Chapter 10: Light

Light is a form of energy that enables us to see things. Light

starts from a source and bounces off objects which are perceived

by our eyes and our brain processes this signal, which

eventually enables us to see.

Nature of Light behaves as a:

ray, e.g. reflection

wave, e.g. interference and diffraction

particle, e.g. photoelectric effect

The speed of light is the speed at which light travels. It is

about 300,000 kilometers per second. Nothing travels faster

than light.

H ow do we see things?

We see any object because of the reflection of light. When

light strikes a body, gets reflected and received by the human

eye, the image formed in the retina is what the brain processes

and tells you that there is an object there.

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 Reflection of Light

The process of sending back the light rays which fall on the

surface of an object, is called reflection of light. Laws of

reflection of light

1)The incident ray, the reflected ray and the normal all lie in

the same plane.

2)The angle of reflection is always equal to the angle of

incidence
● INCIDENT RAY

● REFLECTED RAY

● NORMAL / PERPENDICULAR

● POINT OF INCIDENCE

● ANGLE OF INCIDENCE = ANGLE OF REFLECTION

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 Refraction of Light

Refraction is the bending of a wave when it enters a medium

where its speed is different. The refraction of light when it

passes from a fast medium to a slow medium bends the light

ray toward the normal to the boundary between the two media.

The angle of incidence is the angle between the incident ray and the

normal, denoted as ‘i’. The angle of refraction is the angle between

the refracted ray and the normal, denoted as ‘r’. Laws of

refraction state that: The incident ray, reflected ray and the

normal, to the interface of any two given mediums, all lie in the

same plane. The ratio of the sine of the angle of incidence and sine

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of the angle of refraction is constant. This is also known as Snell’s

law of refraction.

Shadows

Shadows are made by blocking light. Light rays travel from a

source in straight lines. If an opaque (solid ) object gets in the

way, it stops light rays from traveling through it. This results in

an area of darkness appearing behind the object. The dark area is

called a shadow.

The umbra is the shadow's dark center portion, while the

penumbra and the antumbra are different types of half -shadows

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Shadows are longer in the morning and evening and shorter in the

noon as the sun rays are slanting in the morning and evening

whereas at noon it is just above our head. The size of the shadow

depends on the position of the object from the source of light.

Formation of Rainbow

➢ The formation of a rainbow is described by :

➢ Sun Rays Strikes Raindrop.

➢ Some of the sunlight is reflected.

➢ Rest of Light Gets Refracted.

➢ White Light Splits into Different Colors.

➢ Lights Get Reflected Behind the Raindrop

➢ More Refraction Takes Place.

➢ Color Forms With More Dispersion.

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There are different colors of light because they are light waves

which have different wavelengths. Red light has the longest

wavelength while violet light has the shortest wavelength.

Why is the sky blue?

Gasses and particles in Earth's atmosphere scatter sunlight in all

directions. Blue light is scattered more than other colors because it

travels as shorter, smaller waves. This is why we see a blue sky

most of the time.

Why is sunset orange-red?

Because the sun is low on the horizon, sunlight passes through

more air at sunset and sunrise than during the day, when the sun is

higher in the sky. More atmosphere means more molecules to

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scatter the violet and blue light away from your eyes. This is why

sunsets are often yellow, orange, and red.