LIGHT AND SIGHT

PROPERTIES OF LIGHT
Light is a form of energy Light travel extremely fast and has speed of 3.0 X 10 ms -1 in air Light travels in straight lines within the same medium Light can be reflected when it hits a surface Light can be refracted when it travels from one transparent medium to another.
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THE REFLECTION OF LIGHT

Reflection of light takes place when lights rays fall on the surface of an opaque and bounce off it.

Incident ray

Reflected ray

THE REFLECTION OF LIGHT

1) The incident ray is the ray of light that approaches the surface 2) The reflected ray is the ray of light that bounces off the surface

THE REFLECTION OF LIGHT

2 (a) An example of reflection of light is a student looking at his image on the surface of a lake. (b) The formation of an image in a mirror is another example of light reflection.

THE REFLECTION OF LIGHT

The amount and direction of the reflection of light depend on the nature of the surface and the light strikes against. Plane mirrors and shiny metals are good light reflectors because they have smooth and flat surfaces

THE REFLECTION OF LIGHT

Mirrors, sheets of glass and polished metals have very smooth surfaces When a parallel beam hits a very smooth surface, it is reflected as a parallel beam. This is called regular reflection. If the light that hits a surface is reflected regularly, sharp images will be produced. That why we can see our image on very smooth surface

THE REFLECTION OF LIGHT

THE REFLECTION OF LIGHT

When a parallel beam of light hits a rough surface, it is scattered. The tiny bumps on a surface cause the reflected light to head off in all directions. This types of reflection is called irregular or diffused reflection. This type of reflected light enables us to see the object from any angle.

THE REFLECTION OF LIGHT

APPLICATIONS OF THE REFLECTION OF LIGHT

Periscope (a) Periscope are used in submarines to observe objects above sea levels (b) The two mirrors in the periscope are tilted at an angel of 45. (c) Light rays from an object falls onto mirror X. These are reflected onto mirror Y. The light is then reflected again and enters the observers eye.
1.

PHENOMENA THE REFLECTION OF LIGHT

APPLICATIONS OF THE REFLECTION OF LIGHT

2. Kaleidoscopes (a) A kaleidoscopes forms beautiful images when pieces of paper of various colours are put inside it. (b) Light from the pieces of paper fall onto the mirrors (c) This light is reflected from the mirrors in the inner walls and forms multiple colourful images

PHENOMENA THE REFLECTION OF LIGHT

PHENOMENA THE REFLECTION OF LIGHT

a)

A convex mirror is placed at a bend on the road so that drivers can see around the bend

PHENOMENA THE REFLECTION OF LIGHT

(a) A dentist uses mirrors

THE REFRACTION OF LIGHT

Light can pass through transparent media such as water, air, glass and certain types of plastics. Light travel at different speeds in different media. Therefore , when light passes from one transparent medium into another, it may slow down and speed up. This change in the speed of light causes the light to bend or change direction. Refraction of light is the bending of a light ray when it enters a medium of different density.

THE REFRACTION OF LIGHT

When light travels from a less dense medium to a denser medium, light is refracted towards the normal. When light travels from a dense medium to a less dense medium, light will be refracted away from the normal.

THE REFRACTION OF LIGHT

PHENOMENA THE REFRACTION OF LIGHT

The pond appears to be shallower than it really is.

a) Light from the bottom of the pond is refracted away from the normal. This happens when it emerges from the water into the air because light travels faster in air then in water. b) The refracted light enters the eye of the observer. The observer sees an image of the bottom of the pond somewhere above the ponds bottom. He assumes the image to be the real bottom of the pond. c) So the pond appears to be shallower than it really is.

PHENOMENA THE REFRACTION OF LIGHT

PHENOMENA THE REFRACTION OF LIGHT 2

b)

c)

d)

The drinking straw in the glass of water appears to be bent. When light from the straw travels from the water to the air, light is refracted away from the normal. This light enters the eye of the observer. The observer sees the image of the straw somewhere above the bottom of the glass. This makes the straw appear bent.

PHENOMENA THE REFRACTION OF LIGHT