8 J
Summary Sheets
Light
Light travels in straight lines from a source. Light travels as transverse waves. It travels much
faster than sound, and does not need a substance to travel through.
Light travels through transparent objects but not through opaque objects. Shadows are made
when light is blocked by an object. Opaque objects block all light. Translucent objects allow some
light to pass through, but it is scattered so you do not see a clear image.
Transmission and absorption
Transparent materials let light pass straight through. We say they transmit light. Opaque surfaces
can absorb or reflect light. White surfaces reflect most of the light that hits them. Black surfaces
absorb light very well and reflect very little. This is why they look so dark.
Reflection
Light rays are scattered by
rough surfaces (diffuse
reflection), which means that
you cannot see an image in an
object with a rough surface.
Mirrors and shiny materials
such as polished metals reflect
light evenly. This is called
specular reflection. The
angle of incidence (i) is equal
to the angle of reflection (r) –
this is known as the law of
reflection. Angles are
measured between the light
rays and the normal (a line
drawn at right angles to the
reflecting surface).
You can see an image in a
mirror because the reflected
rays of light appear to come
from a point behind the mirror.
The image in a plane mirror is the same size as the object, and the same distance away from the
mirror. In the image, left becomes right and right becomes left.
Refraction
When light hits something transparent it changes speed and direction. This is called refraction.
Refraction takes place at the interface between two substances. When light is transmitted through
glass it slows down and changes direction towards the normal. When it travels back out it speeds
up again and changes direction away from the normal.
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8 J
Summary Sheets
Lenses are curved pieces of glass or transparent plastic that are designed to refract light in
particular ways. Converging lenses make rays of light come together. The focal point of a lens is
the point where parallel rays of light are brought together by the lens, and the focal length is the
distance of this point from the centre of the lens.
Lenses are used in cameras, microscopes and telescopes.
Cameras and eyes
Rod cells in our retinas detect faint light but not colours and cone cells detect the primary colours
of red, blue and green. We see combinations of primary colours as secondary colours (magenta,
cyan and yellow).
Colour
White light is a mixture of colours. White light can be split up using a prism to give a spectrum of
seven colours (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet). The splitting of colour into a
spectrum is called dispersion.
We are able to see colours because objects do not reflect all the colours in light. White objects
reflect all the colours, but a red object only reflects red and all other colours are absorbed. This
idea applies to all colours except black – black objects absorb all colours.
Filters are used to make coloured light. They transmit one of the colours in white light and let the
other colours through. If you look at a coloured object in coloured light, its colour may appear to be
different.
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