LIGHT

Light, form of energy visible to

the human eye that is radiated
by moving charged particles
Nature of Light
Speed of light
Brightness of light
Properties of light
 NATURE OF LIGHT
 Isaac Newton
light is composed of tiny particles, or corpuscles,
emitted by luminous bodies.
Christian Huygens
Light is a wave.(wave nature of light)
He stated that an expanding sphere of light
behaves as if each point on the wave front were a new
source of radiation of the same frequency and phase.
 Pierre Gassendi

an atomist, proposed a particle theory of light

 Max Planck
In quantum theory, light is a like a “lumps”
of energy called Quanta.

 Albert Einstein
The photoelectric effect is observed when
light strikes a metal, and emits electrons.
He used the idea of photons (light consists
of tiny particles) to explain results which
demonstrate the photoelectric effect.
 Thomas Young
He successfully demonstrated the
interference of light (which Huygens failed
to show), by his famous double-slit
experiments
 James Clerk Maxwell

showed that electric and magnetic

fields were propagated together and that
their speed was identical with the speed of
light
SOURCES OF LIGHT

 Light is produced by one of two methods…

Incandescence is the emission of light from
"hot" matter (T ≳ 800 K).
Luminescence is the emission of light when
excited electrons fall to lower energy levels
(in matter that may or may not be "hot").
SPEED OF LIGHT

 Galileo Galilei in 1667

He used lanterns, telescope and shutters on
top of a hill several kilometres apart.He failed to
measure the speed of light.
 Olaus Roemer in 1676

He found out that the speed is about 2.3 x

108 m/s using the movement of the moons in the
Jupiter in 6 months.
 Hippolyte Louis Fizeau in 1849
He measured the speed of light as 2.99796
x 108 m/s.
 Albert Mischelson in late 1800s

He measured the speed of light as 2.997

996 x 108 m/s.
 International committee in 1983 defined the
speed of light as 299,792,458 m/s.
 ..\..\..\Users\ERIBERT\Desktop\grade10-18\What Is Light_.mp4
 BRIGHTNESS OF LIGHT
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 Photometry it is the measurement of the

brightness of light source.
 Luminous intensity is the measure of the
brightness of light (candela)
 Luminous flux is the rate at which light is
emitted from a source and strikes the
surface(lumens)F=4 I
 Illumination is the amount of Luminous flux on
a unit area.(lux)
3 KINDS OF MATERIALS

Transparent

Translucent

Opaque
WHAT WILL LIGHT DO IN THE FOLLOWING 3
SITUATIONS?
TRANSPARENT MATERIALS

 When light passes

straight through a
material, that material is
transparent.
 Transparent materials
you can see completely
through.
TRANSLUCENT
 Translucent materials
transmit some light but
cause it to spread in all
directions
 You can see light through
these materials but not
clearly
 Lampshades, frosted
glass, sheer fabrics,
notebook paper
OPAQUE

 Opaque materials do
not allow any light to
pass through them
 Construction paper,
Trees, Animals
OPAQUE MATERIALS
 Opaque materials do not
allow any light to pass
through them.
 All light that comes into
contact with an opaque
material is either
reflected or absorbed.
 Opaque materials make a
show when you shine
light on them.
PROPERTIES OF LIGHT
 Reflection- is the turning back of light as it hits
a barrier
 Refraction- is the bending of light as it passes
from one medium to another
 Diffraction- is the slight bending of light as it
passes around the edge of an object
 Interference- is a phenomenon in which two
waves superpose to form a resultant wave of
greater, lower, or the same amplitude.
 REFLECTION OF LIGHT

 is the turning back of light as it hits a barrier

TYPES OF REFLECTION
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
APPLICATION OF REFLECTION

 Perception of Colors
 Mirrors

 Seeing objects
REFRACTION OF LIGHT
REFRACTION OF LIGHT

 refraction of light is bending the path of the

light so that its direction of propagation
changes
REFRACTION OF LIGHT

 Refraction occurs whenever light passes from a

region or medium with one index of refraction
to a region or medium with a different index of
refraction.
DIFFRACTION OF LIGHT

 Diffraction occurs when a wave bends around

an obstacle or spreads through an opening
DIFFRACTION OF LIGHT
INTERFERENCE OF LIGHT
 is the more general
concept: it refers to the
phenomenon of waves
interacting. Waves will
add constructively or
destructively according
to their phase
difference