Light, Waves and Colour

（光、波動及顏色）

CHENG Kai Ming

Department of Physics
CUHK
17th IJSO 2020
 Content
• Reflection of Light（光的反射）
– Geometrical Optics（幾何光學 ）
– Law of Reflection（反射定律 ）
– Images（像）
– Plane Mirrors（平面鏡）
– Spherical Mirrors（球面鏡）
• Concave Mirrors（凹面鏡）
• Convex Mirrors（凸面鏡）
– Parabolic Mirror（拋物面鏡）

2
• Refraction of Light（光的折射）
– Law of Refraction（折射定律 ）
– Refractive index（折射率）
– Total Internal Reflection（全內反射）
• Critical Angle（臨界角 ）
– Thin Lenses（薄透鏡）
• Convex Lenses（凸透鏡）
• Concave Lenses（凹透鏡）
• Normal Eyes
• Short-sighted（近視）
• Long-sighted（遠視）
3
• Magnification Equation & Mirror/lens
Equation
– Telescope（望遠鏡）and Microscope（顯微鏡）

• Fermat’s Principle of Least Time（費爾馬

最短時間原理）

• Wave Motions（波動）
– Transversal and Longitudinal Waves（橫波與縱
波）
– Superposition of Waves（波動疊加）
– Doppler Effect（多普勒效應）
4
• Wave Properties of Sound
（聲音的波動特性）
– Sound as Longitudinal Pressure Wave
– Perception of Sound
• Wave Properties of Light（光的波動特性）
– Electromagnetic Waves（電磁波）
– Electromagnetic Spectrum（電磁波譜）
– Blackbody Radiation（黑體輻射）
• Particle Interpretation of Light（光的粒子
解釋）
– Photoelectric Effect（光電效應）
– Photon（光子）
5
• Colour（顏色）
– Dispersion（色散）
– Primary Colours（原色）
– Complementary Colours（互補色）
– Selective Reflection（選擇反射）
• Pigments（顏料）
– Selective Transmission（選擇透射）
– Selective Scattering（選擇散射）
– Rainbow（彩虹）
– Colour Deficiency（色弱）
6
 Reflection of Light

• Geometrical Optics
– Light travels in straight paths called rays
（光線）.

7
 Law of Reflection
• Incident ray（入射線）, reflected ray（反射線）
and normal（法線）all lie on the same plane.

Normal
i =  r
Incident ray Reflected ray

i r

8
 Law of Reflection
• Regular (specular) /diffuse reflection（單向反射/漫
反射）

Regular (specular) reflection

Diffuse reflection
9
 Image
• The reflected ray appears to come from a
point behind the mirror.
• This point is called the image.
• Real image（實像） can be captured by a
screen as a sharp image.
• Virtual image（虛像） rays of light seems
to emanate from the image.

Real image Virtual image

Produced by converging（會聚） Produced by diverging（發散）

beams beams 10
 Plane Mirrors
mirror
• Image of a real object（實物）
1. virtual（虛）,
2. upright,
3. laterally inverted（左右倒置）,
4. the same size as the object,
and
5. as far behind the mirror as the
object is in front of it.
11
Plane Mirrors

A C D

12
 Example
M1
Q. A person is sitting in
front of two mirrors
that intersect at an
I1
angle of 90. How O
many images can 90 M2
he see?
A. 3 images I12 or I21 I2

13
 M1

I1

I21 O

60 M2

I212 or I121
I2
I12

360
No. of images n = −1

14
 Spherical Mirrors
• A spherical mirror: a part of a spherical
surface

Concave Convex
Mirror Mirror

15
 Spherical Mirrors
• centre of curvature（曲率中心）C = centre
of the sphere
• radius of curvature（曲率半徑）R = radius
of the sphere
• focal point (principal focus -主焦點) F =
midpoint between C and the mirror
• focal length（焦距） f = R/2

16
Spherical Mirrors

f f

C F M
 Ray Tracing
• The law of reflection applies just as it does for a
plane mirror.
• The normal for the reflection is drawn between
the point of incidence（入射點）and C.
• Principal axis （ 主 軸 ） = straight line drawn
through C and the midpoint of the mirror
• Paraxial rays（傍軸光線）= rays that lie close to
the principal axis
• Object/image at infinity = parallel rays（平行光線）

18
Ray Tracing (Concave Mirrors)
• For paraxial rays:
1. Rays parallel to the
principal axis will be
reflected passing through
the focal point.
2. Rays passing through the
focal point F will be
reflected parallel to the C F
principal axis.
3. Rays passing through C
will be reflected back
along its own path.

