the nature of light. By the 17th century the Pythagorean notion of visual rays had long been abandoned, but the observation that light travels in straight lines led naturally to the development of the ray concept. It is easy to imagine representing a narrow beam of light by a collection of parallel arrows—a bundle of rays. As the beam of light moves from one medium to another, reflects off surfaces, disperses, or comes to a focus, the bundle of rays traces the beam’s progress in a simple geometrical manner.
Geometrical optics consists of a set of rules that determine the paths followed by light rays. In any uniform medium the rays travel in straight lines. The light emitted by a small localized source is represented by a collection of rays pointing radially outward from an idealized “point source.” A collection of parallel rays is used to represent light flowing with uniform intensity through space; examples include the light from a distant star and the light from a laser. The formation of a sharp shadow when an object is illuminated by a parallel beam of light is easily explained by tracing the paths of the rays that are not blocked by the object.
The basic element in geometrical optics is the light ray, a hypothetical construct that indicates the direction of the propagation of light at any point in space. The origin of this concept dates back to early speculations regarding the nature of light. By the 17th century the Pythagorean notion of visual rays had long been abandoned, but the observation that light travels in straight lines led naturally to the development of the ray concept. It is easy to imagine representing a narrow beam of light by a collection of parallel arrows—a bundle of rays. As the beam of light moves from one medium to another, reflects off surfaces, disperses, or comes to a focus, the bundle of rays traces the beam’s progress in a simple geometrical manner.
Geometrical optics consists of a set of rules that determine the paths followed by light rays. In any uniform medium the rays travel in straight lines. The light emitted by a small localized source is represented by a collection of rays pointing radially outward from an idealized “point source.” A collection of parallel rays is used to represent light flowing with uniform intensity through space; examples include the light from a distant star and the light from a laser. The formation of a sharp shadow when an object is illuminated by a parallel beam of light is easily explained by tracing the paths of the rays that are not blocked by the object.
Light Reflection and Refraction. Light is a complex phenomena. It exhibits both wave * -like and particle-like properties. Its exact nature is not fully understood and this complexity makes it difficult for one model to describe all of light’s properties. As a result, different models describe different aspects of light’s behavior.
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Is light a wave?
What is the difference between electromagnetic wave theory and light ray theory?
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Simply stated, light is nature's way of transferring energy through space. We can complicate it by talking about interacting electric and magnetic fields, quantum mechanics, and all of that, but just remember--light is energy. Light travels very rapidly, but it does have a finite velocity.
