What Produces The Light?

Light is a form of electromagnetic radiation that is visible to the human eye. Electromagnetic radiation consists of oscillating electric and magnetic fields that propagate through space carrying energy. The visible light spectrum is the portion of the full electromagnetic spectrum that can be detected by the human eye. It spans wavelengths from approximately 400 to 700 nanometers.

Visible light enables us to see the world around us. The color we perceive depends on the wavelength of the light. Shorter wavelengths are perceived as violet and blue light while longer wavelengths appear as orange and red. When all wavelengths of visible light are combined, they make white light. By understanding the properties of visible light and how it interacts with matter, we gain insight into many natural phenomena around us.

Table of Contents

Properties of Light

Light is a complex phenomenon that exhibits properties of both waves and particles. Some key properties of light include:

Speed – Light travels at a constant speed of about 300,000,000 meters per second in a vacuum. This speed, commonly known as the speed of light and denoted by c, is one of the fundamental constants of nature.

Wavelength – The wavelength of light is the distance between consecutive peaks or troughs in a light wave. Wavelengths are typically measured in nanometers (nm) and determine the color of visible light. Longer wavelengths are red, while shorter wavelengths are violet.

Frequency – The frequency describes how many waves pass a point per second. Light frequency is measured in Hertz (Hz). Higher frequency light has more energy. Visible light ranges from 430–750 THz.

Energy – Light energy is directly proportional to its frequency, described by Planck’s equation (E=hf). Higher frequency light has higher photon energies. Ultraviolet light has enough energy to ionize atoms.

Electromagnetic Spectrum – Visible light makes up a small portion of the entire electromagnetic spectrum, which extends from radio waves to gamma rays. Light’s properties situate it between microwaves and infrared radiation on the spectrum.

Light Sources

Light comes from various natural and artificial sources. The main natural light source on Earth is the Sun. The Sun emits an enormous amount of electromagnetic radiation, including visible light, infrared light, ultraviolet light, and radio waves. Without the light from the Sun, there would be no light on Earth at all. Other natural light sources in space include stars, which are distant suns, as well as nebulas and supernovas. Here on Earth, other natural sources of light include lightning, volcanoes, natural fires caused by lightning or lava flows, and bioluminescent organisms like fireflies, glowworms, and certain deep sea creatures that can produce their own light through chemical reactions.

Humans have also developed many artificial light sources. In ancient times, humans used fires and torches as artificial light sources. Candles were developed during the first century AD and were a common portable artificial light source until about the 1800s. In the early 19th century, gas lights were developed, followed by electric lights in the late 1800s. Some early electric lights were arc lamps and incandescent bulbs with glowing filaments. Modern electric lights come in all kinds of forms including fluorescent tubes, compact fluorescent bulbs, halogen lamps, and light-emitting diodes (LEDs). LEDs are increasingly being used for lighting due to their energy efficiency, long lifetime, durability, and compact size.

Whether natural or artificial, most sources of light work by converting some form of energy into electromagnetic radiation that our eyes can detect. So in summary, light comes from diverse sources ranging from the fusion reactions inside stars to the electrical current running through an LED bulb.

How Light is Produced

Light is a form of electromagnetic radiation that is visible to human eyes. When atoms or molecules in a substance absorb energy, usually in the form of electricity or heat, their electrons move to a higher energy state and become “excited”. When these excited electrons return to their normal or “ground” state, the excess energy is released in the form of photons. Photons are particles representing a quantum, or fixed amount, of light energy. The color or wavelength of the released photon depends on the amount of excess energy – the greater the energy, the shorter the wavelength.

For example, in a fluorescent light bulb, electricity excites the mercury vapor atoms inside the tube. When the electrons return to their ground state, ultraviolet photons are emitted. The UV light is absorbed by the white phosphor coating inside the bulb, exciting its electrons, which then release lower energy photons in the visible light spectrum, producing bright white light.

In LED lights, electricity flows through a semiconductor, exciting electrons, which release photons when returning to their ground state. The color of the photons depends on the type of semiconductor material used. So in summary, light arises due to the excitation and subsequent release of photons when electrons transition between different energy levels in atoms and molecules.

Reflection of Light

When a beam of light hits a surface, it bounces off or is reflected at an angle equal to the angle at which it hit the surface. This is known as the law of reflection. For example, if a beam of light hits a mirror at a 30° angle relative to the normal (perpendicular line), it will reflect off at 30° on the opposite side of the normal. The angle at which the light beam hits the surface is called the angle of incidence, while the angle at which it reflects off is called the angle of reflection.

The reason light reflects in this way has to do with how the energy carried by the light wave interacts with the atoms in the surface it hits. The oscillating electromagnetic field of the light exerts forces on the electrons in the atoms, causing them to oscillate as well. These oscillating electrons then emit their own electromagnetic waves that travel in the reflected direction.

Reflection can occur whenever light moves from one medium to another where its speed changes. Common examples are reflection off mirrors, polished metals, still water, and other shiny surfaces. Diffuse reflection occurs when light reflects off a rough surface, scattering the beam in many directions. The law of reflection still applies to each point on the surface, but the overall effect is that the light is reflected in many angles rather than just one.

Understanding the reflection of light helps explain phenomena like glare, shininess, and the formation of images in mirrors. It is a fundamental property of light that reveals the wave nature of electromagnetic radiation.

