LIGHT
One of the most familiar and important forms of energy is light. Nothing is visible to humans when
light is totally absent. But light is even more important for other reasons. Many scientists believe that
millions of years ago light from the sun triggered the chemical reactions that led to the development
of life on Earth. Without light the living things now on Earth would be unable to survive. Light from
the sun provides energy for life on Earth. Plants change the energy of sunlight into food energy. When
light rays strike a green plant, some of their energy is changed to chemical energy, which the plant
uses to make food out of air and minerals. This process is called photosynthesis. Very nearly all living
organisms on Earth depend directly or indirectly on photosynthesis for their food energy. (See also
Photosynthesis; Plant.)
Some of the energy of sunlight is absorbed by the Earth's atmosphere or by the Earth itself. Much of
this energy is then changed to heat energy, which helps warm the Earth, keeping it in the temperature
range that living things have adapted to.
LIGHT AND ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
Different kinds of light are visible to different species. Humans see light in what is called the visible
range. It includes all the colors beginning with red and continuing through orange, yellow, green,
blue, and violet (see Color). Some people can see farther into the violet region or the red region than
other people. Some animals have a different sensory range. Pit vipers, for example, have sense organs
(pits) that "see" rays that humans feel as heat. These rays are called infrared radiation. Bees, on the
other hand, not only see some of the colors that humans see but are also sensitive to ultraviolet
radiation, which is beyond the range visible to humans. So, though human eyes cannot detect them,
infrared rays and ultraviolet rays are related to visible light. Instruments have been built that can
detect and photograph objects by means of infrared rays or ultraviolet rays. X rays, which can also be
used to photograph objects, are also related to light. (See also Ultraviolet Radiation.)
Scientists have learned that all these forms of energy and many other kinds of energy, such as radio
waves, microwaves, and gamma rays, have the same structure. They all consist of electrical and
magnetic fields that work together in a special way to form electromagnetic radiation. (See also
Radiation; X Rays.)
SOURCES OF LIGHT
Unlike many other animals, humans depend primarily on sight to learn about the world around them.
During the day early peoples could see by the light that came from the sun; but night brought darkness
and danger. One of the most important steps people have taken to control their environment occurred
when they learned to conquer the dark by controlling fire--a source of light.
Torches, candles, and oil lamps are all sources of light. They depend on a chemical reaction--
burning-- to release the energy we see as light. Plants and animals that glow in the dark--glowworms,
fireflies, and some mushrooms--change the chemical energy stored in their tissues to light energy.
Such creatures are called bioluminescent. Electric-light bulbs and neon lights change electrical
energy, which may be produced by chemical, mechanical, or atomic energy, into light energy.
Light sources are necessary for vision. An object can be seen only if light travels from the object to
an eye that can sense it. When the object is itself a light source, it is called luminous. Electric lights
are luminous. The sun is a luminous object because it is a source of light. An object that is not itself a
source of light must be illuminated by a luminous object before it can be seen. The moon is
illuminated by the sun. It is visible only where the sun's rays hit it and bounce off toward Earth--or to
an observer in a spacecraft.
In a completely dark room, nothing is visible. When a flashlight is turned on, its bulb and objects in
its beam become visible. If a bright overhead bulb is switched on, its light can bounce off the walls,
ceiling, floor, and furniture, making them and other objects in its path visible.
Heating some things causes them to give off visible light rays as well as invisible heat rays. This is
the case for electric-light filaments, red-hot burners on electric stoves, and glowing coals. The light of
such objects is incandescent. Other light sources emit light energy but no heat energy. They are
known as luminescent, or cold light, sources. Neon and fluorescent lights are luminescent. 1
1From Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia Deluxe © 1998 The Learning Company, Inc.
