Light Optics
It allows us to see our own reflections, sends phone calls across the globe, and brings all the brilliant colours of the rainbow into our eyes. Join Bill Nye the Science Guy as we bend, bounce, and absorb the incredible waves of light!
Illuminate Your Mind!
It gets absorbed and turns into heat! Dark colours absorb almost all the light waves that hit them, trapping the energy inside. White objects, on the other hand, reflect the light back out.
The light slows down and bends! When light waves travel from the thin air into the denser water, they slow down and change direction. Scientists call this physical bending refraction!
Put Your Instincts to the Test
Think about how light waves interact with different materials. Pick an answer for each question, then see if your instincts were right.
The glass traps the infrared heat inside! The clear glass lets visible light in so the plants can grow, but it completely blocks the long infrared heat waves from escaping back out!
In completely straight lines! Unless a light wave hits a new material, bounces off a mirror, or is pulled by immense gravity, it will travel in a perfectly straight line forever.
It absorbs all colours except red, which bounces back! Pure white light contains the entire visible spectrum. The paint absorbs the blue, green, and yellow waves, reflecting only the red waves back into our eyes.
Understanding the Science
Tap each card to uncover the spectacular physics of how light waves travel and interact with the world around us.
Key Concepts
Reflection
Tap to learn moreWhen light waves hit a smooth surface like a mirror and bounce off at the exact same angle they came in.
Refraction
Tap to learn moreThe physical bending of light waves as they slow down while passing through denser materials like water or glass.
Absorption
Tap to learn moreWhen light waves hit a dark object, trapping the energy entirely and preventing it from bouncing back into our eyes.
Concave Lens
Tap to learn moreA curved piece of glass that caves inward in the middle, making objects look much smaller and further away.
Convex Lens
Tap to learn moreA curved piece of glass that bulges outward in the middle, magnifying objects to make them look much larger.
Internal Reflection
Tap to learn moreWhen light becomes completely trapped inside a clear material, bouncing off the inside walls without escaping.
Fibre Optics
Tap to learn moreIncredibly thin strands of glass that use internal reflection to transmit computer data and phone calls at the speed of light.
Visible Spectrum
Tap to learn moreThe complete rainbow of brilliant colours that are hidden entirely inside a single beam of pure white light.
Try It: The Super Complex Laser Maze
Step into the high tech testing chamber!
The Mission: You must arrange the flat mirrors to guide the straight laser beam around the massive black barricades and into the sensor. The laser will fire red, but it will power up to brilliant yellow when you establish a successful connection!
Please drag the flat mirrors from the bottom tray onto the white grid points to navigate the maze.
Apply Your Knowledge
Let us see if you can correctly identify how different optical tools manipulate waves of light in the real world.
Match the Concepts
Click an optical object to select it, then click the matching light behaviour to place it.
Real World Challenge
Bill Nye the Science Guy shows how red objects absorb every colour except red, which bounces back to our eyes. Based on this logic, explain exactly what happens to the light waves when you look at a bright green leaf growing on a tree!
What Has Changed Since This Episode Aired
This episode originally aired in 1994. While the core physics of light remain perfectly accurate, our modern technology to bend, bounce, and capture these waves has advanced exponentially.
Updated: Medical optics have advanced incredibly! Today, doctors use highly advanced robotic arms guided by high definition fibre optic cameras to perform completely precise, life saving surgeries on the human heart and brain without ever making large incisions.
Updated: Today, massive bundles of these glass fibre optic cables stretch all the way across the bottoms of the oceans! They connect entire continents together, allowing the entire globe to access the high speed internet in mere milliseconds.
Test Your Understanding
Answer these questions and get instant feedback. How many can you get right?
Results
Your score:
Reflection
If you were trapped on a desert island and only had a magnifying glass, how could you use your knowledge of convex lenses and focal points to start a campfire using nothing but dry leaves and sunlight?
Episode Discussion
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