SY 2022 – 2023 | CAMARINES SUR NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL, LIBOTON ANNEX

Sometimes we see light, other

times we don’t.
We can both feel light and also not
feel it at the same time.
We also cannot touch light nor hold
it like any other object.

What exactly is Light made of?

The nature of light has been a
subject of inquiry since antiquity.
There were two widely accepted
notions regarding the nature of
light:
Light is a PARTICLE
Light is a WAVE
A particle is a small, discrete, point-
like piece of matter.

Atoms, electrons, protons, and

neutrons are all particles.

Light is a particle because it

behaves like a particle.
Sir Isaac Newton’s Corpuscular
Theory of Light
Light is composed of perfectly
elastic particles of matter
called corpuscles which are
emitted in all directions from a
light source.
Light is composed of perfectly elastic particles of
matter called corpuscles which are emitted in all
directions from a light source.
Change in direction of a ray of light when it strikes
and rebounds from a surface
There are two types of reflection:
SPECULAR REFLECTION DIFFUSE REFLECTION
- Reflection from very - Reflection from rough
smooth surfaces. surfaces.
There are two types of reflection:
SPECULAR REFLECTION DIFFUSE REFLECTION
- Reflection from very - Reflection from rough
smooth surfaces. surfaces.
Reflection is associated with mirrors. There are two
types of mirrors:
PLANE MIRRORS
- Smooth mirrored surfaces that
are completely flat.
SPHERICAL MIRRORS
- Sphere-shaped and possesses
a constant radius of curvature.
There are two types of spherical mirrors:
CONCAVE MIRRORS
- Spherical mirrors where the
reflective surface is on the
side curved inward.
- Produces inverted and
magnified images (objects
appear bigger than they
actually are).
There are two types of spherical mirrors:

CONVEX MIRRORS
- Spherical mirrors where the
reflective surface is on the
side curved outward.
- Produces upright but
smaller images.
The bending of
light when it
passes from one
medium into
another of varying
densities.
The bending of
light when it
passes from one
medium into
another of varying
densities.
Isaac Newton’s claim that light is made up of particles
was not enough to explain other light phenomena and
was later on abandoned by scientists.

In the year 1678, Christiaan

Huygens, formulated the
“Huygens’s Wave Theory of Light”
which says that light is made up
of and acts like waves.
Light is a wave that vibrates up and down
perpendicular to the direction of the wave propagation.
What is a wave?
A wave is a disturbance that travels through a medium,
transporting location from one location to another
location.
Refers to the slight
bending of light (or waves)
as it passes around the
edge of an object or
through an opening.
How does diffraction prove that light is a wave?

In this experiment,
light was passed
through a plane with
two slits on it,
striking a screen
beyond the initial
plane.

PROOF THAT LIGHT IS A WAVE: DIFFRACTION

How does diffraction prove that light is a wave?

If light was a particle, we would

What actually happened:
expect the result below:

PROOF THAT LIGHT IS A WAVE: DIFFRACTION

What actually happened:

PROOF THAT LIGHT IS A WAVE: DIFFRACTION

Multiple slits was caused by INTERFERENCE of light waves.

Occurs when two different waves meet or interact with

one another, causing their amplitudes to either increase
or decrease.

PROOF THAT LIGHT IS A WAVE: INTERFERENCE

Multiple slits was caused by INTERFERENCE of light waves.

When light enters the

slits, it diffracts into two
separate waves.

When these waves

intersect, constructive
interference occurs.

PROOF THAT LIGHT IS A WAVE: INTERFERENCE

Multiple slits was caused by INTERFERENCE of light waves.

When these
waves
intersect,
constructive
interference
occurs.

PROOF THAT LIGHT IS A WAVE: INTERFERENCE

Multiple slits was caused by INTERFERENCE of light waves.

Areas where waves do not

intersect correspond to
destructive interference.
Waves cancel each other
out, thus no light is
created.

PROOF THAT LIGHT IS A WAVE: INTERFERENCE

 In physics, waves can be classified as either mechanical
or electromagnetic.
Mechanical waves require a
medium to travel through (they
require matter to pass through).

Electromagnetic waves, on the

other hand, do not need matter to
pass through, allowing them to
travel even in space.

PROOF THAT LIGHT IS A WAVE: POLARIZATION

 Electromagnetic waves also have 2 components: an
electric field and a magnetic field.

One of these
components can be
blocked through a
process called
POLARIZATION,
which further
proves that light is a
wave.

PROOF THAT LIGHT IS A WAVE: POLARIZATION

PROOF THAT LIGHT IS A WAVE: POLARIZATION
PROOF THAT LIGHT IS A WAVE: POLARIZATION