AY 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Diffraction, Reflecting Telescope, Segmented Mirror
20 Sep 2017
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Document Summary
Light: light is a form of radiative energy, light provides our only means of learning about very distant objects, white optical light is made up of many different colors extend concept to all forms of light. Color and reflection: objects appear to have certain colors because their surface preferentially reflects certain colors, while absorbing other colors, but there is more to light than the human eye can see. Go back: optical light is just one small part of the em spectrum that our eyes are sensitive to all travel as an electromagnetic wave. Wave: a wave is a pattern of motion that can carry energy without carrying matter along with it. Properties of waves: wavelength is the distance between two wave peaks, frequency is the number of times per second that a wave vibrates up and down, wavelength x frequency = wave speed. Wavelength and frequency of light: wavelength x frequency = speed of light = constant.