19
 Concave Mirrors
Real Object Image Properties of image
Beyond C Between C Real Inverted Diminished /
and F Reduced（縮
小）
At C At C Real Inverted Same Size
Between C Beyond C Real Inverted Magnified /
and F Enlarged（放
大）
At F At  - - -
Between F Behind mirror Virtual Upright / Magnified /
and mirror Erect Enlarged
20
21
Concave Mirrors

22
Ray Tracing (Convex Mirrors)
• For paraxial rays:
1. Rays parallel to the principal axis will be reflected in
a way that it appears to be originated from the focal
point.
2. Rays directing towards the focal point F will be
reflected parallel to the principal axis.
3. Rays directing towards C will be reflected back
along its own path.

C F
23
 Convex Mirrors
The image of a real object is always

1. Virtual
2. Erect
3. Diminished

24
Concave and Convex Mirrors

Converging（會聚） Diverging（發散）

F F

25
 Think 1
Q. Tom is observing a concave mirror and
claimed that he found an image between
the focus and the mirror. What would you
say about his finding?

26
 Think 1
A. Tom must be either lying or performing
the experiment perfunctorily.
• The image of a real object for a
concave mirror can be anywhere
(including anywhere behind the mirror)
except between F and the mirror.

27
Principle of Reversibility
（可逆原理）
• If the direction of a light ray is reversed,
the light retraces its original path.

IO

O
I f

28
 Parabolic Mirror

For a parabolic mirror, all rays

parallel to the principal axis
(not necessarily paraxial) will
be reflected passing through
the focal point F as shown.

principal axis

29
 Reflector (telescope)

(Mount)

(Aperture)
(Incident light)
(Primary mirror)
(Eyepiece)

(Focal length of primary mirror)

30
Refraction of Light

31
 Law of Refraction
• Incident ray, refracted ray and normal all
lie on the same plane.
1 Medium 1
n1 sin 1 = n2 sin  2

• Snell’s law（斯涅耳定律） Medium 2

c
ni = 2
• refractive index（折射率） vi
• c = speed of light in vacuum, defined to
be exactly 299,792,458 m/s (~3108 m/s)

32
Substance Refractive index / Index of refraction n
Solids at 20C
Diamond（鑽石） 2.419
Glass（玻璃） 1.523
Ice (0C)（冰） 1.309
Sodium chloride（氯化鈉、鹽） 1.544
Quartz - Crystalline（石英 - 結晶態） 1.544
Quartz – Fused（石英 -熔態） 1.458
Liquids at 20C
Benzene（苯） 1.501
Carbon disulfide（二硫化碳） 1.632
Carbon tetrachloride（四氯化碳） 1.461
Ethyl alcohol（乙醇） 1.362
Water（水） 1.333
Gases at 0C and 1 atm
Air（空氣） 1.000293
Carbon dioxide（二氧化碳） 1.00045
Oxygen（氧氣） 1.000271
Hydrogen（氫氣） 1.000139
 Example
Q. A light ray strikes an air/water surface at an angle of
46 with respect to the normal. The index of refraction
for water is 1.33. Find the angle of refraction when the
direction of the ray is from air to water.
• Medium（介質）1 = medium of incidence, i.e. air
• Medium 2 = medium of refraction, i.e. water
A.
n1 sin 1 = n2 sin  2
(1)sin 46 = (1.33)sin  2
sin  2 = 0.54   2 = 32.74

34
 Use the same example
Q. Find the angle of refraction when the
direction of the ray is from water to air.
• Medium 1 = medium of incidence, i.e. water
• Medium 2 = medium of refraction, i.e. air
A.
n1 sin 1 = n2 sin  2
(1.33)sin 46 = (1)sin  2
sin  2 = 0.96   2 = 73.08

35
 Refraction by a Slab
n1 sin 1 = n2 sin  2
n2 sin  2 = n3 sin  3 3
 n1 sin 1 = n3 sin  3 Medium 1 2
n1 = n3
2
 sin 1 = sin  3 1 Medium 1
 1 =  3
Medium 2

• The emergent（出射）and incident rays are

parallel.
• Yet is displaced laterally relative to the
incident ray.
36
 Total Internal Reflection
• Occurs only when n1>n2
• Normal incidence means 1 = 0
• When 1 , it reaches a certain value, called the
critical angle c, such that 2 = 90.
• When 1  further, there is no more refraction.

