COMMON PROPERTIES

OF LIGHT
Electromagnetic Waves and the Nature
&
Propagation of Light
The following are the lessons contained in this presentation;

Lesson 1- Light as an Electromagnetic Wave

Lesson 2- Total Internal Reflection

SUMMARIZATION OF PROPERTIES OF LIGHT

 Objectives;

Relate the properties of EM wave (wavelength, frequency, speed) and the

properties of vacuum and optical medium (permittivity, permeability, and index of
refraction)

Explain the conditions for total internal reflection

Explain the phenomenon of dispersion by relating to Snell’s Law

 Lesson 1
Light as an Electromagnetic Wave

Directions: Try to arrange the following jumbled words. The

descriptions provided below will help you unlock this task.

1. the number of occurrences of a

repeating event per unit of time. NCYEQUEFR

2. distance between corresponding

points of two consecutive wave
NGTHVELEWA

3. a class of physical phenomena that

ISMMAGNET
are mediated by magnetic field

4. a branch of physics which involves ETISMELECMAGNTRO

the study of electromagnetic force.

5. the range of all types of EM radiation

NETICELEOMAGCTR
TRUMECSP
Electromagnetic
waves
Electromagnetic waves are transverse
waves with a wide range of properties and
uses. Some of the waves are also
hazardous to human body tissues. Their
vibrations or oscillations are changes in
electrical and magnetic fields at right
angles to the direction of wave travel.
Electromagnetic waves travel at
300,000,000 meters per second (m/s)
through a vacuum.
 Electromagnetic waves
v=λf
Where:
v is the speed of the electromagnetic wave,
λ (lambda) is the wavelength of the wave,
f is the frequency of the wave.
This equation expresses the relationship between the speed of the
wave, its wavelength, and frequency. The speed of an
electromagnetic wave is constant and is typically denoted by the
8
letter c (speed of light), which is approximately 3×10 meters per
second in a vacuum. Therefore, the wave equation can also be
written as:
c=λf
 Waves come in two kinds, longitudinal and transverse.
Transverse waves are characterized by oscillations
perpendicular to the direction of wave propagation.
Motion: The particles of the medium move in a direction
perpendicular to the energy transport of the wave.
Example: Light waves and electromagnetic waves are
common examples of transverse waves.

