Light investigation on absorbing, filtering & scattering
Phenomena:
Question:
What are some other behaviors of light? How does it behave when I transmit it through various types of materials?
Some things I'd like to shine (laser) light through would include some of the following substances:
Other questions:
- None at this point yet.
Question:
What are some other behaviors of light? How does it behave when I transmit it through various types of materials?
Some things I'd like to shine (laser) light through would include some of the following substances:
- red, green, blue water or Jell-O
- various colored filters
- clear liquid vs. liquids with semi-dissolved powders (like flour / corn starch) at different levels.
Other questions:
- How many papers does it take to totally eliminate the laser from showing through?
- How effective is light as it transmits through other various materials?
- What kinds of materials does light travel through clearly, semi-clearly and not at all?
Photos of absorption, filtering & scattering
Reflection
Points of interest learned from the lab.
From this lab, we learned that:
Vocabulary Terms
Levels of Materials absorption of light:
Resources:
From this lab, we learned that:
- Light is a wave and behaves like a wave. (As you progress in your learning of physics, you'll learn later about the particle nature of light - but for now, we're keeping it simple).
- In order to see the laser light, you must add small particles into the watery mix which scatters the light. This makes it more translucent than transparent.
- If you put in too much "stuff" it becomes opaque, and light is not able to transmit through.
- Green laser light is still green when filtered
- Red laser light is also still red when filtered.
- However, white light can be filtered to the color of the filter.
- Red lasers transmit through red Jell-O, Green gets absorbed.
Vocabulary Terms
- Transmission: When light goes through the material.
- Emission: The source of light when it is made, and as it goes outward from that source.
- Absorption: When light no longer transmits through the material.
- Filtered: The partial absorption of (certain bands of) light as it is transmitted through a material.
- Scattering: When light goes in different directions after hitting a material substance.
Levels of Materials absorption of light:
- Transparent: When light is not scattered in the medium and there is a clear image seen.
- Translucent: When light is scattered in the medium and light or a fuzzy image is seen.
- Opaque: When light does not go through the material, and an image is not seen.
Resources:
- http://web.mit.edu/knazemi/www/advancedExperiment1.htm
- https://www.kullabs.com/classes/subjects/units/lessons/notes/videoplay/743/2647