Understanding Light

Understanding Light How many times in the past week… Did you control the brightness of light? Did you make a shadow? Did you use a mirror? Did you use a camera?

Understanding Light In this chapter, we will be learning about some common sources of light, both natural and artificial. We will also learn about some interesting properties of light to help you understand how it travels and how it behaves in predictable ways.

What is light? In simplest terms, light is the form of energy that you can see. The Sun is a natural light source, the most abundant and lest expensive light source in the world. Fire is another natural source of light.

What is light? The Sun is a star; all stars in the universe are sources of light. Light spreads out, or radiates, from the Sun and other stars, in all firections, like the spokes of a bicycle wheel. This type of energy transfer does not require matter; it is known as radiation.

What is light? Energy such as light that travels by radiation is often called radiant energy. Less than one tenth of one millionth of a percent of the Sun’s energy actually reaches Earth, but our lives are dependent upon this energy.

What is light? Plants, people, and other animals could not live without light from the Sun. Because sunlight is not always available, people have developed light-producing technologies, or artificial lights. A light bulb is an example of an artificial light source. Like the Sun, light from a bulb radiates in all directions.

What is light? What else can produce light? Think about what happens when you strike a match. Chemicals on the tip of the match react to produce heat and light. Once the chemical energy is used up, the match is no longer useful. Like the match, all other sources of light require energy.

The first basic property of light Light is a form of energy. This is the first basic property of light. When light is absorbed by a surface, it can be transformed into several different forms of energy. Light can be transformed into thermal energy, electrical energy, or chemical energy.

The first basic property of light For example, the absorption of sunlight by a black sweater causes the garment to gain thermal energy. Solar cells change light into electricity. Trees in your neighbourhood absorb sunlight to make chemical energy (sugars).

The first basic property of light The brightness, or intensity, of light indicates how much energy a surface will receive. A surface can absorb more energy if the brightness of the light intensifies. For instance, pavement may feel hot to the touch on a sunny summer day. However, the pavement will only feel warm if the clouds block out the sunlight.

Sources of light How would your life be different if the Sun and stars were the only sources of light available to you?

Sources of light We are lucky to have so many sources of light available to us. In earlier times, once the Sun had set, people found their way around outside with torches and lanterns. Today, we have so much light that light pollution can wash out our view of the skies at night.

Sources of light Some communities are taking steps to conserve light energy. For example, new types of streetlights are designed to direct their light downward, so that they illuminate the ground or the street and not the sky. In addition, these lights are comparatively energy efficient.

Incandescent sources An object can be heated to such a high temperature that it emits visible light. Such an object is called an incandescent source of light. The emission of visible light by a hot object is called incandescence. Both candle flames and light bulbs are examples of incandescent sources.

Incandescent sources Light bulbs contain a metal wire filament, which is heated by electricity. The filament becomes so hot, it glows white. The change from electrical energy to visible light energy involves the following energy transformation: Electrical energy -> thermal energy -> visible light energy

Incandescent sources Have you ever touched an incandescent bulb right after you turned off the light? If you did, you probably burned your fingers! About 95% of the energy given off by incandescent light bulbs is released as heat. In a way, an incandescent source of light is like having a small electric heater in the room.

Fluorescent sources You may have noticed that when you stand under a black light, some of your clothing glows- especially if you are wearing white. In this process, high-energy, invisible ultraviolet light is absorbed by the particles in the fabric. These particles emit some of this energy as light that you can see, making the clothing glow.

Fluorescent sources This glow is called fluorescence. You can summarize this energy transformation as follows: Ultraviolet light -> energy absorbed by particles -> visible light energy

Fluorescent sources A fluorescent source of light makes use of this energy transformation. Fluorescent lights are usually shaped like a tube. An electric current from the lead-in wires and electrodes cause the mercury vapor inside the tube to give off ultraviolet radiation. A phosphor coating on the inside of the tube absorbs the ultraviolet energy. This causes the coating to glow, thus producing a light you can see.