Longitudinal waves are characterized by oscillations parallel

to the direction of wave propagation.
Motion: The particles of the medium move in a direction
parallel to the energy transport of the wave.
Example: Sound waves are a classic example of longitudinal
waves.
All electromagnetic waves:
transfer energy from the source of the
waves to an absorber.
can travel through a vacuum such as in
space.
all travel at the same velocity through a
vacuum.
 Electromagnetic
spectrum
Electromagnetic waves form a continuous spectrum of waves. This includes:
waves with a very short wavelength, high frequency and high energy
waves with a very long wavelength, low frequency and low energy
Electromagnetic waves can be separated into seven distinct groups in the
spectrum.
Each group contains a range of frequencies. For example, visible light contains all
the frequencies that can be detected by the human eye:
red light has the lowest frequencies of visible light
violet light has the highest frequencies of visible light
The way an electromagnetic wave
behaves in a material is influenced
by its frequency or wavelength.
Red, the longest
Different groups in the
of the
electromagnetic spectrum have wavelengths,
unique behaviors, making them measures around
700 nanometers;
useful for various purposes. While
all electromagnetic waves are yellow is around
600 nanometers;
considered light, the part of the and violet, the
spectrum visible to humans and shortest, is around
400 nanometers
animals is called visible light. in length.
When light passes through a
prism, it separates into the colors
of the rainbow, each representing
individual wavelengths.
Describing
Electromagnetic Energy
The terms of light, electromagnetic waves, and radiation
all refer to the same physical phenomenon: electromagnetic
energy. This energy can be described by frequency,
wavelength, or energy. All three are related mathematically such
that if you know one, you can calculate the other two. Radio and
microwaves are usually described in terms of frequency
(Hertz), infrared and visible light in terms of wavelength
(meters), and x-rays and gamma rays in terms of energy
(electron volts). This scientific convention that allows the
convenient use of units that have numbers that are neither too
large nor too small.
Frequency
Frequency is how many times a wave
passes a certain point in one second. It's
measured in Hertz (Hz), named after
Heinrich Hertz, who discovered radio
waves.
If a wave passes once in a second, it's
1 Hertz (1 Hz).
If it passes twice in a second, it's 2
Hertz (2 Hz).
So, frequency tells us how often a wave
repeats in a second.
Wavelength
Electromagnetic waves have crests and troughs similar to those of ocean
waves. The distance between crests is the wavelength. The shortest
wavelengths are just fractions of the size of an atom, while the longest
wavelengths scientists currently study can be larger than the diameter of our
planet.
Energy
An electromagnetic wave can also be described in terms of its energy – in
units of measure called electron volts (eV). An electron volt is the amount of
kinetic energy needed to move an electron through one-volt potential.
Moving along the spectrum from long to short wavelengths, energy
increases as the wavelength shortens. Consider a jumping rope with its
ends being pulled up and down. More energy is needed to make the rope
have more wave
 Maxwell’s Synthesis of Electricity
of Electricity, Magnetism and Optics
In 1873, seventy years after Thomas Young
presented his experimental results on the
nature of light, a Scottish physicist named
James Clerk Maxwell published a theory that
accounted for the physical origins of light.
Throughout the nineteenth century, many of
science's greatest minds dedicated themselves
to the study of two exciting new ideas:
electricity and magnetism. Maxwell's work
synthesized these two ideas, which had previously
been considered separate phenomena. His new
theory was aptly named a theory of
“electromagnetism”.
Maxwell and other physicists started looking into the consequences of their
ideas and checking if they were true. One of Maxwell's predictions based on his
equations was that when a charge moves back and forth regularly, it produces a
swinging electric field. This electric field then creates a magnetic field that
changes periodically. This changing magnetic field, in turn, makes the original
electric field keep swinging, and this cycle repeats. This mutual back-and-forth
movement allows the electric and magnetic fields to travel through space
together in the shape of an "electromagnetic wave," as shown below:
Because this new mathematical model of electromagnetism described a
wave, physicists were able to imagine that electromagnetic radiation
could take on the properties of waves. Thus, just like all waves,
Maxwell's electromagnetic waves could have a range of wavelengths and
corresponding frequencies. This range of wavelengths is now known as
the "electromagnetic spectrum." Maxwell's theory also predicted that all
the waves in the spectrum travel at a characteristic speed of
approximately 300,000,000 meters per second. Maxwell was able to calculate
this speed from his equations:

Where,
c= speed of the electromagnetic wave
= permittivity of free space (8.854×F/m)
= permeability of free space (4π× N/)
Maxwell's calculation of the speed of an electromagnetic wave included two
important constants: the permittivity and permeability of free space.

The permittivity of free space, also called

the "electric constant," tells us how strong
the electrical force is between two charged
particles in a vacuum. On the other hand,
the permeability of free space is like the
magnetic version of the electric constant. It
explains how strong the magnetic force is
on an object in a magnetic field. So, one
deals with electric forces, and the other
deals with magnetic forces.
Thus, the speed of an electromagnetic
wave comes directly from a much for Maxwell to accept as coincidence
fundamental consideration of electricity
and magnetism.
When Maxwell calculated this speed, he
realized that it was extremely close to the
measured value for the speed of light, which
had been known for centuries from detailed
astronomical observations. After Maxwell's
equations became widely known, the Polish-
American physicist Albert Michelson made a
very precise measurement of the speed of
light that was in extremely close agreement
with Maxwell's predicted value. This was too
and led him to the realization that light
was an electromagnetic wave and thus
part of the electromagnetic spectrum.
ALWAYS REMEMBER!
Microwaves, gamma rays, radio waves are all types of
electromagnetic radiation.

Light consists of oscillating electric and magnetic fields.

Light in a vacuum always moves at roughly 300,000,000 m/s.

