Light Early Concepts of Light Light consists of particles!
Socrates & Plato believed that vision resulted from streamers emitted by the eye making contact with an object. Euclid supported this view since a needle is not seen on the floor until our eyes fall upon it. Newton was also a supporter of particle theory. Light seems to move in a straight line! Early Concepts of Light Light consists of waves! Empedocles taught that light travels in waves. Huygens showed that light spreads out! 1905- Einsteins theory is that light consists of particles of electromagnetic energy called photons. The Speed of Light 1675-Roemer found an irregularity in the period of Jupiters moon, Io. When the Earth was at different positions Io passed into Jupiters shadow later. Huygens interpreted this discrepancy as the light being late not Io because of the difference in Earths position in its orbit. The Speed of Light Michelson used a mirror arrangement to measure the speed of light. The speed of the rotation of the mirror was adjusted so that the round trip of the light was the same as the rotation of the mirror and would reflect the light into the eyepiece. 1907- 1st American to receive Nobel Prize in Physics Transparent Materials that transmit light Glass and water Visible light can pass through glass; ultraviolet & infrared cannot. How a material responds to light depends on the frequency of light & the natural frequency of electrons in the material.
Atoms act like tuning forks. Light passes through materials whose atoms absorb the energy and immediately reemit it as light. The frequency of the reemitted light is identical to that which produced the vibration Light travels at different speeds through different materials! Vacuum = 3.0 x 108 m/s or c Atmosphere just under c water = 0.75c glass = 0.67c diamond = 0.40c When light emerges from materials into air it travels at its original speed, c. Opaque Materials that absorb light without reemission and thus allow no light through them Wood, Stone, People, etc. Metals are also opaque. When light shines on metal, free electrons vibrate and reemit the light as a reflection. Our atmosphere is transparent to visible light but opaque to ultraviolet waves. UV light causes sunburns. Clouds are semitransparent to uv Sand & water reflect uv Shadows Ray: a thin beam of light. Shadow: shaded region that results where light rays cant reach. Umbra: total shadow. Penumbra: partial shadow due to some light being blocked and other light filling in. Shadows occur in water. Light travels at different speeds in different temperatures of water. This difference bends light causing shadows.
Polarization Vibrations of transverse waves are aligned so that they travel in one direction. Light waves are transverse waves! Light vibrates in all directions Polarizing filters transmit light that is parallel to the polarization axis and block that which is perpendicular 3-D Viewing Vision in 3 dimensions is due to both eyes viewing a scene from a different angle. 3-D movies & stereo grams uses this technique! Color When sunlight (white light) passes through a prism, the colors of the visible spectrum appear.
Black & White Black is the absence of all light It absorbs all wavelengths and reflects minimal White is the combination of all light It reflects all wavelength and absorbs minimal Objects and light Objects reflect and absorb light The color of an object is determined by which light it reflects or transmits A red rose absorbs all colors except red A yellow banana absorbs blue A blue window absorbs all colors except blue Mixing light The combination of all the colors of the spectrum produces white light. But the combination of just red, green, and blue can produce white light. Additive Primary Colors
