Understanding Light Waves

Light and Waves

Light is all around us. It's how we see things, and its properties can fascinate people of all ages who want to understand it better. In this guide, we will cover some basic principles of light as a wave, including reflection, refraction, polarization, and how frequencies and amplitudes play into these phenomena. We'll also explore what happens when light hits different surfaces, such as mirrors, and why its speed changes based on materials.

Reflection

Reflective surfaces like mirrors send back incoming light to where it came from. When light bounces off a mirror, it reverses direction without changing speed. This behavior is called reflection. Mirror reflections stay upright because they reflect the light rays straight back, just like a tennis ball machine sends balls upward.

Refraction

When light passes through transparent objects, sometimes the path it takes changes. This change in direction is known as refraction, and it's due to the change in the speed of light through different materials. For example, if you look at a pencil lying flat on a table, the top half appears blurry because the light has bent while traveling through the air above the pencil to your eye.

Polarization

Polarized light is light whose vibrations happen only in one plane. Imagine taking a flashlight and only shining it in one direction: polari