Light Energy

By Lisa5th

Grade

Mrs. Branin

What is Light? How does it travel?

Light is an form of energy. The sun, a burner flame, and a electric light bulb all produce light. Light travels in a straight line. Light changes directions when it passes from one substance into another. Light travels as a series of waves. These waves can be distributed or bent when they travel past the edge of a thin object or flow through a very narrow opening.

Concave Mirror Concave mirrors curve in on the shiny side. Images formed by a concave mirror depend on how far the object is from the mirror. Objects very close to the concave mirror enlarged right side up images. Objects a bit farther back produce enlarged, upside-down images. While the object moves even farther back from the mirror, the images remain upside-down but gets smaller and smaller.

Convex Mirror Convex mirrors curve out on the shiny side. Convex mirrors produce an image that is right side up and much smaller then the object. These types of mirrors you can find on cars they are know as rearview mirrors. Convey mirrors are also used in some stores as security mirrors to give a wide view of what's going on in the store.

PolarizationLight depends on polarization. Light travels in waves. Normally these waves vibrate in all directions. Light can be polarized by some materials. That is, only one direction of light vibrations can pass through them. Polarized sunglasses use one kind of polarizing material to help us see better when it is bright outside.

TranslucentTranslucent materials allow only part of the light to pass through, while also bouncing it into other directions. Translucent materials give only a blurry view. They are used in bathrooms as shower doors a lot.they let some light in, but provide privacy.

Opaque

Opaque material complete blocks light from passing through. A laptop is an example of an object that is completely opaque. Nothing will pass through the laptop like other opaque materials.

Transparent Transparent materials allow light to pass through with a,most no disturbances. Transparent materials may or may not color the light, but you can see objects clearly through them. Water is an example of a transparent material.

Refraction The bending of light rays as they pass from one substance into another is called refraction. Have you ever heard of the bending pencil trick it. This is how it works light rays bend as they go from water into air, making the pencil appear to be bent.

Concave Lens

Concave lenses curve inward. They form images by refracting light rays apart. These images are always right-side-up and smaller than the actual object. A example would be a mirror.

Convex Lens

Convex lenses curve outward. They form images by refracting light rays together. The size and position of the image depends on how far the object is from the lens. A example would be a mirror.

What happens when light passes through matter?

Light usually changes directions when it passes from one substance into another. As long as light travels through air or water, it follows a straight line.

What is a prism? How does it effect light?

Sir Isaac Newton passed a beam of white sunlight through a prism which is a triangular piece of cut and polished glass. In a dark room, he saw a band of rainbow colors.

Electromagnetic Spectrum

All the wavelengths of visible and invisible light in order, from short (gamma rays) to long (radio). Although we cannot see wavelengths longer then red or shorter than violet, we can detect them, and we can use them in many ways. One way to detect some of this "invisible light" is by using a spectroscope.

By Lisa