Lecture 5: Light

Question 1

Light

Answer 1

• Power emitted is often called luminosity
• Light is a wave in both an electric field and a magnetic field
• Direction of either field is called polarization
• White light consists of multiple wavelengths

Question 2

Blackbodies

Answer 2

• Absorbs and emits light at all wavelengths
• Emission only depends on temperature
• Doesn’t emit the same amount of light at each wavelength

Question 3

Emission Spectra

Answer 3

• Continuous

Question 4

Telescopes

Answer 4

• Large collecting area collects more photons, makes detecting fainter objects possible
• Resolution is a fundamental limitation of all optics