Nature of Light

At the end of the discussion you are

expected to:
1. Trace the development of the theories about the
nature of light
2. Describe the dual nature of light wave
3. Identify the different sources of light
4. Explain how shadows are formed
5. Determine the relationship of the distance between
the light source and the illuminated surface to the
intensity of illumnination
THE NATURE OF LIGHT
Light
◦A radiant energy emitted directly or
indirectly by objects, and it affects the
eyes.
Sources of Light
1.Natural Source
Ex. Sun, stars, lightning, and fireflies
2.Artificial Source
Ex. Lamps, bulbs, burning of wood or
other materials
Theories about Light
Corpuscular Theory
◦ Also known as theory of emission
◦ Developed by Isaac Newton(1665)
◦ Light was made of tiny particles called corpuscles that comes
from a source with certain velocity that travels in space and
produced sensation of sight when they struck the eye.
◦ The theory was accounted satisfactorily for the reflection and
straight line propagation of light and led to the belief that its
speed in water was greater than in air.
Theories about Light
Wave Theory
◦ Sometimes called undulatory theory
◦ Christian Huygens (1667)
◦ The propagation of light is like the motion of waves in matter
◦ Light is made up of waves that comes from vibrating body
that travels in space.
◦ He predicted that the speed of light in water was less than
that in air.
Theories about Light
Fresnel (1817)
◦ Discovered polarization
◦ Fresnel invented the lens that is now used in lighthouses
around the world. The Fresnel lens appears much like a giant
glass beehive with a lamp in the center. The lens is
composed of rings of glass prisms positioned above and
below the lamp to bend and concentrate the light into a bright
beam.

https://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/optics/timeline/people/fresnel.html
Theories about Light
Thomas Young (1773-1829)
◦ Worked on the diffraction and interference of light
Theories about Light
Jean Foucault (1850)
◦Measured the speed of light in water to be ¾ of that in
air
James Clark Maxwell (1864)
◦developed the Electromagnetic Theory
◦Light was an electromagnetic phenomenon, a
succession of waves produced by periodic variations
of two vectors, the electric and magnetic intensities,
accompanied by a vibrating charge
Theories about Light
Max Planck (1858-1947)
◦ Developed Quantum Theory
◦ He believed that radiant energy was transported in the form of
discrete particles called Quanta
Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
◦ Light is composed of bundles of wave energy called photons
(agreed on Planck’s findings)
◦ Arthur Compton (18-92-1962)
◦ Photons of X-ray decreased in energy when colliding with
electrons.
◦ Louis de Broglie (1892-1987)
◦ Extend the possibility of proposing matter can have wave
properties
Propagation of Light
Rectilinear Propagation
◦Light travels in a straight line in a homogenous
medium
Propagation of Light
Rectilinear Propagation
◦Light travels in a straight line in a homogenous
medium
Propagation of Light
Rectilinear Propagation
◦Light travels in a straight line in a homogenous
medium
Speed of Light
Presentation of Timeline
Sample Problem
Assume Fizeau’s wheel has 360
teeth and rotates at 27.5 rev/s
when a pulse of light passing
through opening A in Figure 35.2
is blocked by tooth B on its return.
If the distance to the mirror is 7
500 m, what is the speed of light?
Try this
Albert A. Michelson very carefully measured the speed of
light using an alternative version of the technique developed
by Fizeau. (See Problem 22.2.) Figure P22.4shows the
approach Michelson used. Light was reflected from one
face of a rotating eight-sided mirror towards a stationary
mirror 35.0 km away. At certain rates of rotation, the
returning beam of light was directed toward the eye of an
observer as shown.
What minimum angular speed must the rotating mirror
have in order that side A will have rotated to position B,
causing the light to be reflected to the eye?
Brightness of Light
Photometry
◦The measurement of the brightness of a light
source
◦Luminous intensity
◦The brightness of a light source and is measured in
candela (cd)
◦Luminous flux
◦ The rate at which light is emitted from a source and strikes the
surface of a whole sphere (lm)
◦ F=4pil (F=flux; I intensity)
Illuminance (E)
◦Amount of
illumination(lumens per
square meter)
𝐹 4𝜋𝐼
◦𝐸 = = 2
𝐴 4𝜋𝑟
Sample
A light source of 500 candelas is placed 4
meters above the floor of a big hall. Find the
A. total luminous flux emitted by the source
B. intensity of illumination on a point directly
below the source
Try this!
1. Find the illumination 4.0 m below a 405 lm lamp.
2. What is the luminous flux for a light that is sitting 6.00 m from an
object with an illumination of 1250 lx?
3.How far is an object with an illumination of 585 lx sitting from a
1535 lm light bulb?
4.A screen is placed between two lamps so that they illuminate the
screen equally. The first lamp emits a luminous flux of 1445 lm and
is 2.5 m from the screen. What is the distance of the second lamp
from the screen if the luminous flux is 2375 lm?