c

37
 Critical Angle
n1 sin 1 = n2 sin  2
n1 sin  c = n2 sin 90

n2
sin  c =
n1

c
sin  c  1  n2  n1

38
 Example
Q. A beam of light is propagating through
diamond (n1 = 2.42) and strikes a diamond-air
interface at an angle of incidence of 28. Will
part of the beam enter the air (n2 = 1) or will
the beam be totally reflected at the interface
（介面）?
A.
n2 1
sin  c = =
n1 2.42
 c = 24.41
39
 Example
• Since 28 > c, there is no refraction, and the
light is totally reflected back into the diamond.
• Similarly, many of the rays of light are striking
the bottom facet of the diamond at 1 > c, they
are totally reflected back into the diamond,
eventually exiting the top surface to give the
diamond its sparkle.

40
 Thin Lenses
• A convex lens is known as a converging lens
（會聚鏡）because paraxial incident rays will
be converged to the principal axis.
• A concave lens is known as a diverging lens
（發散鏡）because paraxial incident rays will
be diverged away from the principal axis.
Convex lens
Concave lens

41
 Convex Lenses
• For paraxial rays:
1. Rays parallel to the principal axis will be
refracted passing through the focal point.
2. Rays passing through the focal point will be
refracted parallel to the principal axis.
3. Rays passing through the centre of the lens will
be passing through straightly without bending.

O
F F I
43
Object Image Properties of image

Beyond 2F Between Real Inverted Diminished

2F and F / Reduced
At 2F At 2F Real Inverted Same Size

Between Beyond 2F Real Inverted Magnified /

2F and F Enlarged
At F At  - - -

Between F Same side Virtual Upright / Magnified /

and lens as Object erect Enlarged
 Concave Lenses
• For paraxial rays:
1. Rays parallel to the principal axis will be refracted in a
way that it appears to be originated from the focal point.
2. Rays directing towards the focal point will be refracted
parallel to the principal axis.
3. Rays passing through the centre of the lens will be
passing through straightly without bending.

F F
45
 Concave Lenses

• The image of a real object is always

1. Virtual
2. Erect
3. Diminished

46
 Example
Q. An object 2 cm tall is placed 10 cm away from
a convex lens with a focal length of 5 cm. Find
the image position and its size.
A. Image distance = 10 cm, image size = 2 cm.

5 cm I
O 10
cm

47
 Normal Eyes
• Far point at 
• Near point at about 25 cm

48
 Short-sighted
• Image of distant object formed in front of
retina（視網膜）
• Far point not at 
• Eyeball（眼球）too long
• Focal length too short

49
 Short-sighted
• Corrective lens: Concave lens
• Object at , image at far point of eye

50
 Long-sighted
• Image of close object formed behind retina
• Near point too far away
• Eyeball too short
• Focal length too long

51
• Corrective lens: Convex lens
• Close objects form images at near point of
eye

52
 Example
Q. A student sees the top and the bottom edges
of a pool simultaneously at an angle of 14
above the horizontal as shown in the Figure.
What is the new view angle, if he wants to see
the top edge and the bottom center of the pool
(nwater = 1.33 and nair = 1)?

(2004 IJSO) 53
A. In order to see the bottom edge of the pool,
n1 sin 1 = n2 sin  2
(1.33)sin 1 = (1)sin (90 − 14 )
1 = 46.85
x
= tan 1 = 1.0667
h
In order to see the bottom centre of the pool,
x/2
= tan 1 '
h
1 ' = 28.07
(1.33)sin 1 ' = (1)sin  2 '
 2 ' = 38.75
The new view angle is
90  − 38 .75  = 51 .25 
 Magnification Equation:
hi di
M = =−
ho do
where
• ho is the object height and is always +ve.
• hi is the image height and is +ve if the image is an upright image (and
therefore, also virtual) and is -ve if the image is an inverted image (and
therefore, also real).
• do is the object distance from the lens/mirror and is always +ve.
• di is the image distance from the lens/mirror. It is +ve if the image is a real
image and located on the opposite(same) side of the lens(mirror) and is -ve if
the image is a virtual image and located on the same(opposite) side of the
lens(mirror). 55
 Mirror/lens Equation:
1 1 1
+ =
d o di f

where
• f is the focal length and is +ve if the lens(mirror) is convex(concave) and is
-ve if the lens(mirror) is concave(convex).

