Light & Colour

Sources of light
Luminous objects - Sources of light - We can see luminous objects because they

produce light which enters our eyes directly - E.g. Sun, stars, lamp, firefly
Non-luminous objects - Do not produce light

- We can see non-luminous objects because light

from Sun or lamp bounces off object and into our eyes

Properties of light
Speed of light

- Light from Sun takes about 8 minutes to reach

Earth
Light travels in straight lines - A ray of light is represented by a straight line - Torches produces beams of light - Beams of light are represented by a bundle of

rays

Reflection
Image

- Formed when light rays bounces of a mirror and

travels into our eyes

Reflection - Bouncing of light off a mirror

Reflection
Incident ray: ray of light travelling towards mirror

Reflected ray: ray of light travelling away from

mirror
Normal: line at right angles to mirror Angle of incidence: angle between incident ray

and normal Angle of reflection: angle between reflected ray and normal

Reflection
Law of reflection:

Angle of reflection = Angle of incidence

Plane mirror

i
incident ray

r
reflected ray

normal

Laws of reflection

Characteristics of image in mirror

1. Image is same distance from plane mirror as the

object is from the mirror

2. Image is upright

3. Image is same size as object

4. Image formed is always virtual image 5. Image formed is laterally inverted

Characteristics of image in mirror

Virtual image

- An image that cannot be formed on a screen

Laterally inverted - An image that is turned sideways

Reflection
Regular reflection

- When parallel beam of light hits a smooth

surface, it is reflected as a parallel beam

- Image is very clear

Reflection
Diffuse reflection

- Light rays are reflected off the rough surfaces at

different angles
- Rough surfaces reflect light in all directions - No clear, real or virtual image is formed

Drawing ray diagrams

Drawing ray diagrams

Drawing ray diagrams

Draw dotted lines for virtual rays and virtual

image
Draw solid lines for real rays on reflecting side of

mirror
Arrowheads must be drawn only on real rays to

show how ray moves

Uses of plane mirrors

Rear view mirror of car helps driver see traffic

behind the car

Plane mirror on wall makes room look bigger Used in periscopes

Periscope
Uses: 1. Enables bus drivers to see people on the upper deck 2. Submarines use periscopes to see above surface of sea

Curved mirrors
Convex mirrors - Upright images - Smaller than object

- Large field of view, allows many things to be

seen
- Used in shops so larger area of shop can be seen
- Used at blind corners of roads to help drivers see

objects around corners

Curved mirrors
Concave mirrors

- If object is close, image is upright and

magnified
- If object is further away, image is inverted - Used to reflect light into microscope, enlarges

object for viewing

- Dentists mirror magnifies image of teeth - Car headlights have concave mirrors to

Refraction
Change in direction of light As light travels from one material to another, it

bends because the speed changes as it travels from one transparent material to another
Light travels slower in denser materials Therefore, light travels slower in glass than air When a beam of light travels from air to glass block,

it slows down and bend to normal

When the light travels fro glass block to air, it

Refraction

Refraction

Effects of refraction
Swimming pool to appear shallower In water, a straw appears to bend towards

surface of water
Letters to appear nearer to surface of glass

blocks than they actually are

Causes glass block to look thinner than they

actually are

Colours
Spectrum

- Colours that a beam of white light splits into when

it travels through a glass prism by refraction

- Consist of 7 colours: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green,

Blue, Indigo, Violet

Dispersion - Splitting of white light into its separate colours

Combining colours of spectrum

By using a second prism

By using a colour wheel (Newtons Disc). When it is turned quickly, colours appear to mix

and wheel looks white

Colour
When white light is shined on a coloured object,

some of colours in the spectrum is reflected while some are absorbed We see reflected light

Colour
Red objects appear red as they reflect red and

absorb all the other colours

White objects appear white as they reflect all the

colours and absorb none

Black objects appear black as they absorb all the

colours, no light is reflected

In red light, green leaf appears black as it

absorbs all the red light and does not reflect any light

Colour filters
Only allows some colours to pass through Red filters allow only red to pass through, other

colours are absorbed