Physics of Light: Understanding Electromagnetic Waves

Luminescent light is light that is not created by heat, whereas incandescent light is light that is created by heat. An example of luminescent light is a glowing sticker, and an example of incandescent light is a light bulb.

The longer the wavelength of an electromagnetic wave, the lower the frequency and energy, and conversely, the shorter the wavelength, the higher the frequency and energy.

Huygens proposed that light behaves like waves, Newton proposed that light behaves like particles, and Young proved the wave-particle duality of light through the double slit experiment.

A crest is the top of a wave, amplitude is the distance between the crest and the middle line, wavelength is the distance between two neighboring crests, and frequency is the number of waves that pass by every second, measured in Hertz (Hz).

When light interacts with a transparent object, all light passes through, with a translucent object, some light can pass through, and with an opaque object, no light can pass through, and instead is reflected.

A convex mirror bulges out, a concave mirror caves in, and a plane mirror is flat. When light rays hit a convex mirror, they diverge, making the image appear smaller, when they hit a concave mirror, they converge, making the image appear larger, and when they hit a plane mirror, they come straight back.

The primary condition for the formation of an image is the convergence of light rays, which occurs at the focal point.

Specular reflection occurs when light reflects off a smooth surface, resulting in a mirror-like reflection. Diffuse reflection occurs when light reflects off a rough surface, causing light to scatter in different directions. An example of specular reflection is a mirror, and an example of diffuse reflection is a rough wall.

The Tyndall Effect is the scattering of light by a medium containing small particles, such as when a beam of light passes through chalk. This scattering occurs when light reflects off the uneven surface of the particles.

Light with higher frequencies and energy, such as blue and violet, scatter more than light with lower frequencies and energy. This is why the sky appears blue, as the shorter wavelengths of blue and violet light are scattered more by the particles in the atmosphere.

A real image is formed when the focal point is in front of the convex lens, and a virtual image is formed when the focal point is behind the lens. This is determined by the location of the focal point on a ray diagram.

Dispersion of light is the splitting of white light into its spectrum of colors (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet) when passed through a prism. This occurs because each color has a different wavelength and is refracted at a different angle.