THE NATURE OF LIGHT Corpuscular theory states the

Luminous Objects following:

- can generate their own light
Non Luminous Objects
- cannot generate their own
light
Christian Huygens (1690)
- proposed the “Wave
Nature of Light”
- said that light is a wave
that travels an unknown
medium
- explained the reflection
of light by illustrating
the symmetry between
the angle of incidence
and angle of reflection
Huygens Principle: “You can predict
a wave’s position in the future by
analyzing its current position”
Isaac Newton (1704)
- Proposed the “Particle
Nature of Light” which
is later known as
“Corpuscular theory of
Light”
- describes the reflection
of light as a collision of
these particles on the Light
surface
- explained that when
these particles enter Thomas Young (1803)
another medium, the
speed of propagation
changes, thus changing
the speed of light. This
explained refraction
1. Light consists of CORPUSCLES
which are a stream of discrete,
tiny, light and perfectly elastic
particles.
2. Every luminous source like the
Sun, or a lamp, or a candle
emits these corpuscles.
3. These corpuscles travel in
straight lines in all possible
directions
4. The rate at which these
corpuscles travel may differ
depending on the medium in
which they disperse.
5. The vision of human beings is
a consequence of these
corpuscles falling on the retina
of eyes.
6. Various colors of light are due
to the difference in sizes of
these corpuscles.
- These perfectly explains
the concept of reflection
and refraction of light,
which consisted of
corpuscles
- is composed of corpuscles or
tiny particles
- conducted a study about
interference of light using the
two-slit experiment.
- observed dark and light areas
formed by overlapping waves.
Augustin Fresnel
- explained the results of
Young’s experiment with
mathematical calculations
James Clerk Maxwell (1873)
- formulated 4 equations and
unified the concepts of
electricity, magnetism, and
presence of the
electromagnetic waves (EM)
waves
- computed the speed of the
electromagnetic waves and
proposed that light was an
electromagnetic wave.
Henry Hertz (1887)
- validated the assumption of
Maxwell
- said that electromagnetic
waves are made up of both
electric and magnetic fields
that oscillate perpendicular to
the direction of travel
- electric field and magnetic
field are perpendicular to each
other
Max Planck (1900)
- proposed the quantization of
energy
- that light is emitted discrete
packets of energy which he
called “quanta”
Albert Einstein (1905)
- called the packets of energy
as photons
- suggested that the energy of
a photon was discretely
proportional to the frequency
of light. Mathematically where
E=hf
- E - the energy of the photon
(in joules (J))
- h - the planck’s constant
(6.626x10^-34 Js)
- f - the frequency of light (in
hertz, 1/s)
- The speed of light c is the
product of frequency (f) and
wavelength (λ), the energy of
a photon can also be written
as E = hc / λ
- where; c = 3.0 x 10^8 m/s
ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES
Waves
- In physics, wave is the
movement up and down or
back and forth
- transfers energy from one
place to another through a
series of disturbances or
vibration that carry energy.
3 TYPES OF WAVES
1. Mechanical Wave
- moves through a
medium
2. Electromagnetic Waves
- do not require a medium
to move through
3. Matter Wave
- which includes electrons
and particles
Amplitude
- the maximum distance of a
crest or trough from its
undisturbed or rest position
- the vertical distance of a crest
or trough is the amplitude
- measured in meter
Wavelength
- the distance between a point
on one wave and the same
point on the next wave
- can be 2 consecutive points on
transverse wave
- or can be the distance of 2
consecutive compression or
rarefaction in longitudinal
wave
- length of one complete wave
- denoted by the symbol λ and
measure in meter
Frequency
- number of complete waves
passing a fixed point in 1
second.
- symbol is = f unit = hertz (hz)
Speed
- the distance covered by a
wave in a unit time measured
in meter per second (m/s)
- in a vacuum, it's
characteristics of waves is
constant to all
electromagnetic waves
TYPES OF ELECTROMAGNETIC
WAVES
The electromagnetic spectrum is a
continuum of EM waves arranged
according to wavelength or
frequency
● Radio waves
- detected by Heinrich
Hertz in 1887. These are
the waves that allow us
to listen to the radio.
- they have the longest
wavelengths and low
frequencies
- are used for
broadcasting music,
news, and other
information
- USES: Tv broadcasting,
AM and FM
broadcasting radio,
heart rate monitors, cell
phone communications,
MRI
● Microwaves
- are sometimes called
“short wavelengths”
but has higher
frequencies than radio
waves
- can penetrate clouds,
rain, and haze which
make it an important
tools in communication
- Microwave ovens are
used to rotate molecules
of water and fat to
 generate heat and cook
the food. They are also
used for
communication, such as
cell phones and Wi-Fi
- USES: Microwave ovens,
bluetooth headsets,
broadband wireless
internet, radar, GPS
● Infrared Waves
- discovered by William
Herschel in 1880
- Infrared radiation is
sometimes called “heat
radiation” because we
feel it as warmth. It has
no longer wavelengths
than visible light.
