Visible light

• What is visible light?

  Em waves that can be detected by the human eye
• What happens to light when it is incident on (arrives and hits) an object?

  It can be absorbed , reflected or transmitted
• What is specular reflection?

  Reflection by a smooth surface in a single direction
• What is diffuse reflection?

  Reflection from a rough surface, where the light is scattered
• What does specular reflection produce?

  An image
• All objects are either transparent, translucent or opaque. What does transparent mean?

  The object transmits light coherently (the light rays do not get jumbled up) so the objects on the other side can be seen clearly
• All objects are either transparent, translucent or opaque. What does translucent mean?

  The object transmits light, but the rays are scattered so cannot be seen clearly through e.g. frosted glass
• All objects are either transparent, translucent or opaque. What does opaque mean?

  The object either reflects or absorbs all light incident on them so no light passes through them