LIGHT
Light is what we see. It can be thought of either as a particle, (the photon), or as a wave. The photon we can easily think of as a small dot travelling through space at the speed of light. Each photon has a particular colour or energy. But how do we think of light as a wave? For this we need to know that light is also an "Electro-magnetic field" -- a combination of electric-field and magnetic-field -- the same thing that causes static electricity and magnets to attract (or repel) things. Light is just another way that this "field" is experienced. A light wave is an oscillating electro-magnetic field - just like a water wave is water with an oscillating surface. Photons are bosons, and have a quantum spin of 1. Light has the properties of both particle and waves. If we look for photons we will find them, but if we look for wave -like properties we can see them too. However, we cannot see both particle and wave properties at the same time. It is often useful to confine light in an optical-cavity. This allows us both to make more intense light, as well as select light of a particular colour (or energy). ¨ Light travels at a speed of 2.99792458x10^{8} ms^{-1} ¨ When passing though matter, light is slowed down by
the waves spread out on the other side of the slit. When the two waves overlap, they interfere with each other. the unique nature of light: light has the properties of both a wave and a In modern physics, light or electromagnetic radiation may be viewed in one of two complementary ways: as a wave in an abstract electromagnetic field, or as a stream of massless particles called photons. Although either is an acceptable description of light, for our purposes in introductory astronomy the wave description will be more useful. behavior that Young observed. When the light waves pass through the slit, designed specifically to settle the debate over the nature of light once and c = 3 x 1010 cm/second
Some common words found in the essay are:
, Light Wave, Max Planck's, Despite Young's, light wave, light particle, speed light, nature light, light behaves particle, explained light wave, thinking light particle, light properties, slit waves, explained light, particle wave, beam light, called photons, particular colour energy,
Approximate Word count = 827
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
|