One piece of evidence that convinced Maxwell that light was

electromagnetic radiation was the measured speed of light was
close to Maxwell's calculated speed.
 ALWAYS REMEMBER!

Electromagnetic waves are transverse waves with a wide range of

properties and uses. EM waves can travel not only through air and
solid materials, but also through vacuum of space.
Electromagnetic waves can be separated into seven distinct
groups in the spectrum. The behavior of an electromagnetic wave
in a substance depends on its frequency or wavelength. Maxwell's
calculation of the speed of an electromagnetic wave included two
important constants: the permittivity and permeability of free
space. The speed of an electromagnetic wave comes directly
from a fundamental consideration of electricity and magnetism.
 Lesson 2
Total Internal
Reflection
Lesson 2
Total Internal Reflection

When light travels through a

material, it doesn't just stop at the
end. Instead, it does different
things, like bouncing back,
bending, or spreading out. These
behaviors are called reflection,
refraction (or transmission), and
diffraction. In this lesson, we'll
explore how light bouncing back
(reflection) and light bending
(refraction) are connected.
Lesson 2
Total Internal Reflection

A law states that when a light ray WAL FO

reflects off a surface, the angle of
NIOCOTERLFIE
incidence is equal to the angle of
reflection.

A law states that when a light ray is

transmitted into a new medium, the
relationship between the angle of
incidence and the angle of refraction is
SWALLEN'L
given by the following equation
ni•sine(Θi) = nr •
sine(Θr)
A light wave is a way energy moves around, similar to
ripples on water. When this wave encounters the
boundary between two different substances, like air
and glass, some of its energy goes into the new
substance, and some bounces back. The amount
that goes in or reflects depends on various factors,
but for now, let's focus on getting familiar with the
basic concepts and terms related to how light acts
at these boundaries.
Reflection of a light wave involves the bouncing of a light
wave off the boundary, while refraction of a light wave involves the
bending of the path of a light wave upon crossing a boundary and
entering a new medium. Both reflection and refraction involve a change
in direction of a wave, but only refraction involves a change in medium.

The fundamental law that governs the reflection of light is called the law
of reflection. Whether the light is reflecting off a rough surface or a
smooth surface a curved surface or a planar surface, the light ray
follows the law of reflection. The law of reflection states that “When a
light ray reflects off a surface, the angle of incidence is equal to the
angle of reflection.”
The fundamental law that governs the refraction of light is Snell's
Law. Snell's Law states that “When a light ray is transmitted into a
new medium, the relationship between the angle of incidence (Θi)
and the angle of refraction (Θr) is given by the following equation:

ni • sine(Θi) = nr • sine(Θr) Equation 1

where the ni and nr values represent the indices of refraction of

the incident and the refractive medium, respectively.
In a regular physics experiment, you might look through the long
side of a special triangle at a pin behind the other side. Here's what
happens: Light enters the triangle and goes straight until it
reaches the second side. Instead of going through, it seems to
bounce off and come out the other side. People get puzzled
because they expect the light to go through the second side, but it
doesn't. After searching, they finally find the light coming out of
the third side. Why didn't it go through the second side?
The phenomenon observed in this part of the lab is known as total internal
reflection. Total internal reflection (TIR) is the reflection of the total
amount of incident light at the boundary between two media.
 REGULAR AND DIFFUSED REFLECTION

Regular Reflection

The bouncing back of the incident light from the

surface is known as reflection. If the reflection
occurs following the laws of reflection it is known
as the regular reflection. It follows both the laws
of reflection. The reflected ray from the surface
forms the same angle of reflection which is equal
to the angle of incidence. The incident ray,
reflected ray, and normal which are at the point
of incidence, all three of them lie in the same
plane. This is observed in the case of polished
surfaces which have a shiny appearance such as
mirrors.
 REGULAR AND DIFFUSED REFLECTION
Diffused Reflection

The going back of the incident light from the

surface is known as reflection. In the case of
diffused reflection, the reflection doesn’t
occur following the laws of reflection. It
doesn’t follow any of the laws of reflection. The
reflected ray from the surface doesn’t form the
same angle of reflection which is equal to the
angle of incidence. Also, the incident ray,
reflected ray, and normal which is at the point
of incidence, all three of them do not lie in the
same plane. This is observed in the case of
unpolished or rough surfaces like that of paper,
cardboard, sandpaper, rough sheets, etc.
To understand total internal reflection,
let us consider this fiber optic cable.

