Waves can interact with other waves, other objects, or change medium (travel through different substances) When a wave meets a new surface or boundery, the wave reflects When a wave passes the edge of an object or passes through an opening, the wave diffracts When a wave passes from one medium to another at an angle, it will refract
Reflection is the bouncing back of a wave when it hits a surface or boundary that is hard enough that it can t travel through. Examples: water waves bouncing off of a boat, images in a mirror (and glass or very still water), echos. Light obeys the Law of Reflection The angle of incidence will equal the angle of reflection
Flat Surfaces (like mirrors) Every single incident ray will hit at the same angle, and bounce off at the same angle Rough Surfaces (like water or frosted glass) Every single incident ray will hit at a different angle, and scatter when they reflect
Diffraction: When waves pass the edge of an object, or reach an opening, they will bend or spread: spread out as if they were created there (for small openings) bend around the object (when waves pass an edge)
Diffraction: When waves pass the edge of an object, or reach an opening, they will bend or spread: Wind bends around this bottle to blow out the candle
Refraction: The bending of waves when they pass from one medium to the next Occurs when waves reach a new medium (that it can travel through) at an angle. Medium = the material the wave is traveling through Each time a wave reaches a new medium, they are deflected (change direction) as they change speed The pencil looks broken because of refraction: The light traveling to/from the part of the pencil out of the water does not ever change speeds. The light that travels to/from the part of the pencil in the water has to change speeds (and changes angles) as it enters the water. This causes light from each end to reach your eye at different angles.
Different substances have different angles of refraction ie: Waves bend/change directions at different angles when they enter that specific substance This is because waves travel at different speeds in different substances The slower light travels through an object, the more light will bend and change direction when it enters it
White Light and a PRISM White light is made of ROYGBIV, many different wavelengths. It can separate into different wavelengths - Each wavelength slows down at a different rate, separating in the prism to the right A laser and a glass cube Only wavelength, so it can t separate into different wavelengths - That single wavelength slows down in the glass cube to the left
Light slows down when it enters a prism and bends down when it strikes at this angle. Each wavelength of light slows down and bends differently. Violet end slows down more than the red end, so it bends more. When light exits the prism, it speeds back up and bends down again.
Water will do the same thing it will refract light. When light enters water, it will slow down (or bend) This causes objects underwater to appear as if they are somewhere else. The light is tricking your eye.
Water will do the same thing it will refract light.
So this is a polymer ball. Why does it disappear in water? It has the same angle of refraction as water, so the light never changes direction
Sometimes waves will interact with other waves Interference: When several waves are in the same location, they combine to produce a single, new wave that is different than the original wave Once the waves pass through each other, they will return to their original shape and continue on their path. 2 types Constructive (add to each other) Destructive (cancel each other out)
When the CREST of one wave overlaps the CREST of another wave the waves reinforce each other These wave are also called in phase When this happens, the amplitude INCREASES
http://www.acs.psu.edu/drussell/demos/superposition/sup erposition.html
When the CREST of one wave overlaps the TROUGH of another wave, the resulting wave has a SMALLER amplitude than the larger of the two original waves When this happens, the waves can even cancel out These wave are also called out of phase
http://www.kettering.edu/physics/drussell/demos/superposition/su perposition.html
A lens is an optical device with symmetry that transmits AND refracts light We have 2 types of lenses: Convex (converging) and concave (diverging) We can either use: A Simple Lens: one lens Examples: reading glasses, magnifying glass, your retina A Compound Lens: uses more than one lens Examples: telescope, microscope, cameras, etc
Lenses can either be: Convex (converging) OR Concave (diverging)
An eye that can see at 20/20 vision will allow light to focus directly at the back of the retina. If you don t see 20/20, your focal point is not directly on the retina, and you get a blurry image
To correct nearsighted eyes (myopia), you use concave lenses They move the focal point backward To correct farsighted eyes (hyperopia), glasses will be made with convex lenses They move the focal point forward.