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Absorption vs propagation of light. If light wave frequency = molecules resonant frequency. Light is absorbed (propagation is stopped) Medium is opaque. If light wave frequency ≠ molecules resonant frequency. Light is reradiated and propagated forward through medium. Medium is transparent. In a solid or liquid, propagation is in straight line.
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ight and Optics:We just learned that light is a wave (an "electromagnetic wave", with very s. all wavelength).But in many cases, you can safely ignore the wave. nature of light!Light was studied for a long time (obviously), long before Maxwell, and very. well understood. People thought about light as sort of like a stream of "particles" that ...
- Waves of Light
- Colours of Light
- To Summarise
These different colours of light have different wavelengths and frequencies. Red light has the longest wavelength, and the lowest frequency of the visible spectrum. Violet has the shortest wavelength, and the highest frequency of the visible spectrum.
Mixing coloured materials, such as paint, is an example of subtractive colour mixing. Red paint appears red to us because when white light strikes it, the red pigments reflect the red wavelengths of light and absorball of the wavelengths. This reflected light is what is seen by our eyes. The same is true for all of the other colours. So what about ...
Light travels very fast - at the speed of light in fact!Light travels as waves.Light travels in straight lines.transparent media. If light meets an opaque medium it is either absorbed or scattered (ie., re°ected in many difierent directions). A smooth opaque medium can re°ect it specularly. (iv) Self-Interaction: Light apparently does not interact with itself - if 2 light beams pass through each other, they do not appear to in°uence each other at all.
To explain the properties of light, we need a theory. Question from history: Is light composed of particles or waves? Christian Huygens (1629-1695) developed a wave theory of light. Isaac Newton (1642-1727) believed that light is a stream of particles. Quantum theory (20th century) says that light has both wave and particle aspects.
1.S: The Nature of Light (Summary) Thumbnail: An EM wave, such as light, is a transverse wave. The electric E→ E and magnetic B→ B fields are perpendicular to the direction of propagation. The direction of polarization of the wave is the direction of the electric field. In this chapter, we study the basic properties of light.
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Chapter 1Understanding the Nature of LightThe nature of light has fascinated philosophers, as well. as ordinary people, for thousands of years. The light seemed something ordinary and at the s. me time something very mysterious, magical. According to today's criteria, a truly scienti c approach to the nature of light was initiated about 350 ...