- Infrared radiation is
used in devices like TV
remote controls and
thermal cameras.
- have wavelength about
7 x 10^-7 m
- can be detected using
night vision goggles and
infrared cameras
- used by scientist in
investigating the
amount of solar energy
absorbed by the Earth TYPES OF ELECTROMAGNETIC
and the amount of RADIATION
reflected to outer space
- USES: Night vision
goggles, remote
controls, heat-seeking Electromagnetic Waves
missiles
● Visible Light
- this is the type of
electromagnetic
radiation that allow us
to see the world around
us
- Visible light comes in
different colors, like red,
orange, yellow, green,
blue, indigo, and violet.
Each color has a
different wavelength
- wavelengths ranging
from 4 x 10^-7 m to 7 x
10^-7 m.
- passes through a prism
and can be refracted
into different colors
- demonstrated by Isaac
Newton in 1665
- Violet is the shortest
wavelength while;
- Red is the longest
wavelength
- sun illuminates visible
light which is yellow, if
hotter it looks bluish
- can come from artificial
source like fluorescent
and incandescent bulb
● Ultra violet
● X- ray
● Gamma Ray
 - Travel at a speed of light in a electromagnetic waves and
vacuum their link to light
- produced by accelerating James Clerk Maxwell
charges - around 1862, contributed in
- carry energy which can be developing equations showing
transferred to objects that are the relationships of electricity
placed in their path magnetism.
- assumed that the EM with Reflection
higher frequency and energy - is the bouncing back of a
have shorter wavelengths, wave upon hitting a barrier
since they travel a the speed 2 KINDS OF REFLECTION
of light 1. Specular Reflection
- They are also called as EM - a kind of
waves or EM radiation reflection where
- They are created as a result of ray hit a smooth
vibrations between electric surface
and a magnetic field - ex. plane mirror
ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVE (type of mirror
PROPONENTS with a flat
Formed when an electric field comes surface)
in contact with a magnetic field. 2. Diffuse Reflection
Hans Christian Orsted - happens when
- in 1820, he showed how a reflected light
current carrying wire behaves rays are directed
like a magnet to different
Michael Faraday directions by a
- in 1821, he formulated the rough surface
principle behind LAWS OF REFLECTION
electromagnetic induction 1. The incident ray, the
Andre-Marie Ampere normal and the
- demonstrated the magnetic reflected ray, all lie in
effect based on the direction the same plane
of current 2. The angle of incidence is
Heinrich Hertz equal to the angle of
- in 1879, h showed reflection
experimental evidence of
Incident Ray
- ray that enters and touches
the surface of the object
Normal Ray
- refers to the line perpendicular
to the object (the broken line
in the middle)
- 90°
Reflected Ray
- the ray bounces from the
surface
BEFORE SOLVING REMEMBER: θi =
θr
- AND, their angle are
measured from the normal
Refraction
- refers to the change in
direction and change in
wavelength as the wave is
transmitted from one medium
to another
- in refraction, critical angle is
an angle of incidence, where
in a maximum angle of
refraction of 90 degrees is
reached it
Plane mirrors
- are a type of mirror with a flat
surface, and with this we can
form 5 image characteristics
IMAGE CHARACTERISTICS:
1. Virtual
2. Erect/upright
3. same size as the object
4. image distance = object
distance
5. laterally inverted
Concave
- converging
- a type of mirror that bulges or
inwards to the incident ray
- light rays converge at one
point after they strike and are
reflected from the surface
Convex
- diverging
- a type of mirror that bulges or
towards to the incident ray
- light rays diverge after they
strike the mirror
Ray Diagrams
- method used to predict the
characteristics of image
formed in curved mirrors
1. Light rays parallel to the
principal axis pass through or
diverge from focus after
reflection.
2. Light rays passing through or
directed towards the focus
reflected as a ray parallel to
the x-axis
3. Light rays passing through or
directed towards the center of
curvature retraces its path
after reflection.
Focus (F)
- reflected rays converge/meet;
measures ½ from the center of
curvature.
Radius (R)
- distance between vertex and
the center of curvature
Center of Curvature (C)
- center of the imaginary sphere
in which mirror is part of
Vertex (V)
- center of the mirror
Principal Axis
- line drawn to connect F, C, and
V
Focal Length (f)
- distance between the vertex
and the focus