Light

What is light?
• Light is a form of energy which produces the sensation of sight in our eyes.
• It travels in waves, like ripples in water.
• It does not need a material medium to move through – it can travel through empty
space.
• Light travels in a straight line.
 What makes things visible?
• Our eyes alone do not allow us to see. Light from a source falls on an object and
then bounces off onto our eyes and that is how we see it.
 Plane mirror

• A plane mirror is a special type of mirror that

possesses a flat and smooth surface.

• This mirror is made by depositing a thin layer

of reflective material, like silver or aluminum,
onto one side of a flat glass pane.
 Reflection of light

• When light falls on a polished or shiny surface it changes its direction. This is called
as reflection of light.
 Laws of Reflection of light
• A ray of light which falls on the mirror is called incident ray.
• The ray of light which bounces back after reflection is called reflected ray.
• An imaginary line perpendicular to the reflecting surface at the point of incidence is
known as the normal.
• The angle of incidence (∠i) is the angle between the incident ray and the normal,
while the angle of reflection (∠r) is the angle between the reflected ray and the
normal.
 Laws of Reflection of light
1. The angle of incidence (∠i) is always equal to the angle of reflection (∠r), meaning
∠i = ∠r.
2. The incident ray, the reflected ray, and the normal all lie on the same plane.
 Image formation by a plane mirror
• Image is virtual (not real),it cannot be caught on a screen and erect.
• Image formed is of same size behind the mirror.
• The image formed is at the same distance behind the mirror as the object is in front of it.
• The image is laterally inverted, that is, the right appears as the left side of the image.
 Regular and diffused reflection
Regular reflection
When the reflecting surface is very well polished and smooth, the light that falls on it is
evenly reflected in only one direction. This phenomenon is known as regular reflection.

Diffused reflection
If the reflecting surface is irregular, the ray of light that falls on it are scattered in all
directions. This is called irregular or diffused reflection.
 Luminous and Non-Luminous objects

Luminous : Objects which emit light of their own. Eg: Sun, Bulb, Candle, Fire.
Illuminated or Non-luminous :Objects that do not emit their own light but instead
reflect light from luminous sources, making them visible to our eyes. Eg: the moon,
blue sky, clouds, trees, cars, and tables.
 Reflected light can be reflected again

Multiple reflections can be obtained by placing more than one mirrors at certain angles
to each other which results in reflection of light for multiple times between the
reflecting surfaces.
 Periscope
• A periscope is an instrument that allow someone to view
objects that are not in their direct line of sight.
• It works on the phenomena of multiple reflection.
• It's commonly used in submarines, armored vehicles, and
even in some sports events.
 Kaleidoscope
• A kaleidoscope is a decorative device that uses multiple
reflections to create intricate and colorful patterns.

• Inside a kaleidoscope, there are usually three mirrors

arranged in a triangular formation.
 Sunlight -White Or Coloured?
• The sunlight is white in color however this white light consists of sever colours namely
VIBGYOR.
• This arrangement of seven colours of a white light is called as spectrum.
• The phenomenon of splitting of light into its constituents is called dispersion of light.
Examples of dispersion of light

Oil spilled on the road

Human Eye
 Human Eye
• Cornea: The transparent outer layer of the eye, the cornea, helps to protects the eye.
• Iris : It is coloured part of an eye. The iris has a hole at its center which is called pupil.
• Iris regulates the amount of light entering the eye by adjusting the size of the pupil.
• Pupil: Light enters into eye through the pupil.

• In dim light, the pupil gets enlarged and thus lets more light enter the eye. In bright
light, the pupil contracts.
 Human Eye
• Eye lens: it is transparent, muscular convex lens. It is placed behind the pupil. Lens
focuses light at the back that is on retina.
• Ciliary muscles: hold the eye –lens in position. It helps to adjust the thickness of the
lens.
• Retina: It is a screen of eye where image is formed. It consists of nerve cells, cone cells
and rod cells.
 Human Eye
• Retina: It consists of two types of cells:
a) Cone cells: these cells respond to colors. These cells are effective in presence of
light.
b) Rod cells: these cells respond to intensity of light. These cells are sensitive to dim
light.
 Human Eye
• Owl can see very well in the night. It has a large cornea and a large pupil to allow
more light in its eyes. Its retina has a large number of rods but only a few cones.

• The day birds (like kite, eagle) have more cone cells compared to rod cells. Thus, they
can see very well during the day.

More rod cells More cone cells

Large pupil and cornea
 Human Eye
• Optic nerve: Sensations felt by the nerve cells of the retina are transmitted to the
brain through the optic nerves.
• Blind spot: At the junction of the optic nerve and the retina, there are no rods and
cones. So, no vision is possible at that spot. This spot is called blind spot.
Human Eye
 Working of Human Eye
• When light coming from an object enters the eye through the cornea and pupil.
• The eye lens converges these light rays to form a real, inverted and diminished (very small)
image of the object on the retina.
• The light sensitive cells of the retina get activated; they then generate electrical signals. These
electric signals are sent to the brain by the optic nerves. The brain interprets the electrical
signals in such a way that we see an image which is erect and of the same size as the object.
 Persistence of vision
• The image that is formed on the retina persists for 1/16th of a second.
• If still images of a moving object are flashed on the eye at a rate faster than 16 second,
then the eye perceives this object as moving.
• The movies that we see actually are made up of separate pictures in proper sequence.
The successive impression of the images on the eye retina appear to blend, or merge,
smoothly into one another. We, therefore, 'see' a moving picture.
 Some Important Points
• Animals have eyes shaped in different ways.
• Eyes of a crab are quite small but enable the crab to look around.
• Whereas butterflies have large eyes that seem to be made up of thousands of little eyes. They
can see not only in front and sides but towards the back as well.
 Human eye
• Eye is such a wonderful instrument that it can clearly see distant objects as well as
objects nearby. The minimum distance at which the eye can see objects is 25 cm.
• Range of normal vision: The distance between infinity and 25 cm is called the range of
normal vision. The most comfortable distance at which one can read with a normal eye is
about 25 cm.
 Care of the eyes
•
 Visually impaired
• Visual impaired persons have very limited vision to see things.
• A person with vision loss cannot see at all. A visually challenged person usually
develops their other senses more sharply-like sense of hearing, sense of touch.
 Optical aids

Optical aids

Aids relating to sight

Contact lens

Bifocal lens

Magnifier

Telescopic aids
 Non-optical aids
Non-Optical aids

Aids not relating to sight

Auditory aid

Tactual aids

Electronic aids
 Braille system
• Braille: Louis Braille developed a system for visually challenged persons who was
himself a visually challenged person.
• Braille is a tactual aid. Braille system has 63 dot patterns or characters.
• These patterns when embossed on Braille sheets help visually challenged persons to
recognize words by touching.
• There is a braille code for common languages, mathematics and scientific notations.