# Tag Info

• 41.8k
Accepted

### Failure of Newton's corpuscular theory and success of photon theory of light

The corpuscular theory was opposed to the wave theory, and was rejected when diffraction experiments confirmed the wave theory. The blackbody spectrum also confirmed the wave theory at low frequencies,...
• 4,176

### How does light from distant galaxies reach us?

It is dampened and lost on its way here by clouds of dust, and by interacting with certain gaseous chemical compounds in deep space (see lyman-alpha forest). The galaxies we can see from far, far away ...
• 73.8k
Accepted

### Why is it so dark during a solar eclipse?

Right after you see the sun disappearing below the horizon, the air above you is still illuminated and scatters light back to the ground. That is why it is not completely dark during dusk. During a ...
• 471

### Can you actually stand inside a rainbow? I see people claiming you can

A rainbow is formed by the reflection and refraction of light from the Sun by water droplets. This is illustrated in the diagram below. The process by which this happens is fairly involved and there ...
• 78.1k

### How does light from distant galaxies reach us?

I suppose that the background of your question is that in our daily experience waves do die down when they travel far. We can overhear a conversation only from so far, waves in a pond have limited ...

### Can you actually stand inside a rainbow? I see people claiming you can

In a sense, you can. Though that might not mean quite what you think it does. It is a bit like standing in the beam of a flashlight. The video you linked shows this happening - Drove Through the End ...
• 27.2k

### Why doesn't a light ray bend again when emerging from a lens?

That diagram shows what's called the "thin lens" approximation. In real life, lenses have thickness, and light rays get refracted both when entering and exiting the material. But in practice,...
• 543

### If light propagates like waves, why can't I see around corners?

Light traveling in straight lines is an approximation that works very well most of the time. The most common case where it fails is when light travels through a pinhole or slit. Then it bends a little....
• 27.2k