Light Behavior
triangular piece of glass which can split visible white light into rainbow of colors
prism
Radio waves were discovered by Heinrich ___________ in the late 1880's. He honor him by using his last name as a unit of frequency.
Hertz
A scientist famous for his complex equations that explain the behavior of all types of electromagnetic radiation
Maxwell
These are the two types of cells found in the eye that respond to visible light
rods and cones
What are the 2 parts of an electromagnetic wave?
electric field and magnetic field
when light exits a medium and enters a new medium, but the refraction is so much that light can't escape
it is called the _____________ angle
critical angle
long, thin threads of glass which can send information as light
fiber optics
True or False? Mixing paint colors and mixing light colors do NOT follow the same rules.
True, they blend according to different rules
What is the scientific explanation for why the sky appears blue and sunsets appear reddish orange?
the scattering effect of our atmosphere
What is this?
c = 3 x 108 m/s
speed of light
To create a natural rainbow, light enters a raindrop and bends which is called _____________ and then light bounces off the back of the raindrop which is called _____________
refraction, reflection
a single beam of one type of visible light frequency
laser
a device which only allows wavelengths of light in one orientation to pass through, blocking all others
polarizer
the name of the phenomenon where a soapy or oily surface appears to have a rainbow look
thin film interference
Is light a wave or a particle?
It somehow exists as both in a particle-wave duality
light passing right through is called ____________
light passing through but being blurred is called ___________
light prevented from passing through at all is called ___________
transparent , translucent, and opaque
these are two types of mirrors, one is curved outward and one is curved inward
convex mirror and concave mirror
a futuristic 3D image made of light which appears to exist in air
hologram
Our view of the world enters the pupils of our eyes and then is "inverted onto the retina"
What does this mean?
the image is flipped upside down on the back of the eyeball
Light will slow down slightly when it enters a new ____________, such as when it goes from air to glass
medium
In a regular reflection, the image is clear and sharp like a mirror, but a _____________ reflection the image is blurry and distorted
diffuse reflection
an optical instrument which uses lenses to magnify tiny objects we couldn't normally see with the naked eye
microscope
these long distance optical instruments can be constructed as being "reflecting" or "refracting"
telescopes
this word is used to describe optical illusions seen in the natural environment, such as a hot desert highway which seems to have water on its surface, but doesn't
mirage
put in order from highest frequency to lowest frequency:
infrared, gamma, radio, green, x-ray
gamma, x-ray, green, infrared, radio