Light Waves

Light/Electromagnetic Waves

Waves that can travel through the emptiness of space, at the speed of light

Crest

The highest point of a wave

Trough

The lowest point of a wave

Wavelength

How long the wave is. The distance from the "crest" (top) of one wave to the crest of the next wave is the wavelength

Amplitude

the absolute value of the maximum displacement from a zero value during one period of an oscillation

Frequency

the number of cycles or completed alternations per unit time of a wave or oscillation

Visible Light- ROYGBIV

the segment of the electromagnetic spectrum that the human eye can view

Prism

a transparent solid body, often having triangular bases, used for dispersing light into a spectrum or for reflecting rays of light.

Spectroscope

an optical device for producing and observing a spectrum of light or radiation from any source, consisting essentially of a slit through which the radiation passes, a collimating lens, and an Amici prism.

Medium

an intervening substance, as air, through which a force acts or an effect is produced.

Reflection

the act of reflecting, as in casting back a light or heat, mirroring, or giving back or showing an image; the state of being reflected in this way.

Refraction

the change of direction of a ray of light, sound, heat, or the like, in passing obliquely from one medium into another in which its wave velocity is different.

Angle of Reflection

the angle that a ray of light or the like, reflected from a surface, makes with a normal to the surface at the point of reflection.

Angle of Incidence

the angle that a straight line, ray of light, etc., meeting a surface, makes with a normal to the surface at the point of meeting

Law of Reflection

the principle that when a ray of light, radar pulse, or the like, is reflected from a smooth surface the angle of reflection is equal to the angle of incidence, and the incident ray, the reflected ray, and the normal to the surface at the point of incidence all lie in the same plane.

Total Internal Reflection

the complete reflection of a light ray at the boundary of two media, when the ray is in the medium with greater refractive index