56
Let’s consider the ray diagram of
a convex lens
A B
f
ho
F I
O do D
di
hi

57
Proof of Magnification Equation

 AOD ~  CID

hi di
=> − =
ho do
hi di
=> M = =−
ho do
Note: The Magnification Equations for concave lens and mirrors can
be proved similarly by considering appropriate ray diagrams.
58
 Proof of lens Equation

 BDF ~  CIF

hi di − f di di − f di
=> − = => = = −1
ho f do f f
1 1 1
=> + =
d o di f
Note: The Lens/Mirror Equations for concave lens and mirrors can
be proved similarly by considering appropriate ray diagrams.

59
 Example
Q. A 2.0-cm diameter coin is placed a distance
of 20.0 cm from a convex mirror which has a
focal length of -12.0 cm. Determine the
image distance and the diameter of the image.
A. By Mirror Equation, we have
1 1 1
+ =
d o di f
1 1 1 15
 + =−  di = − = −7.5(cm)
20 d i 12 2
60
 Example
• By Magnification Equation, we have

hi di 7.5
M = =− = = 0.37
ho do 20

• Therefore, a virtual image forms 7.5 cm

behind the mirror and the diameter of the
coin is 0.75 cm.
Check the answers by drawing an appropriate ray diagram
61
Telescope and Microscope
L1(Objective) L2(Eyepiece)

To eye
do1 di1 do2

F1 F2

-di2 62
Telescope and Microscope
• Always converging mirrors or lenses since
diverging mirrors or lenses always give smaller
images
• The focal length, F1, of the objective lens is always
longer (shorter) than the focal length,F2, of the
eyepiece in telescope (microscope) – Why?
• The magnification, M, is equal to the product of the
magnifications of the individual lenses:

 di1  di 2 
M = M 1M 2 =  −  − 
 o1  o 2 
d d
63
Fermat’s Principle of Least Time

• Out of all possible paths that light

might take to get from one point to
another, it takes the path that requires
the shortest time.
• The Principle is true for both reflection
and refraction!

64
 Wave Motion（波動）
Wave motion is a kind of disturbance（干擾）
that propagates through space. The disturbance
transports energy through space without any
transport of matter.

65
 Types of Waves
• Mechanical Waves
– Most familiar
– Governed by Newton’s laws
– Exist only within a material medium
– Examples: water, sound and seismic waves
• Electromagnetic Waves
– Less familiar
– Require no material medium to exist
– Examples: visible, infrared, ultraviolet,
radio, x-ray, …
• Matter Waves
– Very unfamiliar
– Associated with particles like electrons,
protons,… in the regime of quantum
mechanic.
 Waves
Velocity

Amplitude
（振幅）

Wavelength
（波長）

Velocity = Wavelength X Frequency（頻率）

Frequency = 1/Period（周期） 67
Transversal and Longitudinal
Waves（橫波與縱波）
Transverse Waves - During propagation, the medium（介質）
vibrates along the line perpendicular to the direction that the
waves move. There are alternating crests（波峰）and troughs
（波谷） which propagate through the medium (Examples:
Vibration of a bowed violin string, electromagnetic waves).

Longitudinal Waves - During propagation, the medium moves

back and forth along the same line that the waves move along.
There are alternating regions of compression （壓縮） and
expansion （ 膨 脹 ） which propagate through the medium
(Example: Sound consists of longitudinal waves).
68
Transversal and Longitudinal
Waves（橫波與縱波）

Longitudinal Waves Transverse Waves

69
 Superposition of Waves
（波動疊加）
Principle of Superposition - The combined
effect of two waves is equal to the algebraic
sum of the individual waves.
• The phenomenon is known as interference（干涉）.

• Interference occurs for both transverse and longitudinal

waves

70
 Interference（干涉）
Constructive Interference（相長干涉）: When the
crests of one wave overlap the crests of another (so do
the troughs), their individual effects add together,
resulting in a wave of increased amplitude. This is called
constructive interference and the two waves are said to
be in phase （同相）.
Destructive Interference（ 相 消 干 涉 ）: When the
crests of one wave overlap the troughs of another, their
effects cancelled each other, resulting in a wave of
decreased amplitude. This is called destructive
interference. The two waves arrive out of step, and are
said to be out of phase（異相）with each other.
71
Interference（干涉）

Constructive Interference Destructive Interference

72
 Standing Wave（駐波）

In the diagram, nodes（波節）are the positions on the pattern where the medium never
moves and antinodes（波腹）are the positions on the pattern where the medium moves
at greatest amplitude. 73
 Doppler Effect（多普勒效應）

(Left) Wave pattern made by a source moving slower than wave speed (Doppler effect).
(Right) Wave pattern made by a source moving faster than wave speed (Shock wave -
衝擊波).

