Questions related to the perception and measurement of light (primarily in the visible range), its mathematical description, the reproduction of colors by different means, color combinations, etc. Please use the tag [electromagnetic-radiation] if you want to refer to the general form of light.
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15 views
layered CMOS structure question
I am trying to understand the workings of a CMOS image sensor. I understand that increasing wavelength results in an increased penetration depth in the silicon often used in CMOS image sensors. What ...
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0answers
26 views
Salisbury Screens and Energy Conservation
From Wikipedia on how a Salisbury Screen works:
1. When the radar wave strikes the front surface of the dielectric, it is split into two waves.
2. One wave is reflected from the glossy ...
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0answers
26 views
Color of sky scattering by sky dust [duplicate]
Why does we see sky like blue in maximum time?
We know violet has less wavelength, so we should see sky like violet.
My assumption is that, violet is not primary color and not sufficient in the ...
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0answers
19 views
Specular intensity [closed]
Im currently studying for an exam and have been going through some past papers on the subject, however i have come across a question that has recursively come up each year and the notes on it are not ...
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0answers
32 views
Historical aspect of wave theory of light
Huygens thought light as a wave. Wave is a propagation of physical disturbance. We now know that light is electromagnetic field. Electric and magnetic field fluctuates here. What Huygens really ...
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1answer
45 views
How does gravity effects both time and light if they have no mass [duplicate]
I've been reading about how black holes can effect both time and light with gravity. So I was wondering, doesn't something have to have mass to be effected by gravity? And if so, does this mean both ...
2
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1answer
48 views
Is there a one-to-one relationship between colour theories and our trichromatic vision?
This has started to bug me more and more… it involves:
colour theory
the trichromatic properties of our eyes through cone cells
and light.
Is there a one-to-one relationship between colour ...
5
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2answers
74 views
If light rays obey to the wave equation, why can they be thought as straight lines?
I'm a newbie with physics but I'm wondering how a ray of light can essentially be represented. I have always known that a ray of light proceeds in a straight line until it encounters another object ...
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2answers
45 views
Refraction of light and frequency dependence
Why do higher frequency waves refract more, both ocean waves and light waves? Also why is energy stored in the frequency as opposed to the wavelength.
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2answers
28 views
Penetration of light in the atmosphere
While I was considering an answer to this question, I wondered how much light that enters the atmosphere reaches the ground without colliding with air molecules—if any. I've taken a good bit of ...
28
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5answers
3k views
Why doesn't light kill me?
I was attending my philosophy class and in the middle of student presentations, I found myself mentally wondering off and thinking about light. After a few minutes of trying to piece together how the ...
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1answer
49 views
Optical depth in astrophysics
How can be the exponential decay of the intensity $I$ via the optical depth $\tau$ be derived?
$$I(\tau)=I(0)e^{-\tau} $$
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1answer
28 views
Relationship between photon polarization and photon angular momentum
What direction is the angular momentum of right hand polarized light points to? Is it vertical to its propagating direction? I want to recognize this in quantum theory.
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1answer
50 views
How large of a solar sail would be needed to travel to mars in under a year?
I'm attempting to approach this using the identity
$$F/A = I/c$$
I can solve for Area easily enough
$$A = F(c/I)$$
and I know the distance $d$ is
$$d=1/2(at^2)$$
But I'm having difficulty trying to ...
2
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1answer
30 views
Relation of color and frequency for the visible spectrum
In this question the OP is looking for a way to see light that is outside of the visible spectrum without using electronic sensors. This got me wondering about the visible spectrum itself. Typically ...
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1answer
43 views
Is there a way to see light frequencies invisible to the human eye without the use of electronic sensors?
I wonder if it's possible to be able to see light frequencies that cannot be normally seen by human eye, without using sensors designed specifically for detecting a certain spectrum range, but rather ...
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2answers
73 views
Is light's path a wave?
In a lot of textbooks I see a schematic of light drawn as a squiggly line. I have even heard that some things are too small to be seen because they are smaller than the wavelength of light (and ...
