Unit 1.
then the light reflects off the mirror into your eyes
Module 6: Colors of Light
Light - a form of energy emitted by the Sun as well as
light-producing objects on Earth.
• Light is an electromagnetic wave that does not
need a medium in which to travel.
Electromagnetic waves - waves that can
travel in a vacuum. These waves are
created by the vibration of an electric
charge. Note: All electromagnetic waves
are transverse wave.
• Light travels in transverse waves.
• Light can be absorbed or reflected by objects
depending upon the properties of the object and
the type and angle of light when it hits the
object.
• The structure of the human eye can detect many
colors in visible light that are reflected by
objects.
Optics – study of light
Speed of Light
Light travels faster than sound in straight lines. (That is
why the lightning is seen before the thunder is heard).
 It is approximated to travel at a speed of 3 x 108
m/s in a vacuum. Takes about 8 minutes to reach
the Earth.
 This speed decreases when light travels in a
dense medium.
 This means that the speed of light is dependent
on the properties of the medium
o air/ vacuum : 3 x 10 8 m/s (very fast)
o water : 2.26 x 10 8 m/s (fast)
o glass : 1.97 x 10 8 m/s (slow)
Sources of Light
1. Natural light
• The most important source of natural light is the
sun.
• The sun gives the earth light and energy.
• The moon and stars receive light from the sun
and reflects it to the earth.
• A firefly also produces light.
2. Artificial light – light that is made by people, or man-
made. Ex. Florescent lamp, incandescent bulb
3 Ways in which objects can let light pass through.
1. Opaque – absorb the light and let nothing through.
Ex. rock, metal. wood
Shadows - caused by opaque objects blocking the path
of light.
Long shadows are seen in early morning and late
afternoon. Shorter shadows are seen at noon
2. translucent – absorb some of the light and let some
through. Ex. waxed paper, sunglasses, frosted glass
3. transparent – let the light pass through, or transmit it.
Ex. clear gas, eyeglasses, clear plastic
Properties of Light
1. Reflection - when a wave strikes an object and
bounces off
Law of Reflection - the angle of incidence is equal to
the angle of reflection (In other words, the angle coming
into the mirror equals the angle coming off of the
mirror.)
Examples:
1. Light strikes your face and is reflected into a mirror,
2. When the moon shines, it’s just reflecting the sunlight
that hits it.
a. incident ray - light coming from a light source
b. reflected ray - the light that bounces off the
surface
c. normal line - a line that is perpendicular ( 90o
with the surface) to the plane mirror
d. angle of incidence - the angle between the
incident ray and the normal line
e. angle of reflection - the angle between the
reflected ray and the normal line
f. Plane mirror – a mirror with a flat surface
g. Image – the appearance of an object in as
smooth, shiny surface
2. Refraction - the bending of light when it travels from
one medium to another of different optical densities. It is
caused by a change in speed
slower (more dense)  light bends toward the normal
faster (less dense)  light bends away from the normal
 Refraction depends on…
 speed of light in the medium
 wavelength of the light - shorter
wavelengths (blue)bend more
Examples:
a. Apparent depth - the illusion that objects under
the water appear to be nearer the surface than
they really are.
b. Refraction at the water surface gives the "broken
pencil" effect.
electromagnetic spectrum -describes the various types
of electromagnetic waves based on their wavelengths.
Optical density - the sluggishness of the atoms of a
medium to maintain the absorbed energy before
reemitting it.
• The more optically dense which a material is,
the slower that a wave will move through the
material.
Physical density - described as the mass per unit
volume of the medium.
Index of refraction - represented by the symbol n
- the ratio of the speed of light in vacuum and its speed
in another medium
Prism – triangular piece of glass that shows light
refraction.
Dispersion – property of light. The separation of white
light into seven bonds of colors. Ex. rainbow
How rainbow is formed? When white light
travels through water droplets in the air Spectrum of
white light disperses into its seven colours. Rainbow is
formed (usually after rainy days)
Visible light - the portion of the electromagnetic
spectrum that is visible to the human eye, ranging from
roughly 390 to 750 nm.
