Light Paper

Light is a kind of electromagnetic radiation. It is made up of vibrations between a certain group of frequencies. When light is given off from a source it spreads out over a larger area. Scientists are still dumbfounded by exactly what light is.

When light hits a smooth or polished surface it "bounces" off at the same angle that it hit. Reflecting telescopes are made of concave mirrors and they have helped astronomers chart the universe because the mirrors interact with each other to magnify what is being observed.

Refraction is when light bends as it goes through glass, water and other transparent objects that are denser than air. A prism is an instrument that spreads out a ray of light into the color spectrum. A lens is another instrument that uses the light refraction, but lenses are put to more practical uses (I’m not saying that a mirror isn’t practical enough.).

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Welcome to the wonderful world of light, including the refraction

and reflection of light. Refraction is the bending of light when it travels

through a denser, or thicker material, such as water. Reflection is

a bit different though; when light hits a smooth or polished surface it

"bounces" off the surface at almost the same angle (Depending on how flat the surface is.). But before we get onto that, lets talk about light and exactly what it is.

THE NATURE OF LIGHT

Light is a kind of electromagnetic radiation, which means, that they are magnetic waves and particles which are caused by electricity. Light consists of very fast oscillations at a certain group of frequencies, that can be detected by the human eye. When light vibrates at different frequencies the eye sees different colors.

When light is emitted, or given off, from a source such as the sun, it moves in straight lines, and starts to filter out into a broader area as it travels farther. If it is interrupted by an object it will have an alteration in its course.

Many Physicists as well as scientists are still puzzled by the

nature of light. Sir Isaac Newton, an English physicist and

mathematician, thought light of as a series of particles, because it was

apparent that light moved in a straight line. To explain refraction and

reflection he b...

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lenses, but these are the two basic ones. Lenses are put to many good uses such as refracting telescopes (Reflecting telescopes have concave mirrors), glasses, magnifiers, microscopes, and many other important things that we use in our every day lives.

Light pays an important role in everyone’s lives, basically we couldn’t see without it; but it has also confused many scientists and physicists whether light is a wave or a particle. Light travels in a straight line and spreads out over a larger area, but if it is interrupted by something its course changes. One thing that can change the direction of light is a hard, polished surface, such as a mirror. When a light hits a mirror it "bounces" off it at the same angle that it hit, if the mirror is flat (which most are). Another thing that can interrupt the travel of a light ray is a denser material than it was already in. This is called refraction, which is the bending of light. Prisms and lenses are pieces of glass that are specially designed to refract light rays and put them to use. Light can be mysterious in many ways, but in other ways it can be useful.

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Encyclopedia Britanica 1999