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Light Waves & Rays

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LIGHT WAVES & RAYS

Light
In this lesson:

1) Properties of light
2) Reflection
3) Refraction
4) Diffraction
Properties of Light

Light travels in straight lines:

Laser
Light travels VERY FAST – around
300,000 kilometres per second.

At this speed it can


go around the world 8
times in one second.
Light travels much faster than sound. For example:

1) Thunder and lightning


start at the same time,
but we will see the
lightning first.

2) When a starting pistol


is fired we see the
smoke first and then
hear the bang.
We see things because they
reflect light into our eyes:

Homework
Luminous and non-luminous objects

A luminous object is one that produces light.


A non-luminous object is one that reflects light.

Luminous objects Reflectors


Effects caused by the fact that
light travels in straight lines
Shadows
Shadows are places where light is “blocked”:

Rays of light
Eclipses
Types of Eclipses Umbra & Penumbra
The Pinhole Camera
Properties of Light summary

1) Light travels in straight lines


2) Light travels much faster than sound
3) We see things because they reflect light
into our eyes
4) Shadows are formed when light is blocked
by an object
REFLECTION OF LIGHT
Reflection
Reflection from a mirror:

Normal

Incident ray Reflected ray

Angle of Angle of
incidence reflection

Mirror
The Law of Reflection

Angle of incidence = Angle of reflection

In other words, light gets reflected from a surface at


____ _____ angle it hits it.

The
same !!!
Clear vs. Diffuse Reflection

Smooth, shiny surfaces


have a clear reflection:

Rough, dull surfaces have


a diffuse reflection.

Diffuse reflection is when


light is scattered in
different directions
Using mirrors
Two examples:

2) A car headlight

1) A periscope
Characteristics of an Image
in a Plane Mirror
Characteristics of an Image
in a Plane Mirror
1. The image and the object are equal
distances from the mirror.

2. The image is laterally inverted.

3. The image is virtual or imaginary as there


is no light actually meeting at that point.
Refraction

Refraction is when waves change direction or slow down


due to travelling in a different medium. A medium is
something that waves will travel through.

The following phenomenon are due to the refraction of


light.
Due to the refraction
of light, objects in
liquids appear: bigger;
bent; closer.

How it works.
When white light
passes through a
prism, it is split into
its constituent colours.
Laws of Refraction

1. The incident and refracted rays are on


OPPOSITE sides of the normal and ALL
lie IN THE SAME PLANE.

2. SNELL’S LAW: for light passing from one


medium to another, the ratio of the sine
of the angle of incidence to the sine of
the angle of refraction is CONSTANT.

This constant is called the refractive index, n.


A ray that travels
along the normal
is un-refracted
i

r
Snell’s Law

For refraction from medium 1 to medium 2

sin 1 n2
1 n2    a constant
sin  2 n1
Calculating refractive index (n)
using the speed of light, (c)

The absolutely refractive index of a


material, n, is calculated as follows:

n = Speed of light in a vacuum (or air), c


Speed of light in material, v
Real and Apparent Depth

Due to refraction of light rays, objects in


water appear closer than they really are.
This fact can be used to calculate the
refractive index.

n = real depth
apparent depth
Real and Apparent Depth
Lateral Displacement

Lateral displacement
is the deviation of a
refracted ray from
its original path

Lateral displacement
Critical Angle, c
When light goes from a medium in which it
has low speed to a medium in which it has a
higher speed, it angle of REFRACTION is
GREATER than its angle of incidence.

Also, the wave is also partly reflected at an


equal angle.

If the angle of incidence is increased, the


angle of refraction is also increased.
Critical Angle, c
The angle of incidence for which the refracted ray
emerges at 90o to the normal, is referred to as the
critical angle.
Formula for Critical Angle, c

1
n
sin c
Total Internal Reflection

If the angle of
incidence is increased
beyond the critical angle
(i.e. i>c), then no light
leaves the medium; all
light is reflected.

This is called total


internal reflection.
Applications of Total Internal
Reflection
A Prism may be used to turn a ray of light
through 90o or 180o.

45
45

Ray turned through 90o Ray turned through 180o


Applications of Total Internal
Reflection

The principle of total internal reflection is


used in Fibre Optics.

Fibre Optics cables total internally


reflects electromagnet waves which are
carrying signals.
COLOURS OF WHITE LIGHT
Dispersion of White Light
White light is not a single colour; it is made
up of a mixture of the seven colours of the
rainbow.

We can demonstrate this by


splitting white light with a
prism:

This is how rainbows are


formed: sunlight is “split up”
by raindrops.
The dispersion of white light occurs
because each colour is refracted to
a different degree.

Red
Orange
Yellow
Green
Blue
Indigo
Violet
Adding colours
White light can be split up to make separate colours.
These colours can be added together again.

The primary colours of light are red, blue and green:

Adding blue and red Adding blue and


makes magenta green makes cyan
(purple) (light blue)

Adding red Adding all


and green three makes
makes yellow white again
Seeing colour
The colour an object appears depends on the colours
of light it reflects.

For example, a red book only reflects red light:

White Only red light


light is reflected
A pair of purple trousers would reflect purple light
(and red and blue, as purple is made up of red and blue):

Purple light

A white hat would reflect all seven colours:

White
light
Using coloured light
If we look at a coloured object in coloured
light we see something different. For
example, consider a football kit:

Shirt looks red

White
light

Shorts look blue


In different colours of light this kit would look different:

Red
Shirt looks red
light

Shorts look black

Shirt looks black


Blue
light

Shorts look blue

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