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U4L1_B

The document explains the nature of light, describing it as both a particle and a wave, and discusses how light interacts with the eye and brain to create sight. It covers various methods of light production, including incandescence, fluorescence, and bioluminescence, as well as the electromagnetic spectrum and the visible light spectrum. Additionally, it highlights the limitations of human perception regarding the electromagnetic spectrum and the different wavelengths that correspond to various colors of light.

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ian.li
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2 views

U4L1_B

The document explains the nature of light, describing it as both a particle and a wave, and discusses how light interacts with the eye and brain to create sight. It covers various methods of light production, including incandescence, fluorescence, and bioluminescence, as well as the electromagnetic spectrum and the visible light spectrum. Additionally, it highlights the limitations of human perception regarding the electromagnetic spectrum and the different wavelengths that correspond to various colors of light.

Uploaded by

ian.li
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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WHAT IS LIGHT?

UNDERSTANDING SIGHT
 To understand sight, you have to understand:
Light
Eye-Brain combination

 Optics - how light behaves in the physical world


BRAINSTORM:
What Is Light?
WHAT WILL THE LIGHT
LOOK LIKE ON THE
SCREEN?
DOUBLE SLIT EXPERIMENT
DOUBLE SLIT EXPERIMENT
WAV-ICLE?
WHAT IS A WAVE?
 A wave is a disturbance that transfers energy from
one point to another without transferring matter.
CONSTRUCTIVE AND
DESTRUCTIVE
INTERFERENCE
CONSTRUCTIVE AND
DESTRUCTIVE
INTERFERENCE
WHY DOES LIGHT APPEAR
IN BANDS?
LIGHT IS…
a particle AND a wave
MOST WAVES NEED A
MEDIUM…
 Medium – any physical substance
(air, water, dust) that acts as a
carrier for the transmission of
energy.
 Sound travels through air particles
 Water waves travel through water
 A rope or slinky can be a medium for
waves
HOW DOES LIGHT TRAVEL
THROUGH SPACE?
ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES
 The term electromagnetic waves is used to describe light
because light is made up of oscillating electric and
magnetic fields.
HOW FAST IS LIGHT?

 Imagine how far light will travel in a year!


COLOURS
COLOURS
 What distinguishes colours of light is the different
wavelengths of light.
COLOUR SPECTRUM
 These colours are called a SPECTRUM

 White light is made up of shades of Red, Orange, Yellow,


Green, Blue, Indigo and Violet
 ROY G BIV is a mnemonic to help you remember the spectrum.
EXAMPLE SPECTRUM
 An iron is heated until it gives off light. It’s spectrum
looks like this:

 Notice how it does not contain every single colour in the


spectrum, but a UNIQUE spectrum that allows us to see
the colour we see.
 Most light sources are made up of many different
colours.
OK, SO WHAT IS LIGHT?
 Electrons in atoms can be
excited to higher energy
levels

 As these electrons fall back,


they get rid of the excess
energy they absorbed by
emitting light.
“FALLING ELECTRONS”
 There are a lot of
different ways for
electrons to fall back.
 Each way they can jump
back down emits a
different coloured line of
light.
LIGHT’S DEFINITION
Light is produced when electrons change
energy levels.
WE CAN ONLY SENSE SO
MUCH…
When a dog whistle is blown, can you
hear it?

Some sounds are at such a high


frequency, we can’t hear them.
WE DON’T SEE IT ALL
 Our eyes can’t “see”
some of the
electromagnetic
spectrum
 The “colour” hot irons
emit can’t be seen, but
you feel the heat
WE DON’T SEE IT ALL
 The colour iron emits is
called Infrared Radiation
(sound familiar?)
 Some snakes can
actually see Infrared
Radiation!
MORE EXAMPLES
 When you use a microwave, you can’t see the “colour”
your food is absorbing.
 The “colour” used to heat your food is called Microwave
radiation.
ELECTROMAGNETIC
SPECTRUM
 Visible light spectrum is a very small portion of a much larger
spectrum called the Electromagnetic Spectrum

 Sample Mnemonic:

Ramiel’s Mother Is Visiting Uncle Xavier’s Garden


ELECTROMAGNETIC
SPECTRUM
 These waves all travel at “c”
 From left to right, the wavelengths get shorter

 Sample Mnemonic:

Ramiel’s Mother Is Visiting Uncle Xavier’s Garden


LIGHT PRODUCTION
WAYS TO GAIN ENERGY &
PRODUCE LIGHT
 Incandescence – production of light as a result of high temperature (ex.
Burning candle)
WAYS TO GAIN ENERGY &
PRODUCE LIGHT
 Electric Discharge – process of producing light by passing an electric
current through a gas (ex. Neon lights)
WAYS TO GAIN ENERGY &
PRODUCE LIGHT
 Phosphorescence – process of producing light by the absorption of UV
light resulting in the emission of visible light over an extended period of
time (ex. Glow in the Dark)
WAYS TO GAIN ENERGY &
PRODUCE LIGHT
 Fluorescence – immediate emission of visible light as a result of the
absorption of UV light (ex. Energy saving light bulbs)
WAYS TO GAIN ENERGY &
PRODUCE LIGHT
 Chemiluminescence – direct production of light as the result of a chem.
Rxn with little or no heat produced (ex. Glow sticks
WAYS TO GAIN ENERGY &
PRODUCE LIGHT
 Bioluminescence – production of light in living organisms as the result of
a chem. Rxn with little or no heat produced (ex. Fireflies)
WAYS TO GAIN ENERGY &
PRODUCE LIGHT
 Triboluminescence – production of light from friction as a result of
scratching, crushing, or rubbing certain crystals (ex. Self-sealing envelopes
opened in the dark produce a blue glow)
WAYS TO GAIN ENERGY &
PRODUCE LIGHT
 Light-Emitting Diode (LED) – light produced as a result of an electric
current flowing in semi-conductors
BIOLUMINESENCE
 https://www.ted.com/talks/edith_widder_the_weird_and_w
onderful_world_of_bioluminescence
A BREAKTROUGH IN LIGHT
IMAGING
 http://www.ted.com/talks/ramesh_raskar_a_camera_that_t
akes_one_trillion_frames_per_second

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