Refraction of Light

Refraction refers to the bending of light waves as they pass at an angle from one medium to another. This bending occurs because light travels at different speeds in different materials. As light enters a material at an angle, one side of the wavefront slows down before the other side, changing the direction of the wave.

The amount of refraction depends on the indices of refraction of the two materials. The index of refraction is a measure of how much light is slowed down as it travels through a material. When light goes from a material with a lower index of refraction to a higher one, it bends towards the normal line, which is perpendicular to the surface. When it goes from higher to lower, it bends away from the normal line.

For example, light moves slower in water than air. So when light in air hits water, it bends towards the normal line. The amount of bending, or angle of refraction, can be predicted using Snell’s law. This law mathematically relates the angles of incidence and refraction to the refractive indices of the two materials.

Refraction is responsible for a variety of optical phenomena. When light passes from air into glass, refraction causes lenses to focus light. It also causes the bending of light that makes mirages appear in deserts or on roads on hot days. And it disperses white light into rainbows when it passes through a prism. Understanding the refraction of light helps physicists apply it in optics and electronics.

Diffraction and Interference

Diffraction refers to the bending of light waves around obstacles or openings, while interference is the superposition of two waves that results in a new wave pattern. Though light travels in straight lines, under certain circumstances light can diffract or interfere, producing results that seem counterintuitive.

A common demonstration of diffraction is a single slit experiment, where light passes through a narrow opening. Instead of creating a simple line of light on the other side, a spreading diffraction pattern is formed. This occurs because the slit causes each point on the wavefront to act as a source of smaller wavelets. On the other side of the slit, the wavelets overlap and interfere both constructively and destructively. This produces the light and dark banding pattern characteristic of diffraction.

Diffraction also enables light to bend around corners in a phenomenon known as diffracted wavefronts. Obstacles like walls or pillars that are on the scale of wavelengths result in “shadow regions” where diffraction allows light to reach. This effect is more noticeable with longer wavelength light like sound rather than visible light. But it demonstrates that diffraction allows light to deviate from straight line propagation.

Interference occurs when two or more light waves are superimposed. Where the waves constructively interfere, they combine to produce bright bands. Where they destructively interfere, they cancel out to produce dark bands. This wave interference results in a distinctive interferogram pattern. Interference effects are what produce the iridescent colors seen on soap bubbles or oil slicks.

So while diffraction and interference may seem counterintuitive, they are natural results of light’s wavelike properties. Under the right circumstances, light can bend around corners or interfere with itself in seemingly impossible ways.

Color Perception

Light has different wavelengths, which our eyes perceive as different colors. The visible spectrum of light ranges from violet light with the shortest wavelengths to red light with the longest wavelengths. White light is a mixture of all wavelengths in the visible spectrum.

Our eyes have special receptor cells in the retina called cones that are sensitive to different wavelengths and allow us to see color. There are three types of cones – S cones, M cones and L cones. S cones are most sensitive to short wavelengths of light, seeing blues. M cones are most sensitive to medium wavelengths, seeing greens. L cones are sensitive to longer red wavelengths.

When light hits an object, some wavelengths are absorbed while others are reflected. The wavelengths that are reflected determine what color our eyes perceive the object to be. For example, a banana appears yellow because it absorbs blue and red light, while reflecting wavelengths near the green-yellow part of the spectrum.

Rods are another type of receptor cell in the retina, but they are not involved in color vision. Rods allow us to see in low light conditions, but they cannot distinguish between wavelengths. Cones allow color vision, but require brighter light to function.

The combination of signals from the three cone types allows us to perceive the full spectrum of colors. If there is an issue with any of the cone types, it can cause color blindness or color vision deficiency.

Other Properties

In addition to reflection, refraction, and diffraction, light exhibits other interesting and useful properties.

One is polarization. Normal light consists of waves oscillating in all orientations, but polarization filters can block waves except those oscillating in a certain direction. Polarizing sunglasses use this to cut glare. Polarizers are also used in photography and LCD displays.

Another property is coherence. Laser light is coherent, meaning the waves are synchronized and travel in phase. This allows laser light to produce interference patterns and travel long distances without dispersing.

Light also produces shadows by blocking light rays. The shape and sharpness of a shadow depends on the light source size and how collimated the rays are. Point light sources produce sharper shadows than extended sources.

Understanding these additional properties of light allows us to harness it in useful ways, from reducing glare to encoding information for fiber optic communication.

Conclusion: We Can Perceive a Small Portion of the Electromagnetic Spectrum as Visible Light

In summary, there are many fascinating properties to light beyond what our eyes can detect. Light behaves as both a particle and a wave, allowing it to be reflected, refracted, diffracted and interfere with itself under different conditions. While our eyes only see a small sliver of the electromagnetic spectrum as visible light from violet to red wavelengths, light carries energy in the form of photons across a broad range of wavelengths from radio waves to gamma rays.

Key takeaways include:

Light is part of the electromagnetic spectrum, covering radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, x-rays and gamma rays.
Visible light that humans can see ranges from violet (shorter 400nm wavelength) to red (longer 700nm wavelength).

Light energy equals Planck’s constant times frequency of the wave.
Light can act as both a particle (photon) and a wave.
Properties like reflection, refraction, diffraction and interference emerge from light’s dual wave-particle nature.

Understanding the origins and characteristics of light, both visible and invisible, serves as the basis for many technologies in optics, electronics, medicine, communications and more. Our comprehension of light continues to evolve along with new discoveries and innovations.