74
 Doppler Effect（多普勒效應）
• If either the detector or the source is moving, the
emitted frequency f and the detected frequency f’
are generally related by:
Plus sign when the detector is moving toward

v  vD the source; minus sign when it is moving away

f= f
from the source.

v  vS Plus sign when the source is moving away from

the detector; minus sign when it is moving
toward from the detector.

where v is the speed of sound through the air, vD

(< v) is the detector’s speed relative to the air,
and vS (< v) is the source’s speed relative to the
air.
Doppler Effect（多普勒效應）
Doppler effect also occurs for light. When a light source
approaches, there is an increase in its measured frequency; and
when it recedes, there is a decrease in its frequency. An increase
in frequency is called a blue shift（藍移）, because the increase
is toward the high frequency, or blue end of the color spectrum
（色譜）. A decrease in frequency is called a red shift（紅移）
, referring to the lower-frequency, or red, end of color spectrum.

76
 Shock Wave（衝擊波）

Expansion

Compression

Sonic boom（聲爆）: When the conical shell of compressed air that sweeps behind a
supersonic aircraft reaches listeners on the ground below, the sharp crack they hear is
called a sonic boom.

77
 Shock Wave（衝擊波）
• A shock wave is said to exist along the
surface of the Mach cone, because the
bunching of wavefronts causes an abrupt rise
and fall of air pressure as the surface passes
through any point.
Here  is called the Mach cone angle
and the ratio v/vs is called the Mach
number

vt v
sin  = =
vS t vS

vs (source speed) > v (wave speed)

Wave Properties of Sound
（聲音的波動特性）

79
 Sound as Longitudinal
Pressure Wave
Sound is caused by vibrations of air. Sound consists
of longitudinal waves with alternating regions of
compression and expansion in air pressure, with
frequencies between about 20Hz and 20,000Hz.
When an object vibrates at a frequency in this range,
it compresses and expands the surrounding air in a
periodic manner, producing audible sound waves.

80
 Perception of Sound
Pitch（音調）:
All perceptual attributes are hard to define and to measure. The accepted
definition of pitch: “the attribute of auditory sensation by which sounds can
be ordered on a musical scale”. To a first approximation, pitch of a pure tone
is proportional to the logarithm of frequency. This breaks down at very high
or very low frequencies.

Loudness（響度）:
Loudness is the attribute of sound that allows us to organize sounds on a
scale from soft to loud. It depends on how much energy per second the
sound wave brings to the ear. The amount of energy carried depends on the
amplitude of the wave. Loudness is measured in decibels（分貝）(dB).
Loudness increases with the intensity of the sound source, but is also
influenced by the spectral content.
81
Wave Properties of Light
（光的波動特性）

82
 EM Waves （電磁波）
Electromagnetic Waves

Energy  Frequency (f) EM waves =

propagation of EM
f  1/wavelength () field oscillations
 Sodium Lamps（鈉燈）,
Florescent Tubes, Laser（激光）
• Electrons（電子）inside atoms（原子） jump
from outer orbits （ 軌 道 ） to inner orbits and
release energy

84
Particle Interpretation of
Light（光的粒子解釋）

85
 Photoelectric Effect（光電效應）

Light
(emitted)

Electrons
(in metal)

The phenomenon that light was capable of ejecting electrons（電子）from various metal surfaces
was known as photoelectric effect.

86

Credit: Wolfmankurd
Photoelectric Effect（光電效應）
The behaviour of the photoelectric effect led to several observations that
were quite contrary to the classical wave picture:

1. The time lag between turning on the light and the ejection off the first
electron was not affected by the brightness or frequency of the light.
2. The effect was easy to observe with violet or ultraviolet light but not with
red light.
3. The rate at which electrons were ejected was proportional to the
brightness of the light.
4. The maximum energy of the ejected electrons was not affected by the
brightness of the light, but there were indications that the energy did
depend on the frequency of the light.

87
 Photon（光子）
• In 1900, Planck（普朗克） proposed that radiation was emitted in
discrete bundles of energy, which he called quanta（量子）.

• Planck also proposed that the energy of a light quantum is proportional

to its frequency (E = hf). The proportionality constant h is called
Planck’s constant（普朗克常數） whose value is given by
6.626×10-34Js.

• In 1905, Einstein（愛因斯坦）solved the puzzle in photoelectric effect

by making use of the idea of Planck’s light quanta but attributed the
quantum properties to light itself and viewed radiation as a hail of
particles – photons.