An optic fiber cable is made up

of thin strands of glass or plastic.
These strands carry information
between two places in a form of
light. As you know, glass is a dense
medium that refracts light, but light
does not refract light inside the
fiber optic cable.

Do you know why the incident ray did not refract here? We can understand
the reasons for this once we understand the process of total internal
reflection.
There's a rule in optics called total internal reflection. It's like a bounce-
back rule for light. When light tries to leave the optic fiber at an angle
that's too steep (greater than what we call the critical angle), instead of
going out, it reflects back inside the fiber.
In simpler terms, the light rays inside the optic fiber hit the walls at just
the right angle (greater than a critical angle), so instead of escaping, they
bounce around inside, carrying information from one end to the other
without leaking out. This bouncing without escaping is what we call total
internal reflection, and it's why the light doesn't refract and stays inside
the fiber optic cable.
 There are two necessary conditions for
total internal reflection do happen.

the ray of light must be traveling from a dense medium to a rare medium.
the angle of incidence must be greater than the critical angle.

Many optical instruments use the principle of total internal reflection. Total internal
reflection is used in instrument such as fiber optic, binoculars, and periscope.
REFRACTION OF LIGHT
REFRACTION OF LIGHT

Refraction is an important term used in the Ray Optics branch of

Physics. Refraction of light is defined as the change in direction or the
bending of a wave passing from one medium to another due to the
change in speed of the wave. Some natural phenomena occurring in
nature where refraction of light takes place are the twinkling of stars,
the formation of mirages and Rainbows, Optical illusions, and many
more. The major cause of refraction to occur is the change in the speed
of waves in different mediums, which is different due to the difference
between the densities of the mediums. e.g. the speed of light in a
vacuum is maximum. Snell’s Law provides a quantitative description of
the amount of bending of a wave, that depends on the refractive index
of the two mediums.
This phenomenon also occurs with sound, water, and other waves. Because of this
bending of waves that are responsible for the refraction of light, we have lenses,
magnifying glasses, prisms, and rainbows. Due to this phenomenon, our eyes would
not be able to focus, without the refraction of light.
As shown in the above figure, light travels from Medium 1 to Medium 2. Please note
that these mediums can be different materials or substances with different
densities. So when an incident ray from medium 1 travels to another medium 2, the
refracted ray bends either towards the normal or away from the normal (depending
upon the densities of the mediums).
Dispersion of Light
In 1665, Newton was exploring the cool world of
'optics' and colors. He found it super interesting how
sunlight, when passed through a prism, spread into
its different colors. The prism made the light slow
down because it changed the way the light traveled.
This bending of light path is called refraction.
Shorter wavelength colors like violet bend more than
longer ones like red, spreading out the colors. Once
the colors leave the prism, they go back to their
normal speed and refract again.
What is Dispersion of Light?
Dispersion of light is the separation of white light into its component colours. This
happens because the light is made up of different colours. When it goes through
things like prisms or water droplets, each colour bends at a different angle. This
bending is what creates the beautiful display of colours that we see.

White light is a mixture of all

the colors we see in a rainbow.
It is visible as a continuous
spectrum from red to violet.
Different colours of light have
different lengths. Red light
has the longest length, while
violet light has the shortest
length.
Dispersion of Light according to Snell’s Law
Dispersion in optics occurs when light travels
through a medium with varying refractive
indices for different wavelengths. This
phenomenon is explained by Snell's Law, which
relates the angle of incidence (θ1), the angle of
refraction (θ2), and the refractive indices of the
two media involved.
When white light, which consists of different colors with varying wavelengths,
enters a medium with different refractive indices for each wavelength, each color
component experiences a slightly different angle of refraction due to Snell's Law.
As a result, the colors spread out or disperse, creating a spectrum of colors.
This dispersion is commonly observed in phenomena such as the formation of
rainbows or when light passes through a prism, splitting into its constituent
colors. The varying refractive indices for different wavelengths cause the
different colors to bend by different amounts, resulting in the separation of the
colors.
 SUMMARIZATION OF
PROPERTIES OF LIGHT
What Is Reflection of Light?

