Light

Light is one of the most important sources for biological organisms (including us!) for information about the world. Although we think we understand light, the closer we look at it the more complex it seems. Three models of light have been developed and all continue to be useful in particular circumstances, depending on the system we are looking at, the scale, and what we want to do. 

To understand the context and motivation for the chapter, see the following page:

• Overview: Three models of light

Here's the full Table of Contents of the chapter. The notation "(EX)" means that there is a worked example attached to that page. The notation "{WO}" means there is an activity (a Workout) attached to that page, usually one that involves working with a simulation.

• The ray model of light
  • Flat mirrors  (EX,WO)
  • Curved mirrors
    • Curved mirror equations (EX, WO)
  • Lenses
    • Lens equations

• The wave model of light
  • Electromagnetic radiation -- Maxwell's rainbow
  • Huygens' principle
    • Huygens' principle -- the math
    • How Huygens gets reflection and refraction (technical)
  • Two-slit interference  (WO)
  • Diffraction
    • Interference from two wide slits (WO)
• The photon model of light
  • Basic principles of the photon model (WO)
  • Black-body radiation
  • Fluorescence
  • Reconciling the wave and photon models - sort of
  • The photon model today
• Color and light
  • Visual implications of color