Behavior of light

2. Opaque- no light passes through; absorbs and
reflects light
Translucent- allows some light to pass through;
cannot clearly see through the material
Transparent- can see clearly through the
material

3. Law of reflection- light reflecting off of a
surface will reflect at the same angle that it
came in at.

4. Smooth, even surface reflect light better than
rough, uneven surfaces.

5. Mirror images- a reflection of the image, but
will be reflected back opposite
Image outside the mirror is the real image, one
in the mirror is the reflected image

6. Bending of light due to a change in the speed
because of the materials that the light is
passing through.

7. Refracts light and projects a color
The bending breaks the waves into the
different colors
Rain droplets can also diffused the light into
different colors (Rainbows)

9. Each color has a different wavelength
The color you see is the color that is being
reflected back to you, the other colors are
being absorbed
Black absorbs all colors, white reflects
Filters- the color of the filter is the color of the
light that it transmits

10. Seeing color begins with the eye
Light enters through the retina and is focused
on the retina, the rods and cones take in the
light and send impulses to the brain
Rods- most effective in the day and are used
for distinguishing colors and shapes
Cones- used for nighttime vision and are
sensitive to dim light

11. Color Blindness- one or more sets of your
cones do not function properly
Most are red/green color blind (cones either
detect reds, greens or blues)

13. Primary colors (of pigment)- red, blue and
yellow
Other colors are a mixture of pigments
PRIMARY COLORS OF LIGHT- red, blue and
green

15. Incandescent Light- heat a piece of metal until it
glows; small wire coil (filament) inside usually made of
tungsten
Also gives off thermal energy
Fluorescent lights- filled with gas at low pressure,
inside coated with phosphors that emit light when they
absorb UV radiation, electrodes at each end that
absorb electrons, electrons collide with the gases to
produce UV radiation

16. Neon lights- glass tubes filled with gas
molecules, electric current causes collisions
that produce visible light
Neon only lights up red, other gases are used
to produce the other colors

17. Sodium vapor lights- street lights, inside is a
tube filled with neon, argon and sodium metal,
the gas mixture gets hot when turned on, the
sodium turns to vapor which is a yellow color.
Lasers- numerous light waves at the same
energy and wavelength are emitted at the same
time