Light can be either a wave or a particle, but not both at the same time. Which one it is will depend on what it’s doing. In this section, you’ll be able to figure out how intensity (how bright), frequency (wavelength), polarization (the direction of the electric field), and phase (time shift) all affect the kind of light you see and don’t see. Most light isn’t detectable by the human eye, which makes studying light more like investigating a crime scene. You’ll quickly be puzzling the pieces together to explain why pencils in a glass of water appear broken, why light beams can fry an egg, and how to build a telescope.


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