Electromagnetic

Radiation and Light

Sikandar Khan
 Electromagnetic
Radiation

Photons Light
These three are the same
Light
* pure energy
Electromagnetic Waves
* energy-carrying waves emitted by vibrating electrons
Photons
* particles of light
EM Radiation Travels as a Wave

c = 3 x 108 m/s
 EM Radiation Carries Energy

Quantum mechanics tells us that for photons E = hf

where E is energy and h is Plancks constant.

But f = c/l

Putting these equations together, we see that

E = hc/l
 Electromagnetic Wave Velocity

The speed of light is the same for all seven forms of light.

It is 300,000,000 meters per second or 186,000 miles per

second.
 The Electromagnetic Spectrum

Radio Waves - communication

Microwaves - used to cook
Infrared - heat waves
Visible Light - detected by your eyes
Ultraviolet - causes sunburns
X-rays - penetrates tissue
Gamma Rays - most energetic
 The Multi-Wavelength Sun

X-Ray UV Visible

Composite
Infrared Radio
EM Spectrum Relative Sizes
 The Visible Spectrum

Light waves extend in wavelength from about 400 to 700 nanometers.

 Light

1) Properties of light
2) Reflection
3) Colours
Part 1 Properties of Light

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.
We see things because they
reflect light into our eyes:

Homework
 Luminous and non-luminous objects

A luminous object is one that produces light.

A non-luminous object is one that reflects light.

Luminous objects Reflectors

-The Sun -The Moon

- Lamps - Mirrors
- Lights - People
- Lasers - Objects
- Campfires
 Shadows
Shadows are places where light is blocked:

Rays of light
 Out of the Darkness
-If the light source is small compared to the size of the object,
then the shadow will be SHARP

-If the light source is of comparable size to the object, then the
shadow will be fuzzy. The dark inner region is called the
UMBRA; the grey region is called the PENUMBRA.
Properties of Light summary

1) Light travels in straight lines

2) Light travels much faster than sound
3) We see things because they reflect light
into our eyes
4) Shadows are formed when light is blocked
by an object
 16.1 Light intensity

The intensity of light from a small source follows an

inverse square law because its intensity diminishes as
the square of the distance.
 16.1 Light carries
information
The fiber-optic networks you read about are
pipelines for information carried by light.
 16.1 Light carries
information
In some cities, a
fiber-optic cable
comes directly into
homes and
apartments
carrying telephone,
television, and
Internet signals.
 16.1 The speed of light

The speed at which light travels through air is

approximately 300 million meters per second.
Light travels almost a million times faster
than sound.
 16.1 The speed of light

The speed of light is so important in physics

that it is given its own symbol, a lower case c.
The best accepted experimental measurement
for the speed of light in air is 299,792,500
m/sec.
For most purposes, we do not need to be this
accurate and may use a value for c of 3 108
m/sec.
 Part 2 - Reflection
Reflection from a mirror:

Normal

Incident ray Reflected ray

Angle of Angle of
incidence reflection

Mirror
 The Law of Reflection

Angle of incidence = Angle of reflection

In other words, light gets reflected from a surface at

THE SAME 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
 Using mirrors
Two examples:

2) A car headlight

1) A periscope
 Colour
White light is not a single colour; it is made
up of a mixture of the seven colours of the
rainbow.

We can demonstrate this by

splitting white light with a
prism:

This is how rainbows are

formed: sunlight is split up
by raindrops.
 The colours of the rainbow:

Red
Orange
Yellow
Green
Blue
Indigo
Remember: Roy G. Biv !!! Violet
 Light from the Sun

The light from the sun

contains a grand mixture
of electromagnetic waves
of varying frequency (i.e.
wavelength)
 Wavelengths of Light

Red Light l = 680 nm

Green Light - l = 500 nm

Blue Light - l = 470 nm

 Adding colours
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 Adding blue and

makes magenta green makes cyan
(purple) (light blue)

Adding red Adding all

and green three makes
makes yellow white again
 Seeing colour
The colour an object appears depends on the colours
of light it reflects.

For example, a red book only reflects red light:

White Only red light

light is reflected
A pair of purple pants, in addition to being ugly, would
reflect purple light
(or 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 coloured light
If we look at a coloured object in coloured
light we see something different. For
example, consider the outfit below I
mean, from a physics standpoint, not as a
fashion choice:
Shirt looks red

White
light

Shorts look blue

In different colours of light this kit would look different:

Red
Shirt looks red
light

Shorts look black

Shirt looks black

Blue
light

Shorts look blue

 Using filters
Filters can be used to block out different colours of light:

Red
Filter

Magenta
Filter