P14 Light Flashcards
What’s the range of wavelengths of visible light?
400nm - 700nm
When a wave refracts, what property is conserved out of wavelength, frequency and wave speed?
Frequency - directly proportional to energy (conservation of energy)
Besides refraction, what can happen to a wave at a boundary?
Reflection, transmission, absorption
describe the relationship between colour and frequency
- Every colour of visible light corresponds to a specific frequency
- Continuous spectrum
what is the function of lasers?
Produce light that is monochromatic and coherent
how do colour filters work?
- work by absorbing certain wavelengths
- and transmitting other wavelengths
Why do certain objects have certain colours?
- Certain wavelengths of visible light are reflected or transmitted and other wavelengths are absorbed
- The colours we see are the wavelengths that are reflected or transmitted
Why are red, blue and green the primary colours of light?
Because they can be mixed to produce other colours
What makes an object appear white or black?
Black - all wavelengths absorbed
White - all wavelengths reflected or transmitted equally
What is meant by opaque?
- Opaque objects don’t transmit any light
- They absorb scatter and/or reflect all wavelengths of visible light
What are pigments?
- Chemicals that absorb and reflect different wavelengths of visible light
- A red pigment will reflect wavelengths corresponding to red and absorb all other wavelengths
- Objects that appear white have no pigment; all wavelengths are reflect equally
What is meant by transparent and translucent?
- Transparent objects transmit all wavelengths of visible light, without any refraction
- Translucent objects scatter or refract light that passes through them, due to internal boundaries within the material that repeatedly change the direction of the light
What do waves transfer?
Energy
What causes a transverse wave?
Oscillations that are perpendicular to the direction of energy transfer
Describe how optical density affects the speed of the light wave travelling through it
The higher the optical density, the lower the speed of light through it