IntroductiontoAstronomy-WeberStatePhysics.pptVIP

Announcements Pick up tests, graded homework I haven’t yet set the point levels needed for various letter grades. 500 points total: 300 from tests, 150 from projects, about 50 from homework Projects are a great way to earn points! Light as a Wave 27 September 2006 Today: Wave nature of light and the electromagnetic spectrum Particle nature of light (“photons”) Spectrum emitted by a thermal source What is light (particles or waves?) “Diffraction” “Diffraction” With light, wavelength determines color White light is a mixture of the visible colors Light also behaves like particles (“photons”) * It behaves like both! Water waves: wavelength Waves can spread out, bend around barriers, and cancel each other out. Light does all these things, so we say it’s a wave, even though we don’t see the waves themselves. To measure wavelength, use a “diffraction grating”: Grating Longer wavelegth implies wider pattern Waves can spread out, bend around barriers, and cancel each other out. Light does all these things, so we say it’s a wave, even though we don’t see the waves themselves. To measure wavelength, use a “diffraction grating”: Grating Most “colors” are invisible to our eyes! microwaves Visible range: 400 nanometers (violet) to 700 nanometers (red) (1 nanometer (nm) = 10–9 meters) A 100-watt bulb emits 3 x 1020 photons per second The energy per photon depends on the wavelength of the light: shorter wavelength (faster “wiggling”) implies higher energy per photon. So a blue photon packs more punch than a red photon; an ultraviolet photon can break molecules apart, and an x-ray photon is still more energetic. ultraviolet blue red infrared highest energy lowest energy *