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1answer
36 views
Light-Particle Wave Duality
There is a lot of reading to do on this to fully understand it, but without doing that reading is there a short explanation as to why and how light behaves as a wave and a particle?
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0answers
36 views
Physical Optics [closed]
Monochromatic light is used to illuminate a pair of narrow slits 0.3 mm apart and the interference pattern is observed on a source 0.91 mm away. The second dark band appears 3.0 mm from the center. ...
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1answer
115 views
Why does Lorentz factor not hold for relativistic mass when we apply it to photons? [duplicate]
We know that the photon itself is massless particle $m_0=0$. But we also know, that the mass of the objects does increase with their energy. And we know that under certain circumstances (gravity, ...
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2answers
65 views
Does more reflective aluminum foil make a room cooler compared to less reflective foil?
Aluminum foil is said to be not absorbing light at all.
It reflects light. So, does it mean that a more shiny aluminum foil will reflect more light and thus make the room more cooler as compared to ...
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1answer
28 views
Paraxial rays and marginal rays question
Paraxial rays are found to focus far away the lens whereas marginal rays focus near to the lens, why? I didn't find satisfactory answer in my academic book..
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1answer
82 views
Could the shadow move with faster-than-light speed? [duplicate]
If I make a huge laser with a figure for shadow in front of the laser, and I shine it on to the moon, will I see the light from the laser AND the shadow moving the same speed? (I read somewhere the ...
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0answers
14 views
Minimum thickness of bubble ensuring max reflectance
A soap bubble has index of refraction of 1.33. What minimum thickness of this bubble will ensure max reflectance of normally incident 530 nm light?
Ans is 99.6, but how do I get that?
I am ...
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2answers
92 views
Keep the light beam in a closed room, is it possible? [duplicate]
I mean if I am in a room totally closed to light. If I switch on a torch for a second then switch it off. So will the inside of room be always bright?
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2answers
51 views
How does one subtract two light beams?
From what I understand, it seems like you can only "add" beams together. You can use a beam combiner, basically using a beam splitter in reverse, to combine two beams. In homodyne detection, you use a ...
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2answers
50 views
Selectively visible laser beam with a controllable means
How can parts of a laser beam be made visible while others left invisible using something electronically controllable (for example, another laser beam crossing it, or a magnetic field, or heat, etc).
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0answers
9 views
Why are trichromat cone cells unable to sense ultraviolet and infrared radiation? [migrated]
I understand that cone cells vary in the color they sense, is this because of wavelength, frequency, something else, or a combination of the previous? I also understand that tetrachromats can see an ...
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1answer
35 views
Color of a Metal's Threshold Wavelength?
How do I find the color of the threshold wavelength if the metal has a threshold wavelength of $\mathrm{6.5\times 10^{-7}m}$? I know that converts down to $\mathrm{650\ nm}$, but can I still use the ...
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2answers
160 views
Light Ray Reflection from concave mirror
Suppose a ray of light hits a concave mirror and is parallel to principle axis but far away from it such that it doesn't follow paraxial ray approximation. Will it pass through focus or between focus ...
1
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2answers
46 views
Light bulbs, Wattage meaning? [closed]
Light bulbs, Wattage meaning?
Two incandescent bulbs (120 V, 25 Watt) and (120 V, 500 Watt) connected to the same batteries.
Which one shines brighter? And why?
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2answers
140 views
Relativistic Doppler effect derivation
This is about a step in a derivation of the expression for the relativistic Doppler effect.
Consider a source receding from an observer at a velocity $v$ along the line joining the two. Light is ...
4
votes
1answer
110 views
Young's double slit experiment viva question
My professor asked me (in my viva exam), "If, in the Fraunhofer single slit diffraction experiment, if we have 2 slits instead of one (at very short distances), What would happen?"
I answered with ...
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1answer
34 views
Can the choice of reflection angle for light can be derived from a minimality condition?
