Properties of Light and Electromagnetic Waves

These flashcards cover key terminology and concepts related to the properties of light, its behavior, and related phenomena.

Photon

A tiny package of energy that has no mass and carries a fixed amount of energy.

Speed of light

The speed at which light travels in a vacuum, approximately 300,000,000 meters per second (300,000 km/s).

Luminous

An object that emits its own light.

Non-luminous

An object that does not emit its own light but reflects light.

Opaque

A material that does not allow light to pass through.

Transparent

A material that allows light to pass through without significant scattering.

Translucent

A material that allows some light to pass through, but not enough to see clearly.

Reflection

The bouncing back of light rays when they hit a surface.

Scattering

The process by which light is forced to deviate from a straight path due to irregularities in the medium.

Electromagnetic Spectrum

The range of all types of electromagnetic radiation, including visible light, radio waves, X-rays, and others.

Wavelength

The distance travelled by a wave during one complete oscillation.

Frequency

The number of oscillations made by the wave in one second.

Amplitude

The maximum displacement of the wave from its mean or equilibrium position.

Refraction

The bending of light as it passes from one medium to another with a different density.

White light

A mixture of all the colors of the visible spectrum.

Primary colors of light

The colors red, green, and blue, which can be combined to create other colors.

Color filter

A device that allows only certain colors of light to pass through.

Cyan

A color made by mixing green and blue light.

Magenta

A color made by mixing red and blue light.

Rainbow

A spectrum of colors appearing in the sky after rain, caused by the refraction, dispersion, and reflection of light.

Visible spectrum

The portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that is visible to the human eye, approximately 400 to 700 nm.