These three colors (Red, Green, and Blue) are called the additive primary colors. When you add them together, they can produce the largest amount of different colors. Red, Green, and Blue produce white Red + Green = Yellow Red + Blue = Magenta Blue + Green = Cyan Complimentary Colors When TWO colors are added together to produce white, they are called complimentary colors. Therefore, Yellow & Blue, Magenta & Green, and Cyan & Red are complimentary colors. Subtractive Primary Colors Paints and dyes produce their colors by absorbing light of certain frequencies & reflecting light of other frequencies. Material that absorbs light of a specific color is called a pigment. This process is called color mixing by subtraction. The color that is produced by the mixing of paints or dyes is the color that both paints reflect. Colored Shadows Shadows are produced from the blocking of light. The shadow, the object and the light source must be in a straight line. Colored shadows are produced when an object is in the presence of 2 or more different color light sources. The source that is blocked creates the shadow. The source that is not blocked provides the color. Refraction the bending of waves as they change media The change in direction of a wave as it crosses the boundary between two media in which the wave travels at different speeds Wave Fronts are lines that represent the position of different crests At each point along a wave front, the wave is moving perpendicular to the wave front Refraction Boundary area of change between two media
Index of refraction (n) measures the ability of a material to bend light Specific to each material Also called refractive index Normal - imaginary line constructed perpendicular to the surface Extends through boundary at point where incident ray meets boundary Refraction Incident ray ray coming in towards the boundary Angle of Incidence angle measured between the incident ray and the normal Refraction Refracted ray ray leaving the boundary in the new medium Angle of refraction angle measured between the normal and the refracted ray Snells Law Reflection Reflection Some or all of a wave bounces back into the first medium when hitting a boundary with a second medium Reflection remains in the same medium When all the wave energy is reflected back instead of being transmitted, it is total reflection If some energy is transmitted and some is reflected, the wave is partially reflected The Law of Reflection Normal imaginary line constructed perpendicular to the surface Angle of Incidence angle made by the incident ray and the normal Angle of Reflection angle made by the normal and the reflected ray Law of Reflection the angle of incidence and the angle of reflection are equal The Law of Reflection Types of Reflection Specular Reflection light rays incident on a surface are reflected back parallel
Image is clear and exact Also called regular reflection Diffuse Reflection light incident on a rough surface is reflected in many directions Image is cloudy or non-existent A surfaces roughness is dependent upon the wavelength of the wave incident upon that surface; the longer the wavelength, the smoother the surface will appear Diffuse Reflection Reflection Vocabulary Real Image Image is made from real light rays that converge at a real point so the image is REAL Can be projected onto a screen because light actually passes through the point where the image appears -M Always inverted! Reflection Vocabulary Virtual Image Not Real because it cannot be projected Image only seems to be there! +M Always upright! Reflection Vocabulary Magnification change in size of the image as compared to the object M = - di / do Enlarged Image is larger than actual object. do < di M>1 Reduced
Image is smaller than object. do > di M<1
Reflection Vocabulary Upright Image is right side up. +M Inverted Image is upside down. -M Light & Its Uses: Mirrors Mirror Vocabulary Principal Axis Base line through the center of a mirror Center point that is equidistant from all points on the surface of the mirror Like the center of a sphere Image Point Point where reflected rays meet & image is formed Focal Point- Point that is halfway between the mirror and the center on the principal axis Focal Length Distance between center of mirror and focal point Ray Diagram -Plane Mirror Ray diagram is a straight-line drawing of light interacting at a boundary
Vibration: In a general sense, anything that alternates back and forth is vibrating. to and fro, side to side, in and out, off and on, loud and soft, or up and down Also called oscillation
A vibration is a wiggle in time. A single vibration is a pulse.
The source of all waves is something that is vibrating. Wave: A wiggle in space and time is a wave. A wave extends from one place to another. Waves are propagations (continuations) of vibrations throughout space. Most waves require a material to travel through called a medium. ALL WAVES ONLY TRANSFER ENERGY!
