Light Flashcards
(11 cards)
What is the EM spectrum
The EM spectrum (Electro-magnetic radiation) contains waves, that travel at the speed of light and do not require mediums
What are EM waves?
EM waves are transverse waves
What are EM waves made up of?
Em waves are made up of an electric field and a magnetic field
Describe the electromagnetic spectrum
The electromagnetic spectrum consists of different waves and colours. Starting from the left all the way to the colour red is all the safe EM waves, while from red to purple are all the visible colours to the human eye. Onwards from purple, continuing to go right, the EM waves get progressively more dangerous, with the most dangerous EM wave being gamma rays.
What do concave mirrors do to light?
Concave mirrors direct all the light to meet at one point (and then the rays of light continue to move).
What do convex mirrors do to light?
Convex mirrors scatter the light in different directions when it hits the mirror.
What happens when light travels through different mediums of different densities?
The light slows down or speeds up depending on the medium. The denser the medium is the slower it gets, while the lighter the medium is the faster the light travels.
What is Reflection?
Reflection is when the light “bounces back” due to an object such as a mirror.
What is refraction?
Refraction is the angle change from the normal (or the speed at which the light rays are travelling at). This is due to the change of mediums.
What is absorption?
Absorption is how much colour or which colours of light are absorbed in an object. Colour absorption allows us to see different colours. e.g If you see black that means all the colours or multiple are being absorped, while white means none are being absorped, or very little.
What is total internal reflection?
Total internal reflection occurs when light is reflected back in the same medium and does not pass through to the second medium. It’s basically trapped so it reflects back into the same medium is was “shooting out of with its rays”
