Characteristics of Light

Have you ever wondered how you can see things with your eyes?

When light from the sun hits an object like a rose, the light that hits the rose bounces back to your eyes. When your eyes sense the light, it is transmitted to your eyes’ optic nerve. The optic nerve is the part of your eyes that sends to your brain messages about the rose you saw. Your brain then gives you information about the rose. Your eyes do not just let you see the rose, but also help you to see the rose’s color. If the rose you saw is red, it is this color that the sun’s light will bring back to your eyes.

Why do some objects appear to have colors like brown, yellow, or green? A brown vase appears brown because when light from the sun strikes it, the sun’s light brings its brown color back to your eyes.

Light Bends

Do you know what happens when light passes through air and water?

Put a drinking straw into a glass of water. How does the straw look in the glass of water? Doesn’t it look bent or broken?

When light travels from air to water, the movement of light slows down. This makes the straw look bent or broken. This bending of light is called refraction.