88
 Colour
• From longest to shortest wavelength: red,
orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet
• Light of different wavelengths are
perceived as different colours.
• All the colours combine to make white.

89
 Dispersion
• Due to the difference in refractive index for
different colours
• Angle of deviation（偏向角）d
d
• Violet deflected most
Crown glass
Colour Wavelength in vacuum (nm) Refractive index n
Red 660 1.520
Orange 610 1.522
Yellow 580 1.523
Green 550 1.526
Blue 470 1.531
Violet 410 1.538
90
 Light in diamond
White light Violet Red

Dispersion + Total internal reflection

91
 Primary Colours
• 3 types of cone-shaped receptors（錐狀
感受器）in our eyes perceive colour
• Light that stimulates the cones sensitive
to longest wavelengths appears red.
• …middle…green
• …shortest…blue
• Red + Green + Blue = White

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 Complementary Colours
• Red+Blue=Magenta（洋紅色）
Red+Green=Yellow（黃色）
Blue+Green=Cyan（青綠色）
• Magneta+Green=White
Yellow+Blue=White
Cyan+Red=White
• (Magneta,Green), (Yellow,Blue) and (Cyan,
Red) are complementary colours

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 Selective Reflection
• Most objects reflect rather than emit light.
• Many of them reflect only part of the light
that shines upon them.
• If a material absorbs all light except red, it
appears red.
• If it reflects all, it appears white.
• If it reflects none, it appears black.

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 What do you see?
• If white light shines on a red ball, the ball
appears ___.
red

• If red light shines on a red ball, the ball

appears ___.
red

• If green light shines on a red ball, the ball

appears black
___.

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 Pigments
• Pigments are tiny particles that absorb
specific colours.
• Magenta = white – green (absorb green)
• Yellow = white – blue (absorb blue)
• Cyan = white – red (absorb red)
• Red, green, blue are additive primaries.
• Magenta, yellow, cyan are subtractive
primaries.
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Pigments

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 Selective Transmission
• Colour of a transparent object depends on
the light it transmits.
• Pigments in a red glass absorb all colours
except red.
• Energy of the absorbed light warms the
glass.
• Can we have something “transparent
white”?
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Which disc is warmer in sunlight?

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 Selective Scattering
• Light that incidents on an atom sets the atom
into vibration.
• The vibrating atom then re-emit light in all
directions.
• Violet light is scattered the most by nitrogen
（氮氣）and oxygen（氧氣） which make up
most of our atmosphere.
• But why does the sky appears blue instead of
violet?
100
Why do we have a whitish sky?
• When the atmosphere contains a lot of
particles of dust and other particles larger
than oxygen and nitrogen, light of the
longer wavelengths is also scattered
strongly.
• After a heavy rainstorm when the particles
have been washed away, the sky
becomes a deeper blue.
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 Why is the setting sun red?
• Light that is not scattered is light that is
transmitted. Red, which is scattered the
least, passes through more atmosphere
than any other colour. So the thicker the
atmosphere through which a beam of
sunlight travels, the more time there is to
scatter all the shorter wavelengths.
• Why is the rising sun less red?
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 Why are the clouds white?
• Different sizes of water molecule clusters
scatter different wavelengths. The overall
result is a white cloud.
• Why are the rain clouds dark?

103
 • Monochromatic（單色）= single wavelength
/ colour
• Laser (Light Amplification by Stimulated
Emission of Radiation)

A laser is an instrument that produces a beam of coherent light（相干光）.

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 Colour Deficiency
• ability to distinguish colours and shades is
less than normal
• Though “colour blind” （色盲）is often used,
only a very small number of people are
completely unable to identify any colours.
• more common in males than females
• usually inherited, but can also result from
certain diseases, trauma or as a side effect of
certain medications
• occurs when an individual partially or
completely lacks one or more types of the
three kinds of cones
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 Types of Colour Deficiencies
• two different kinds of red-green deficiency
and one blue-yellow deficiency
• red-green deficiencies are by far the most
common

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 Think 2
Q. If you hold a small source of white light
between you and a piece of red glass,
you’ll see two reflections from the glass:
one from the front surface and one from
the back surface. What colour is each
reflection?

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 Think 2
A. The reflection from the front surface is
white because the light does not go far
enough into the coloured glass to
allow absorption of non-red light. Only
red light reaches the back surface
because the pigments in the glass
absorb all the other colours, and so
the back reflection is red.
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