The Nature of Light Flashcards
The study of behavior of light.
Optics
Why is it that without light, we have no sight?
Because absence of light is darkness.
The duality of Light.
Light is a particle and a wave.
Light as a particle
- any single photon has a fixed, discrete energy level.
- each color of light has its own unique energy level.
- light waves are packaged in discrete bundles called photons.
Light as a wave
Light was the first recognized scientifically as a manifestation of electromagnetic energy so it can be represented as a waveform.
The locus of points characterized by propagation of position of the same phase.
Wave front
An imaginary line along the direction of travel of the wave.
Light ray
Occurs when light waves encounter a surface or another boundary that does not absorb it and bounces the waves away from the source.
Reflection
What are the two types of reflection?
Specular reflection and Diffuse reflection
Reflection at a definite angle from a very smooth surface.
Specular reflection
A scattered reflection from a rough surface.
Diffuse reflection
Law of Reflection: The incident and reflected rays and the normal line to the surface, …
All lie in the same plane.
Law of Reflection
The angle of reflection is equal to the angle of incidence for all wavelengths and for any pair of materials.
The change in direction of a wave due to a change in its transmission medium.
Refraction
Law of Refraction: The incident and refracted rays and the normal line to the surface, …
All lie in the same plane.
Law of refraction is governed by this law.
Snell’s Law
The process in which waves of different frequencies travel at different speeds through a medium, resulting in the separation of the wave into its constituent frequencies.
Dispersion
The amount of dispersion is dependent on what?
Dependent on the difference between the refractive indices of the violet and red light. Greater difference, a bigger amount of dispersion.
A phenomenon where all the incident light is reflected.
Total Internal Reflection
What are the two reasons why total internal reflection occurs.
- Light travels from denser medium to a less dense medium (greater -> less)
- When the angle of incidence is greater that the critical angle (incidence angle > critical angle)
A phenomenon wherein the vibration of the transverse wave is parallel to a fixed line in space.
Polarization
What do you call the fixed line in space?
Polarizing axis