A PENDULUM When oscillations are small (<15), the motion is called simple harmonic motion (shm) and can be described by a simple sine curve. Wavelength : The distance between two consecutive identical points Usually measured crest to crest because of easy identification
The length it takes to repeat Measured in meters Amplitude -A The height of the wave above OR below the equilibrium point One half the distance between the crest and the trough Measured in meters or degrees Period - T The time it takes one wave to occur How long it takes to happen once
Measured in seconds Frequency - f The number of waves passing a particular point in one second How many times it happens in a given time
Measured in Hertz-Hz meaning per second
Period & Frequency Period and frequency are inverses of each other. Period = time per cycle
Frequency = cycle per time
Wave Speed - v Speed of the wave through a medium Depends on the frequency of the vibrating source and the medium The same type of wave moves through the same medium at the same speed Because speed is held constant in a given medium, frequency and wavelength are inversely proportional
Calculated by multiplying frequency and wavelength Measured in m/s A seagull perched on a piling witnesses a series of 10 one meter waves pass him in 10 seconds. What is the wave speed of the series? Determine frequency f = #/t = 10/10 s = 1 Hz
Calculate wave speed v=f = 1 Hz 1m = 1 m/s
Wave Categories Mechanical waves require a medium in order to travel They have to be disturbing some thing in order for the energy to travel from place to place Movement & Sound
Electromagnetic waves can travel through the vacuum of space (no medium) Electric fields induce magnetic fields and vice versa so these waves are self-propagating Light Wave Motion Types
Transverse waves vibrate perpendicular to the direction of energy travel Longitudinal waves vibrate parallel to the direction of energy travel Sound Waves Longitudinal wave Molecules vibrate back and forth about some average position creating compressions and rarefactions Compression area of increased molecular density Rarefaction area of decreased molecular density
Can be modeled as a sine wave Compressions are crests; rarefactions are troughs
Sound Facts The frequency of the sound waves produced equals the frequency of the source Our impression of the frequency of a sound wave is called the pitch and is subjective Low frequency = Low pitch High frequency = High pitch
People normally hear from 20 Hz 20000 Hz This is the sonic range Infrasonic below 20 Hz Ultrasonic above 20 KHz
Sound Facts The speed of sound in STP air is about 340 m/s Sound travels faster in liquids and solids than gases based on the substances elasticity, not its density 15x faster in steel than air 4x faster in water than air
Loudness (Volume) A subjective physiological sensation in the brain Related to sound intensity which is objective and measured by instruments. Intensity is proportional to the square of the amplitude of a sound wave Measured by a logarithmic scale in decibels - dB A 10 dB sound is 10x as loud as a 0 dB sound Hearing damage begins at exposure to 85 dB and greater!
Resonance Occurs when a forced vibration matches the objects natural frequency resulting in an increased amplitude Natural frequency is the frequency an object vibrates at when it is disturbed due to the elasticity of its material Forced vibration is when an object is forced to vibrate by another nearby object
Caused when successive pulses arrive inphase Like pushing a swing
Wave Interference When two waves pass each other their superposition causes reinforcement or cancellation. Superposition is simply the overlapping of two waveforms Any points where two or more waves overlap causes a change in the amplitude of all waves at that point. Constructive Interference
Reinforcement is when the crest of one wave overlaps the crest of another The individual effects of each wave add together, resulting in a wave of increased amplitude.
The waves build on each other
In-phase: two waves crests and/or troughs arrive at a place at the same time, effects reinforce each other Destructive Interference Cancellation is when crest of one wave overlaps trough of another The individual effects of each wave add together resulting in a decreased amplitude or cancellation They waves tear down each other
Out-of-phase - the crest of one wave arrives at a point at the same time as a trough of the second wave arrives, effects cancel each other Sound Wave Interference Interference occurs when two sounds of difference frequency are heard superposed. Constructive interference causes louder sound and destructive interference causes fainter sound. This alternating pattern produces a beat. A piano tuner listens for beats to disappear.
Water Wave Interference Left side is theoretical drawing of an interference pattern Right side is the actual interference pattern Standing Waves Occurs when a wave reflects upon itself and interference causes the pattern Nodes remain stationary Anti nodes-occur half way between nodes Standing waves can only occur at wavelength increments
Standing Waves DOPPLER EFFECT Refers to the change in frequency when there is motion between an observer of waves and the source of the waves Doppler with Sound
The Doppler EffectChange in frequency due to the source or receiver greater the speed the source, greater the Doppler effect Stationary bug Bug swimming Blue Shift-increase in frequency Red Shift- Decrease in frequency
Doppler Effect- Light Red shift: if a star is moving away from Earth the wavelength gets longer or it moves towards the red side. ( is +)
Blue shift: if a star is moving towards Earth the wavelength gets shorter so it moves towards the blue side. ( is -)
Bow waves V-shaped pattern made by overlapping crest
Shock Waves Produced by supersonic aircraft, three-dimensional cone shaped Sonic boom sharp crack heard when conical shell of compressed air that sweeps behind a supersonic aircraft reaches listeners on the ground below.
Supersonic Subsonic is traveling slower than the speed of sound Supersonic is traveling faster than the speed of sound Measured in Mach Mach = speed of object speed of sound
