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Nov 14, 2024 · Light is electromagnetic radiation that can be detected by the human eye. Electromagnetic radiation occurs over an extremely wide range of wavelengths, from gamma rays with wavelengths less than about 1 × 10 metres to radio waves measured in metres.
Dec 7, 2022 · Waves of Light. Light has the properties of waves. Like ocean waves, light waves have crests and troughs. The distance between one crest and the next, which is the same as the distance between one trough and the next, is called the wavelength.
The property of light waves bending as it passes around the edge of the object is called diffraction.
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.
The direction of polarization of the wave is the direction of the electric field. In this chapter, we study the basic properties of light. In the next few chapters, we investigate the behavior of light when it interacts with optical devices such as mirrors, lenses, and apertures.
The primary properties of light are intensity, propagation direction, frequency or wavelength spectrum, and polarization. Its speed in vacuum, 299 792 458 m/s, is one of the fundamental constants of nature. [6] .
Knowing about the wave nature of light helps us interpret the different types of light that astronomical objects emit. In turn, this allows us to employ those waves to learn more about the processes that affect the formation and evolution of stars, galaxies, and the Universe itself.
