LIGHT

Without light, how would you see and describe the things around you? Light affects your life in
many ways. It is the energy that helps you move around without tripping. Light exists as both a particle
and a wave.

Visible Light or simply Light is a form of electromagnetic radiation with frequency ranges from
4x to 8x Hz and is responsible to the sense of sight. Light is an electromagnetic wave – it does not
require a material object (solid, liquid and gas) or medium to propagate. The electromagnetic wave (EM
Wave) is arranged in an electromagnetic spectrum according to frequency or wavelength. Arranged in
increasing frequency, EM waves follow the following order in the spectrum: radio waves, microwaves,
infrared radiation, visible light, ultraviolet radiation, X-rays, and gamma rays. The wavelength of light
ranges 7.5 x in the red end (longest wavelength but with lowest frequency) down to 3.8 x in the violet
end (shortest wavelength but with the highest frequency). Light travels very quickly . It can travel a speed
of 3x m/s, through space. Light from the Sun takes about 8 minutes to reach the Earth. Light exists as both
a particle and a wave.
The color of visible light is determined by its wavelength. Visible white light can be separated by a prism
into its component colors. R-O-Y-G-B-I-V stands for Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo and Violet.
You see colors when light is reflected from objects into your eyes.
Luminous objects are objects that produce their own light. Examples are the sun, light bulbs, and flames.
Nonluminous objects are objects that are visible because they reflect light. Examples are the moon, the
ground, and all other objects we see that do not emit their own light. The most common artificial sources
of light include incandescent bulbs, tungsten-halogen bulbs, fluorescent bulbs, vapor light bulbs and neon
light tubes.
Objects can be classified in terms of the way light to pass through them. Transparent materials permit the
passage of light while those that block light are referred to as opaque. Also, objects that allow only some
amount of light to pass through are called translucent materials
Guide Questions:
1. How do you describe light?
2. What is the speed of light in vacuum?
3. How do luminous objects differ from nonluminous objects?
4. Which color has the highest frequency and shortest wavelength? lowest frequency and longest
wavelength?
5. How do you differentiate transparent, translucent and opaque objects?