When a ray of light approaches a smooth

polished surface and the light ray
bounces back, it is called the reflection
of light. The incident light ray that land
on the surface is reflected off the
surface. The ray that bounces back is
called the reflected ray. If a
perpendicular were drawn on a
reflecting surface, it would be called
normal.
What Is Refraction of Light?
Refraction is the bending of a wave when it passes from one medium to
another. The bending is caused due to the differences in density between
the two substances.
Refraction of light is one of the
most commonly observed
phenomena, but other waves like
sound waves and water waves also
experience refraction. Refraction
makes it possible for us to have
optical instruments such as
magnifying glasses, lenses and
prisms. It is also because of the
refraction of light that we are able
to focus light on our retina.
What Is Dispersion of Light?

When white light is passed through a

glass prism it splits into its spectrum of
colours (in order violet, indigo, blue,
green, yellow, orange and red) and this
process of white light splitting into its
constituent colours is termed as
dispersion. The simplest way to explain
dispersion is through dispersion in the
prism.
What Is Diffraction?
We classically think of light as always
traveling in straight lines, but when light
waves pass near a barrier they tend to
bend around that barrier and become
spread out. The definition of diffraction
is the spreading of waves as they pass
through or around an obstacle. More
specifically when applied to light,
diffraction of light occurs when a light
wave passes by a corner or through an
opening or slit that is physically the
approximate size of, or even smaller than
that light’s wavelength.
What Is Polarization?
It is a property of certain electromagnetic radiations in which the direction and magnitude
of the vibrating electric field are related in a specified way.
Light waves are transverse: that is, the vibrating electric vector associated with each wave
is perpendicular to the direction of propagation.

A beam of unpolarized light consists of waves

moving in the same direction with their electric
vectors pointed in random orientations about the
axis of propagation. Plane polarized light consists
of waves in which the direction of vibration is the
same for all waves. In circular polarization the
electric vector rotates about the direction of
propagation as the wave progresses. Light may be
polarized by reflection or by passing it through
filters, such as certain crystals, that transmit
vibration in one plane but not in others.
What Is Interference?
An important characteristic of light waves is
their ability, under certain circumstances, to
interfere with one another. The definition of
interference in physics is the superposition of
waves, causing an increase or decrease in the
amplitude of the resulting wave. Most people
observe some type of optical interference
every day, but do not realize what is occurring
to produce this phenomenon. One of the best
examples of the interference of light is
demonstrated by the light reflected from a
film of oil floating on water. Another example is
the soap bubble illustrated in Figure 1 that
reflects a variety of beautiful colors when
illuminated by natural or artificial light sources
 Properties of Light

REFRACTION OF LIGHT
REFLECTION OF LIGHT DISPERSION OF LIGHT

Refraction is a
Reflection is the The splitting of a ray
phenomenon in which
phenomenon in which of white light into its
there is a change in
light travelling in one constituent colours is
the speed of light as it
medium, incident on called dispersion.
travels from one
the surface of another
medium to another
returns to the first
and there is a bending
medium, obeying the
of the ray of light.
laws of reflection.
 Properties of Light
POLARISATION OF LIGHT
DIFFRACTION OF LIGHT
Normal light vibrates
The phenomenon of in all directions
bending of light perpendicular to the
around corners of propagation of light. If
small obstacles and the light is
hence it’s constrained to vibrate
encroachment into in only one particular
the region of the plane, then the light is
geometrical shadow called polarised light.
is called diffraction.
INTERFERENCE OF LIGHT
Interference is the
phenomenon of
modification in the
intensity of light due
to redistribution of
light energy in the
region of
superposition of two
or more light waves.
THANK YOU FOR
LISTENING!