Chapter 9: Light - Reflection and Refraction

Vocabulary flashcards covering the nature of light, its propagation, and fundamental optical phenomena described in Chapter 9.

Transparent medium

A medium through which light is transmitted, enabling us to see through it.

Ray of light

The straight-line path of light, often evidenced by the sharp shadow of an opaque object.

Diffraction of light

An effect where light has a tendency to bend around a very small opaque object on its path instead of traveling in a straight line.

Wave theory of light

A treatment of optics used to explain phenomena such as diffraction that cannot be explained using straight-line rays.

Modern quantum theory of light

A theory emerging in the 20th century that reconciles the particle properties of light with its wave nature, stating light is neither solely a 'wave' nor a 'particle'.

Reflection of light

The process by which a highly polished surface, such as a mirror, reflects most of the light falling on it.

Refraction

The bending of light by a medium as it passes through it.

Opaque object

An object that does not allow light to pass through and casts a sharp shadow when placed in the path of a small light source.