• Visible light waves are the only electromagnetic
waves visible to the human eye.
color spectrum - a prism that light passes through to
make a rainbow
White light - a combination of all the colors in the
rainbow.
The colors in a rainbow are: ROYGBIV
red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet
Seeing colour Seeing colour

The colour an object appears depends on the colours of The colour an object appears depends on the colours of
light it reflects. Example: light it reflects. Example:
• A red book only reflects red light • A red book only reflects red light
• A pair of purple trousers would reflect purple • A pair of purple trousers would reflect purple
light light
• A white hat would reflect all seven colours • A white hat would reflect all seven colours
Characteristics of light
Characteristics of light
Wavelength - distance between wave crests (units = Wavelength - distance between wave crests (units =
meter). meter).
• The relationship between color and wavelength • The relationship between color and wavelength
is the longer the wavelength, the redder light is. is the longer the wavelength, the redder light is.
Frequency - number of crests passing per second (units = Frequency - number of crests passing per second (units =
1/sec = Hertz). 1/sec = Hertz).
6 6
Frequency Frequency
Bonds Frequency Wavelength Energy Bonds Frequency Wavelength Energy
x x
of (Hz) (m) (eV) of (Hz) (m) (eV)
wavelength wavelength
Colors Colors
Red 428 650 1.77 Red 428 650 1.77
Orange 484 600 2.00 Orange 484 600 2.00
Yellow 517 550 2.14 Yellow 517 550 2.14
Green 566 500 2.34 Green 566 500 2.34
Blue 638 450 2.64 Blue 638 450 2.64
Violet 714 400 2.95 Violet 714 400 2.95

Red – lowest frequency and least energy but longest
wavelength
Violet – has the highest frequency and highest energy
but shortest wavelength. Hottest color of light
Green light – a light color where fishes attract the most
Blue light – has the greater refractive index, refracts
more and appears at the bottom of the red light. Ex. The
blue color of the sky.
• The greater the refractive index of the color of
light, a greater bending is also observed.
• The wavelengths and frequencies of the colors
of light vary.
• The wavelength decreases from red to violet.
• The frequency increases from red to violet.
• As the frequency of the color of light increase,
the energy also increases.
• The higher the frequency of the color of the
light, the greater is its energy.
Effect of Temperature
• Hotter objects are brighter and “bluer” than
cooler objects.
Blue Sky
 Sunlight reaches Earth's atmosphere and is
scattered in all directions by all the gases and
particles in the air.
 Blue light is scattered in all directions by the
tiny molecules of air in Earth's atmosphere.
 Blue is scattered more than other colors because
it travels as shorter, smaller waves.
Red Sunsets
 Molecules scatter and dust reflects sunlight
 Blue light scattered
 Light from the sky near the sun appears red
 Light directly from the sun appears red
Red – lowest frequency and least energy but longest
wavelength
Violet – has the highest frequency and highest energy
but shortest wavelength. Hottest color of light
Green light – a light color where fishes attract the most
Blue light – has the greater refractive index, refracts
more and appears at the bottom of the red light. Ex. The
blue color of the sky.
• The greater the refractive index of the color of
light, a greater bending is also observed.
• The wavelengths and frequencies of the colors
of light vary.
• The wavelength decreases from red to violet.
• The frequency increases from red to violet.
• As the frequency of the color of light increase,
the energy also increases.
• The higher the frequency of the color of the
light, the greater is its energy.
Effect of Temperature
• Hotter objects are brighter and “bluer” than
cooler objects.
Blue Sky
 Sunlight reaches Earth's atmosphere and is
scattered in all directions by all the gases and
particles in the air.
 Blue light is scattered in all directions by the
tiny molecules of air in Earth's atmosphere.
 Blue is scattered more than other colors because
it travels as shorter, smaller waves.
Red Sunsets
 Molecules scatter and dust reflects sunlight
 Blue light scattered
 Light from the sky near the sun appears red
 Light directly from the sun appears red