Light Facts PDF

Name: ________________________ 8 Curriculum Connection C2.3 What is Light? Light has no mass and is not considered matter. We can see it, but we can’t feel it. Light is a kind of energy called, “electromagnetic radiation”. It travels in straight lines, called light rays. The light rays we see are on...

Name: ________________________ 8 Curriculum Connection C2.3 What is Light? Light has no mass and is not considered matter. We can see it, but we can’t feel it. Light is a kind of energy called, “electromagnetic radiation”. It travels in straight lines, called light rays. The light rays we see are only a small portion of the types of light that exist. All the light rays are measured on the electromagnetic spectrum, however, the human eye only sees specific areas of the spectrum. Other animals and insects can see other parts of the spectrum that we can’t! How Fast is Light? Light travels SUPER fast – about 300,000km per second! This means light from the Sun takes about 8 minutes to go 149 million kilometres to the Earth. This may seem slow, but this shows you how far the Sun is from the Earth. If you tried to drive to the Sun at 100km/h, it would take you 177 years to get there! Another cool fact is that in one second, light can go around the Earth 7 times! You’ve seen how fast light travels when you turn on a light. You’ve probably noticed that you can’t see the light waves moving. All you see is the room lit up as soon as you flip the switch. Interesting Facts About Light Space does not have any light. We can see things in space because of light from the sun and stars bouncing off objects in space. Infrared light has a wavelength that is too long for the human eye to see Light that we see from the Sun actually left the Sun 8 minutes before we see it Sunlight is powerful! It can penetrate the oceans up to 80 metres deep! Beyond 80 metres, the oceans are dark. © Super Simple Sheets