What are light waves?

Page 1 meaning
an electromagnetic wave by which light
travels through a medium or vacuum
the white we see is actually a mixture of light waves of different
wavelengths

Light is a type of electromagnetic radiation that can be

detected by the eye. It travels as a transverse wave. Unlike a
sound waves, light waves do not need a medium to pass
through, they can travel through a vacuum.
Light from the Sun reaches Earth through the vacuum of space.

The speed of light

 Light travels from its source at a very fast speed.
 By traveling 186,000 miles per second or 300,000 kilometers per
second.
Example : See lightning before you hear it.
See a distant firework explode before you hear it.
See a distant hockey stick hit a ball before you hear it.
 light travels in a straight line. and can travel through vacuum,
 such as light from the sun traveling to our world through vacuum
It takes 8 minutes for air to reach our planet.
 The sun is 93 million miles from our planet.
 What are light waves?
Page 2 The table summarises some similarities and
differences between light waves and sound waves:

Light waves Sound waves

Type of wave Transverse Longitudinal
Can they travel through Yes (if transparent or Yes
matter (solids, liquids translucent)
and gases)?
Can they travel through Yes No
a vacuum?
How are they detected? Eyes, photographic Ears,
film, light detectors microphones
or image sensors
Can they be reflected? Yes Yes
Can they be refracted? Yes Yes

Speed 300 000 000 m/s (300 340 m/s

million m/s or 3 x 10^8
m/s)

Light rays and ray diagrams

Light travels in a straight line.
When drawing a light ray :
 What are light waves?
Page 3
The pinhole camera
A pinhole camera consists of a box or tube with a
translucent screen at one end and a tiny hole (the
pinhole) made in the other end. Light enters the box
through the pinhole and an image is formed on the
translucent screen. The image is upside down and
smaller than the object.

Benefit :They can be useful to look at the image of a dazzling object

such as the Sun which you should never look at directly. Forming an
image on the screen makes watching an eclipse safe.

Shadows
Shadows are also formed because light travels in straight lines.
When an object that will not allow light to pass through it (an
opaque object) is placed in front of a light, a shadow is cast on
the ground or a screen behind it. The object stops the light
reaching the ground and the shadow is the shape of the object.

If light could curve around the

tree, the shadow wouldn’t form. A
shadow shows that light travels in
straight lines.
 What are light waves?
Page 4
Solar eclipse
An eclipse of the Sun, or Solar
Eclipse, occurs when a new Moon
passes directly between the Sun
and the Earth, blocking out the
Sun's rays and casting a shadow
on regions of the Earth. As a
result, daylight briefly turns to
darkness.
The total shadow or umbra is the shadow's dark core. The partial
shadow or penumbra is the lighter outer part of the shadow.

A total solar eclipse happens when the Moon casts the darkest part
of its shadow, called the umbra, on Earth. The Moon appears to
cover the entire disk of the Sun. However, you only see a total solar
eclipse if you are in a region covered by the Moon's full shadow, its
umbra. Those outside the path in the partial shadow, or penumbra,
see a partial eclipse
 What are light waves?
Page 5
Eclipse viewing safety
 Never look directly at the Sun: you can damage your eyes
forever and even go blind.
 Never look at the Sun through binoculars or a telescope.
 Don't look directly at the Sun through sunglasses, a camera or
your phone camera - none of these protect your eyes.
 To watch an eclipse, you will need to wear special glasses,
properly darkened and filtered to protect your eyes. You can
also safely view the image of an eclipse using a pinhole camera.

Luminous and non-luminous objects

 We see something either because it emits its own light, or
it reflects light.
 An object that gives out, or emits, its own light is called a
luminous object.
Examples of luminous objects include:
the Sun stars fire candle flame laser
light bulb luminous mushrooms fireflies some jellyfish
 A non-luminous object does not give out its own light. We see it
because it reflects the light from a luminous object, like the
Sun or a candle, towards our eyes.
The book is a non-luminous object. You see it because it reflects
light from the candle flame towards your eyes.
Examples of non-luminous objects include:
the Moon the planets the ground a person a wall a cat