How does light travel it travels in a?

One of light’s characteristic properties is that, in a transparent medium like air, glass, or still water, it travels in a straight line. Light exhibits characteristics of both waves and particles, the latter of which are described as packets of energy called photons.

How does light travel when its reflected?

Light reflects from a smooth surface at the same angle as it hits the surface. For a smooth surface, reflected light rays travel in the same direction. For a rough surface, reflected light rays scatter in all directions. This is called diffuse reflection.

How does light happen?

Light is made up of little packets of energy called photons. Most of these photons are produced when the atoms in an object heat up. This extra energy is then released as a photon. The hotter an object gets, the more photons it gives out.

How do you explain light to a child?

Light is a kind of energy The light that we see it simply the one part of the energy that the Sun makes that our eyes can detect. When light travels between two places (from the Sun to the Earth or from a flashlight to the sidewalk in front of you on a dark night), energy makes a journey between those two points.

How does light travel so fast?

Light travels so fast because it has no mass. The particles that make up electromagnetic radiation are called photons. Each photon has a packet or quantum of energy depending on the frequency of the radiation. The photon also has some momentum, but its mass is zero.

How is light a particle?

Light can be described both as a wave and as a particle. There are two experiments in particular that have revealed the dual nature of light. When we’re thinking of light as being made of of particles, these particles are called “photons”. Photons have no mass, and each one carries a specific amount of energy.

What happens to a sphere at 93\% of the speed of light?

Mr Tompkins watches this cyclist at 93\% of the speed of light and sees him as depicted in Figure 1 , contracted in the direction of motion to 37\% of its rest length. Figure 2: A sphere (a) moving at 95\% of the speed of light is contracted to an ellipsoid (b) as a measurement of its shape would show.

Why are objects with a spherical shape always seen as spherical?

It ensures (as can be proved generally) that a sphere with any speed and at any distance is always seen with a spherical outline. In light of this result one might nearly become philosophical. Fast moving objects can only be watched comfortably if the fly-by time is long enough.

What does a moving sphere look like looking at it?

Looking at the moving sphere, one sees it with an exactly circular outline, but rotated (c). Calculated „nonrelativistically“ (i. e. without taking length contraction into account) the moving sphere looks more like a zeppelin (d).

How was the speed of light first determined?

Prior to the 19th and 20th centuries, the speed of light had already been determined. The first recorded measurements were performed by Danish astronomer Ole Rømer, who demonstrated in 1676 using light measurements from Jupiter’s moon Io to show that light travels at a finite speed (rather than instantaneously).