Turning points(Wave particle)-Newton vs Huygen Flashcards
Describe Newton’s corpuscular theory?
Newton said that light was made up of tiny, weightless particles called corpuscles that travelled in straight lines from the source.He thought these particles were coloured and combined to form whitelight.
What was the difference in the line of motion of light and waves at that time?
Light was known to travel in straight lines, whereas waves were known to bend around objects.
How did Newton explain light being reflected at a plane mirror?
He explained that when the light hit a mirror, the component of velocity parallel to the mirror is unchanged. However, the component of velocity normal to the surface is reversed however the speed remains constant. Therefore, the angle of incidence and angle of reflection is equal.He believed a force was responsible for pushing the particles away from mirror.
How did Newton explain light refracting and travelling faster in glass than air?
He said that an attractive force increased the speed of the corpuscles in the glass.He said that the parallel velocity remains unchanged but the perpendicular component increases.
What was Huygen’s principle?
He stated that each point on a wavefront can be considered to be point source emitting secondary wavelet that spread out in the forward direction at the speed of the wave.The secondary wave front created is the surface at a tangent to these secondary wavelets.
What other pheonoma could Huygen’s principle explain?
He explained that light slows down in denser mediums.And his theory was able to explain the reflection, refraction and diffraction of light.
What was the wave theory of light?
It was that light is a longitudinal wave .
Why was Newton’s theory preferred?
- Reputation of Newton
- Huygen contradicted the polarisation of light.
- No experimental evidence to support Huygen.
- Imagining light as a stream of particles explained refraction and reflection in a better way.
What was the experimental evidence for the corpuscular theory of light?
It was when when light was passed through a glass prism and split light into 7 colours.
Why does light form a shadow as it passes an opaque object?
It is because the light is stopped by the object.The light rays that go around the edge of the object create an outline for the shadow.
