Lig

Where does light come

from?
Our major
light source:
the Sun

Where else does light come from?

Sorting light sources

Natural
(artificial)

vs.

Man-made

Are these light sources?

moon
water

mirror

These items are not light sources, instead they

are reflecting light from other sources.

Luminous and non-luminous objects

A luminous object is one that produces light.
A non-luminous object is one that reflects light.

The Sun
The Moon
Mirrors
Lasers
Objects

Lights
Lamps
People
Campfires

Luminous and non-luminous objects

Luminous objects

-The Sun
- Lamps
- Lights
- Lasers
- Campfires

Non luminous
objects

-The Moon
- Mirrors
- People
- Objects

light
source

How does light travel?

Light travels in straight lines:

Laser

Light travels VERY FAST around

300,000 kilometres per second.
At this speed it can
go around the world 8
times in one second.

Light travels much faster than sound. For example:

1) Thunder and lightning

start at the same time,
but we will see the
lightning first.

2) When a starting pistol

is fired we see the
smoke first and then
hear the bang.

How does light form shadows?

light
source

Light

light
source

rays travel in straight lines, radiating out from the light

source.
If rays are blocked by an opaque object a shadow forms
where the light cannot reach.
If the light source is moved closer to the object, more light is
blocked and a larger shadow is formed.

Shadows
Shadows are places where light is blocked:

Rays of light

How does sunlight cause shadows?

2pm

The position of the

Sun effects
3pmthe
position and length of
the shadows created.

4pm

7pm
...and travel
across the sky
until it sets in the
West.

Looking North,
12am
10am the Sun appears
to rise in the
9am
East...

8am
6am
Thanks to this
natural phenomenon a
sundial is able to tell
us the time, as long
as it is a sunny day!

EFFECTS OF
MATERIALS ON
LIGHT

Transparent objects allow you to

see clearly through them.

Translucent objects only let some

light through them. You cannot see
clearly through a translucent object.

Opaque objects do not let any light

through them. You cannot see
through them.

PROPERTIES OF
LIGHT

on

off

How does light

reflect?

Angle of incidence
Angle of reflection

The angle of
reflection is
always equal
to the angel
of incidence.

on

off

Light can only be

reflected in straight
lines.

Reflection of Light
Reflection from a mirror:
Normal
Reflected ray

Incident ray

Angle of
incidence

Angle of
reflection

Mirror

The Law of Reflection

Angle of incidence = Angle of reflection
In other words, light gets reflected from a surface at
____ _____ angle it hits it.

The
same !!!

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

How do we see things?

We see things
because they reflect
light into our eyes:

Homework

DISPERSION
The process by which light is
separated into colors

PRISM

Why do we see the colors of the

rainbow?

The colors of the rainbow:

Red
Orange
Yellow
Green
Blue
Indigo
Violet

REFRACTION
Refraction is when waves ____ __ or slow down due to
travelling in a different _________. A medium is
something that waves will travel through. When a pen is
placed in water it looks like this:

In this case the light rays are slowed down by the water
and are _____, causing the pen to look odd. The two
mediums in this example are ______ and _______.

Words speed up, water, air, bent, medium

SCATTERING OF LIGHT

What makes the sunset and

sunrise red?
What makes the sky blue?
Or the clouds white?

What makes the sky blue?

 Molecules in
atmosphere scatter
light rays.

What makes sunset

and sunrise red?

Shorter wavelengths (blue,

violet) are scattered more
easily.

SUNSET
more atmosphere
more scattering
orange-red sky & sun

NOON
less atmosphere
less scattering
blue sky, yellow
sun

POLARIZATION
Light waves whose vibrations are
confined to parallel planes - - POLARIZED

DIFFRACTION
Scattering of light as it pass
through small opening/small
slit, around sharp edges or
corners.

SPECTRA AND
COLOR

Color
Color is the
perceptual quality
of light.
The human eye can
distinguish almost
ten million colors.

How do we see color?

light
source

Light

from
most light
sources looks
white, but
actually
contains all
the colours of
the spectrum.

Seeing color
The color an object appears depends on the colors of
light it reflects.
For example, a red book only reflects red light:

White
light

Only red light

is reflected

Primary Colors of Light:

Red, Green, Blue-combine to white

Secondary colors of Light:

cyan, magenta, and yellowalso combine to white.

Adding colors
White light can be split up to make separate colours.
These colours can be added together again.
The primary colours of light are red, blue and green:

Adding blue and red

makes magenta
(purple)
Adding red
and green
makes yellow

Adding blue and

green makes cyan
(light blue)
Adding all
three makes
white again

A pair of purple trousers would reflect purple light

(and red and blue, as purple is made up of red and blue):

Purple light

A white hat would reflect all seven colours:

White
light

Using colored light

If we look at a coloured object in colored
light we see something different. For
example, consider a football kit:

Shirt looks red

White
light
Shorts look blue

In different colors of light this kit would look different:

Red
light

Shirt looks red

Shorts look black

Shirt looks black

Blue
light
Shorts look blue

Some further examples:

Object
Red socks

Blue teddy

Red

Colour object
seems to be
Red

Blue

Black

Green

Black

Red

Black

Colour of light

Blue
Green
Red

Green camel

Blue
Green
Red

Magenta book

Blue
Green

Now explain to your partner:

What is the
Why between
does an
difference
orange
light from
thelook
Sun a
different
colour
and light
from the
moon? to a banana?

Why does the

Sun rise How
in does a
the Eastperiscope
and
set in the
work?
West?

Why cant we
see anything
without a
light source?

If a blue and yellow

flashlight strike a white
object at the same time,
what color will the object
appear?
White light

If red is subtracted from

white, what color remains?

Yellow= Red + Green = White Blue

Cyan= Green + Blue= White Red
Magenta= Red + Blue= White - Green

What color will a blue ball

appear if a red light only
strikes it and why?

=>

Color of light is an additive

process with respect to
frequency. Why?
The primary colors when
added together give white
light.

When magenta and cyan

pigments are mixed what
color results?

blue

Pigment is a subtractive
color process. Why?
Colors are formed by absorbing
(taking away) certain
frequencies from white light.
The absence of a reflected light
wave appears as black color.