ASTR 1000 Lecture Notes - Lecture 20: Electric Potential Energy, Refraction
27 Oct 2016
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Velocity of light = speed of light / index of refraction for light. Speed of light = 2. 9979 x 108 m/s. *index of refraction varies with wavelength, which causes colors to separate in a prism (i. e. light of different colors is bent differently) * Matter: why should we care? speed = ~2. 997 x 108 m/s speed = ~2. 249 x 108 m/s speed = ~2 x 108 m/s. Atoms have 3 types of energy: kinetic, mass-energy, electrical potential energy carried by electrons and is released as light. Electrons in an atom only possess specific amounts of energy: ground state electrons with a minimum amount of energy, excited state when electrons gain specific amounts of energy, ionized state if electrons gain too much energy. *different atoms and molecules have different energy levels. By looking at the energy of light received from a substance, people can identify the substance!