When the light hits on a surface, it reflects with the "same" angle as the one that hits the surface. I was wondering if this choice of angle can be explained by a minimality condition?
4
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2answers
57 views
Attenuation mass-thickness for sunset light
We are able to look directly at the sun near sunset and sunrise, which clearly demonstrates the fact that our atmosphere attenuates visible light. Let's imagine it follows the typical attenuation ...
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1answer
73 views
Can you “fold” EM or light waves? (i.e) long wave that is reflected by mirror in fragments - like in the game “Snake”
So, I was reading about the Casimir effect. Two mirrors facing each other attract to each other in a vacuum. The reason is due to pressure exerted on those mirrors from the multitude of EM waves (like ...
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2answers
61 views
Speed and transparency of light
I have been puzzled with a fact that as an object moves faster, it ceases its property of opacity. I mean to say that as an object moves faster we can see right through it (more clearly than in a ...
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1answer
61 views
How do we know that light is massless? [duplicate]
Almost everybody knows that light is massless. But where this come from and how it can be proven (experimentally or theoretically)? I actually found this article which explains and calculates the mass ...
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3answers
144 views
If photons can be absorbed by electrons, wouldn't that mean light has a charge? [duplicate]
I am a biochemistry and molecular biology major. If photons can be absorbed by electrons, wouldn't that mean light has a charge? Electrons only attract positive charges. Isn't it?
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1answer
53 views
How to calculate beam spread of a non-point light source via an aspheric lens
I need to determine the angle, or rate of divergence of light from a single aspheric lens when I place a non-point light source (e.g. LED array) at a given distance from the lens which is less than ...
2
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2answers
104 views
why does a mirror show what is in front of it?
the only answer I can think of is that light is reflected from the objects in front of the mirror (visible color) and then reflects again off of the mirror to our eye, but im not quite satified with ...
4
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2answers
162 views
Can a dot of light travel faster than the speed of light? [duplicate]
Say I have a laser. If I spin the laser so that the beam sweeps in an arc along a very distant object, could that dot travel faster than the speed of light?
In Diagram form:
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0answers
26 views
Interference of 2 slit experiment when glass is put infront of 1 slit (+0.5 lambda optical path)
The question and answer is given in the image below:
I don't really understand how to work this out myself. How do I relate $+\frac{1}{2} \lambda$ to (phase difference) $\Delta\Phi = \pi$
UPDATE
...
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2answers
103 views
Seeing colors: photons vs waves
As an atmospheric physics major I am familiar with electromagnetic radiation in the atmosphere and what dictates what wavelength objects will emit at. When observing radiation in the atmosphere it is ...
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6answers
135 views
Is black hole bright at center?
As we know that light photon cannot escape the gravity of black hole so I was thinking that if that is the surface of the black hole would be bright as all the photons would be there only. Am I right ...
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2answers
99 views
Why don't you see multiple images of an object?
Consider the ray model of light. Let's say an object such as a pencil is illuminated, and consider one point on that pencil. Since there could be many rays of light bouncing off the same point on the ...
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1answer
68 views
Does a quadrupole transition mean emission of one photon with spin 2?
If it's true and spin-2 photons do exist, could you please point to some literature that discusses spin-2 photons?
If not, then how exactly does a selection rule for quadrupole transition make sense ...
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3answers
89 views
Special Relativity - speed of light question
Just a basic question:
I know that if you are traveling at $x$ speed the time will pass for you slower than to an observer that is relatively stopped. That's all just because a photon released at the ...
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2answers
177 views
Are there “gaps” in light, or will it hit everywhere?
Not sure how to word my question.
Picture a light source in vacuum, so nothing disturbs the light (or similar conditions), 2d.
If I move very, very far away, will it happen that some of the light ...
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1answer
32 views
william herschel discovering infrared problem
when william herschel conducted the experiment of separating white light with a prism and measuring the different colors, he put a thermometer past the red color as a control finding it to pick up the ...
