Optical Properties of Light Waves Flashcards
Reflection occurs when what happens?
occurs when light returns after bouncing off an object (angle of incidence. light bounces off the same angle in the other direction).
Refraction occurs when what happens?
Refraction of light occurs when light is bent while passing from one medium to another. (solids, liquids, and gases are mediums) This is why we have rainbows. Particles of water are in the atmosphere, and the sun light comes through the gas, it passes through the liquid of a different medium of the water, then it gets separated by wavelengths, and you see the different separate colors of the rainbow. Same as a prism.
ex: looking at the fishtank and seeing the fish at a different angle, you are looking through all the different mediums (glass, water, space)
What does matter absorb? How do we see color?
Matter absorbs light, sand we see the color - but its the particular wavelength that is NOT absorbed.. So whatever is reflected by the matter comes back to our eye, that’s the color we see the object as. So a yellow flower, it is absorbing all the colors EXCEPT YELLOW. Yellow is the color that is being reflected.
If an object appears white… what wavelengths is it reflecting or emitting?
If an object appears white, it is either reflecting or emitting all visible wavelengths.
If something appears black (or is black in color)
if a color appears black, it is ABSORBING ALL visible wavelengths.
Black is so much HOTTER than white when it is in the sun. Why?
Black absorbs electromagnetic radiation, all wavelengths, whereas white is reflecting every wavelength of light.
Greenhouse gases
like water vapor, carbon dioxide and methane (exist in our environment naturally) warm the earth by trapping some of the heat radiated from the Earth’s surface.
-needed for our survival. Problem is, we can accelerate to a harmful level by using/producing greenhouse gases (greenhouse effect)
What is the Green House Effect?
think of it as similar to when light comes through a window in a car. Hot air trapped inside. Thermal heat through the glass, can not come out the other way.
Sound waves require what?
a medium to travel through (they can’t travel through outerspace like light waves.) and they travel much SLOWER than light waves.
Doppler Effect
the motion of objects emitting or reflecting sound waves changes their frequency.
Doppler Example- A Car is sitting at a location and sound waves are coming out. As it starts to move, the waves in front of it are close together, but the waves behind it are very far apart- moreso as it travels. Changes the frequency of the wave and the pitch.
