Light & sound

optics & waves

studies light, sound, and energy movement.

light

for of energy that travels in waves

light

act as particle and wave

light (photons) and matter (electrons) act both waves and particles depending on how you test them.

what is wave-particle duality

light as a wave

made of changing electric and magnetic fields that move through space at a constant speed without needing any physical material or medium to carry them.

wavelength

frequency

speed

inverse relationship

properties of a wave

wavelength

The distance between two peaks (crests) of a

wave.

frequency

how many crests past a point in one second

measured in Hertz

speed

all light waves travel at the exact same top speed of about 300,000 kilometers per second (3 × 10^8 m/s)

inverse relationship

short wavelengths have high frequencies, while waves with long wavelengths have low frequencies.

v = λf

formula for light as a wave

light as a particle

light behaves as a particle (photons) and have discrete amount of energy proportional to its frequency

E = hf

formula for light as a particle

6.626 × 10^-34 Js

plancks constant

max planck

discovered quanta

made wave-particle duality

quanta

energy is emitted in discrete packets called

reflection & refraction

govern how we see objects and how optical devices work.

reflection

light bounces off a surface

refraction

bending of light caused by change of wave speed

willebrord snell

discovered refraction

sound waves

mechanical waves that travel through air, water, eme

doppler effect

change in frequency or pitch of a wave when the source and the observer move closer together or further apart.