Phosphorescent sources A phosphorescent source of light is similar to a fluorescent source. Light energy is absorbed by certain particles that can store this energy for a while. The stored energy is late released as visible light. The original light energy may be either in the form of high-energy ultraviolet light (like fluorescent tubes) or in the form of visible light. The emission of light following exposure to and removal of a source of radiation is called phosphorescence.

Chemiluminescent sources Light can also result from the energy released in chemical reactions. The chemical reaction produces particles that give off visible light energy.

Bioluminescent sources Some animals who live near the bottom of the ocean appear to glow. They are said to be bioluminescent, which refers to the special type of light produced in living creatures. These animals rely on chemical reactions inside their bodies to create light, since there is no sunlight so far under water.

The Second Basic Property of Light We know that light is energy, but this doesn’t explain everything there is to know about light. What happens when someone stands in front of you at the movie theatre?

The Second Basic Property of Light The light from the screen will not reach your eyes because light travels in a straight line from its source. This is the second basic property of light. Knowledge of how light travels helps us to understand how it will behave.

The Second Basic Property of light Until light strikes something, it will continue to travel in straight lines away from the source. When light strikes clear substances, such as air or water, it can pass right through. These things are transparent. What are some other things that are transparent?

The Second Basic Property of Light Other substances let some light through, but the light is scattered from its usually straight path. These substances are translucent. Wax paper is one example of a translucent substance. Can you think of others?

The Second Basic Property of Light Many materials will not allow any light to pass through them. These materials are opaque- they block out the path of light. Opaque objects produce shadows when light strikes them.

Reflecting on Reflections Some objects, like the Sun, emit their own light. These objects are luminous. Most objects, however, do not produce their own light energy. These objects are non- luminous. They can be seen only when light from a luminous source strikes the object and reflects off the object into your eyes.

Reflecting on Reflections Reflection occurs when light bounces off a surface. When a room is poorly lit, you see less because less light is reflecting off the objects around you. Not all light is reflected by objects- some light is absorbed. That is why it is harder to see people who wear dark clothing at night time, compared to people wearing light coloured clothing. The light colours reflect more light than darker colours do.

Reflecting on Reflections When light strikes a reflecting surface, it bounces off the surface. A light ray that strikes a surface is called an incident ray. The light that is reflected from a surface is called a reflected ray.

Reflecting on Reflections To find out in which direction the ray of light is travelling, you can measure an angle. To do this, draw a reference line that is perpendicular to the reflecting surface at the point where the incident ray strikes the surface. This line is called normal.

Reflecting on Reflections The angle between the incident ray and the normal is called the angle of incidence (i) The angle between the normal and reflected ray is called the angle of reflection (r).

Predictable Behaviour Light that is reflected from a surface will behave in two predictable ways, called the laws of reflection. The first law states that the angle of reflection is equal to the angle of incidence. The second law states that the incident ray, the normal, and the reflected ray are all in the same place (an imaginary flat surface). This is why you can draw all three lines on a flat sheet of paper.

Predictable Behaviour A smooth, flat reflecting surface always produces an image that has the same size and shape as the object. On a rough reflecting surface, a diffuse reflection will occur. This means there is no image reflected.

Refraction We know what happens when light rays bounce off other objects, and we can predict the direction in which reflected lights travel. What happens when a light moves from air into water? If you have ever stood beside a swimming pool and tried to dive for an object underwater, you may have noticed the object wasn’t where you expected it to be.

Refraction Refraction is the bending of light when it travels from one medium (like air) to another (like water). Light bends because it changes speed when it moves between materials that have different densities. Light usually travels more slowly in denser material.

Around the bend When light travels from one medium into a denser one, it will bend toward the normal. When light exits a denser substance, it will bend away from the normal. The new direction of the light is called the angle of refraction.

Around the bend Refraction occurs when light travels through air at different temperatures, too. This explains “mirages”- for example, when it looks like there are pools of water on the road ahead on a hot summer’s day. The air close to the ground is hotter and denser than the air higher up. The “pools” were actually images of the sky refracted by warm air near the ground.

The end of chapter 7 already? Preposterous!