Key Words
‘transparent
‘transmit
‘translucent
opaque
absorption
reflection
refraction
prism
lens
mirror
Like sound, light is a form of energy that travels,
in waves. The waves travel in straight paths. They
travel away from a source, such as the sun or a light bull,
in all directions. In this lesson, you will learn how light waves
behave when they strike or pass through different materials.
Types of Materials
When light strikes an object, its behavior depends on
the material it strikes. A transparent material is one that
light passes through easily, such as clear glass and pure
water. These materials transmit light, or allow its passage.
Translucent materials, such as wax paper, scatter the
light that they transmit. You cannot see clearly through
translucent materials. Opaque materials, such as wood
and metal, block light completely. You cannot see at all
through opaque materials because they absorb, or take in,
all the light that strikes them.
Absorption
When a material takes in light energy, the material
changes the light energy into heat energy. This pypcess
is called absorption. All materials absorb some light. But
dull materials absorb more light than shiny ones. Also,
dark-colored materials usually absorb more light than
light-colored ones. On a sunny summer day, you will feel
warmer if you wear a black shirt than if you wear a white
shirt. The black shirt will change more light to heat.Lesson 11: Light
Did You Knowe
Unlike sound
waves, light
waves can travel
through empty
space. If they
could not, sunlight +
* could not reach
Earth.
Reflection
Instead of being absorbed, light tends to bounce off a
white shirt. The bouncing of light off of a surface is called
reflection. Everything we see reflects some light. The light
bounces off the surface of the object and into our eyes.
Look at the diagrams below. The diagram on the left
shows how a very smooth surface, such as a mirror,
reflects light. We can see images of things in a mirror or
on the surface of very still water. But most surfaces scatter
light, or reflect it in many different directions. The diagram
on the right shows how a surface scatters light.
vara
Reflection
Refraction
When light passes through one material into another, the
light changes direction. This bending of light is called
refraction. Refraction happens because the speed of light
changes as it moves from one material to another. Many
materials cause the refraction of light. Clear plastic, glass,
and water all refraict light. If you put a pencil in a glass of
water, the pencil looks broken. This is because the water
refracts the light.
RefractionPrisms and Colors
Look at the diagram of a prism below. A prism is a piece
of clear glass or plastic in the shape of a three-dimensional
triangle. A prism refracts light.
A prism shows that white light is made up of many
different colors. When white light enters the prism, the light
slows down. But different colors of light travel through
the prism at different speeds, so the prism refracts each
color differently. The prism bends each color by a different
amount. In the diagram below, you can see that red light is
bent less than orange light. Orange light is bent less than
yellow light. The prism separates white light into all the
colors of the rainbow.
White light Orange
\ Yellow
< Green} Spectrum
— Blue
‘Aprism separates white light into its individual colors.
Seeing Color
When light strikes an object, some light waves are
absorbed, and some are scattered, or reflected in all
directions. The colors we see are not in objects themselves.
Instead, colors are the way we see scattered light.
Different materials absorb more light of certain colors and
scatter more light of other colors. A blue balloon does
not scatter just blue light. But it scattersa combination
of colors that our eyes and brains recognize as blue. A
banana scatters more light that we see as yellow. Black
objects absorb most colors of light. White objects scatter
most colors of light.