1. LIGHT
&
COLOR

2. Very Important Concepts
When light reaches the boundary between two media,
some of its energy is reflected, some is transmitted,
and some is absorbed.
The relative amounts of each depends on…
the frequencies of light,
the angle the light reaches the boundary,
and the nature of the two media.
Examples:
Light traveling through air reaches colorless glass
Light traveling through air reaches colored glass
Light traveling through air reaches a red sweater
We only “see” what reaches our eyes!

3. What is your mental model of light… reflecting from a surface?
transmitting through a material?
being absorbed by a material?
link and link

4. can clearly see objects through them
Based on these interactions of light
with matter, we classify materials as:
transparent - readily transmits light;
can clearly see objects through them
translucent - transmits, but diffuses, light;
cannot see objects clearly through them
opaque - transmits no light;
cannot see through them

5. Visible light is that portion of the
electromagnetic spectrum which stimulates the retina of the
human eye.
Visible spectrum
wavelengths range
from about 400 nm (violet) to 760 nm (red).
Light travels at about 3 x 108 m/s through
empty space and slightly slower through air.
Remember that for all waves, v = f.

6. WHITE light is composed of all colors.
Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet
is the order of
increasing frequency
or decreasing wavelength.
Frequencies directly above this spectrum are
ultraviolet.
Frequencies directly below this spectrum are
infrared.

7. colors that combine to form white light.
Complimentary colors are two
colors that combine to form white light.
Red and cyan,
blue and yellow,
green and magenta
are pairs of complimentary colors.
Red, blue, and green are called
primary colors or secondary pigments.
Cyan, yellow, and magenta are called
primary pigments or secondary colors.

8. Activity: Color Mixing
These sites let you simulate mixing colors and pigments of light: link1, link2, link3
“But I learned that the
primary colors are red,
blue, and yellow – not
red, blue, and green.”
Read about that and more here.
Activity: Color Mixing

9. The color of an opaque object depends
on the colors (frequencies) of light
incident upon it and on the colors
(frequencies) of light reflected.
The color of a transparent object depends
on the colors (frequencies) of light
incident upon it and on the colors
(frequencies) of light transmitted.

10. Now that we know more about color and
what colors are seen when light passes
through or reflects from various materials,
let’s look at how colors are revealed by
various natural phenomena.

11. The property of light responsible for the separation
of light into colors by a prism is known as refraction.
Refraction is defined as the change of direction of
a ray of light as it passes obliquely from one medium
into another of different transmission speed.

12. The properties of light responsible
for the separation of light into
colors by a rainbow are reflection
and refraction.
Reflection is defined as the turning
back of a wave when it reaches the
boundary of the medium through
which it is traveling.
Learn more about rainbow
formation here and here.

13. Soap Bubbles (and other thin films)
The properties of light
responsible for the separation of light into
colors by a soap bubble (or other thin films)
are reflection, refraction, and interference.
Interference is defined as the result of the
superposition of two or more waves.
Explore thin film interference here and here.

14. Thin Film Interference
The color spectrum seen in a soap bubble, or
any thin film, results from the interference
of the reflections of light from the
front and back surfaces of the film.
The colors seen depend on the thickness of the
film. The light most strongly seen has a
wavelength such that the film thickness is an
odd multiple of l/4. Other wavelengths will
suffer partial or total destructive interference.

15. Spectroscopes and “Rainbow Glasses”
The properties of light responsible for the
separation of light into colors by a spectroscope
(or diffraction grating) are diffraction and
interference.
Diffraction is defined as the spreading of a wave
around the edge of a barrier or through an opening.
View simulations of diffraction here and here.
Activity: Spectroscopes