Light
What exactly is light? Well we all know it comes in many different forms such as the sun which is a luminous light, incandescent lights such as electric light bulbs and bio luminescent lights like glow worms, fire flies and angle fish. Most people describe light as a 'ray' and light has many properties such as:
Reflection:
Reflection is when a ray of light strikes a smooth surface, for example a mirror, and bounces off. The reflected ray comes off the surface at an angle equal to the one at which the incoming ray hit the surface. In physics this is known as the law of reflection. The law states that: 'The angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection'. When light hits a mirror all of the light is reflected this is why you can see yourself.
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Diffusion:
Diffusion is when ray of light hits a rough surface and the incoming light reflects at all different angles because of the uneven surface. This can also be known as scattering. An example of this occurring is on the surface of paper. Paper is a rough surface and when light hits it the waves are reflected in all directions. Because of this paper is very useful as you can read the words on a printed page regardless of the angle at which your eyes view it.
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Refraction:
Refraction is when a ray of light passes form one transparent medium to another. For example from air to water. When this occurs the light changes speed and the ray bends either toward or away from what we call the normal line. This line is an imaginary straight line that runs perpendicular to the surface of the object. The amount the light wave bends or angle of refraction depends on how much the material slows down the light.
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