Light as a Wave

More Wave Behaviors of Light

Polarization and other behaviors that reveal the transverse nature of light

 

 

Light and wave lesson illustration

Polarization

Name that Wave Behavior

School blocks YouTube? Click Below 

Interference_Patterns

 

Video Instruction

showmethephysics.com

 

 

 

 

Review

Name that Wave Behavior

School blocks YouTube? Click Below 

Interference_Patterns

 

Fill in the Blank Notes

 

Polarization - Filtering of a beam of light producing light that vibrates in only one plane

 

- proves light is a transverse wave
(can have many orientations)

 

 

 

Light and wave lesson illustration


This image has been (or is hereby) released into the public domain
by its author,  Rogilbert  at the French Wikipedia project

 

 

Light and wave lesson illustration

Grandpa John TV

Light and wave lesson illustration

Molecular Expressions

Polarization of Light - F.S.U.

Light and wave lesson illustration

 

 

 

Light and wave lesson illustration  Some sunglasses
are polarized

 

 

 

 

What's wrong with picture?

 

Light and wave lesson illustration

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wavelength of light is too small
to be polarized by a large opening

 

 


 

What does this tell you about the light
 from a computer screen?

LightLaptopYT.mov

Show Me The Physics
YouTube Channel

 

 

LCD projector - Explain this.

 

 

 

Each of the three primary colors has a unique orientation. The filter lets the light through that shares its orientation

 

 

Try this at home!

School blocks YouTube?

Polarized_Sunglasses2.mp4

 

Light and wave lesson illustration

How do make a rainbow disappear

 

Check Your Understanding

5 quick questions — pick an answer to see if you’re right.

1. What is polarization?

2. The fact that light can be polarized proves that light is

3. A picket fence can polarize a wave on a rope but cannot polarize light. Why?

4. Why do polarized sunglasses cut down glare?

5. A laptop screen goes dark when viewed through polarized sunglasses tilted sideways. What does this show?

NYSSLS Regents Practice · Waves · Light Behaviors

The Rainbow on a CD

When white light shines on the surface of a CD or DVD, you see bands of rainbow colors. The disc’s surface has thousands of closely spaced tracks that act like many tiny slits.

Which wave behaviors best explain the colors seen on a CD?

▶ Want a challenge? Open 6 more Regents-style questions  (harder · mixed formats)

Challenge score: 0 / 6

Multiple choice

C1. Why does a soap bubble show swirling colors?

Support or Refute · Justify

C2. A student makes the following claim.

Claim: If a red laser is shone on the CD instead of white light, a full rainbow of colors will still appear.

Place a check mark in either the Support or Refute box. Justify your response.

Substitute values

C3. A DVD player reads the disc with a laser whose wavelength is 6.5 × 10−7 m. Substitute numerical values into a mathematical representation that can be used to determine the frequency of the laser light. Then calculate the frequency.

f = × 108 m/s × 10−7 m = × 1014 Hz
Determine the value

C4. A ray of light strikes the shiny, flat surface of the CD with an angle of incidence of 35°, measured from the normal. Determine the angle between the reflected ray and the surface of the disc.

θ = °
Multiple choice

C5. A DVD stores more data than a CD by using tracks that are closer together, read by a shorter-wavelength laser. Why must the laser’s wavelength be shorter?

Constructed response

C6. Both a glass prism and a CD can separate white light into colors. Compare the wave behavior responsible in each case.

Doppler Effect for Light →