The Light energy or Light energy Refers to the energy that is transported through the light waves.
Light is made up of light waves, a type of electromagnetic waves that are emitted by hot objects like light bulbs or like the sun. In turn, these waves are formed by photons, which are small packets of energy.
When the atoms that make up an object heat up, its electrons become excited and as a result produce additional energy.
This energy is released in the form of photons. Thanks to this phenomenon, when an object is heated photons are produced, which will increase as the object warms up more.
Light waves are the material object that travels more quickly: the speed of light is about 300,000 kilometers per second in the vacuum.
You may be interested The 10 Most Outstanding Light Features .
The properties of light energy
Refraction
Refraction refers to the change in the movement of light when the medium in which it moves changes.
The light energy can be moved through different media such as air, water and even vacuum, varying its speed in each of these media.
This property can be observed through the human eye and explains many everyday phenomena, such as the flickering of stars.
In the universe, the light moves in the void, so when it enters the Earth's atmosphere, it changes media. In this change, the light waves change of speed and undergo the refraction, for that reason the flicker that is observed from the earth takes place.
Reflection
Reflection refers to the change in direction of the light waves when they collide with an object and bounce. This property is very important, because thanks to the reflection of the light it is possible to observe those objects that do not have their own light.
This property can be checked daily, for example, when turning off the lamp of a room. All objects cease to be visible because the light stops reflecting in them.
Diffraction
The diffraction refers to the change in the direction of the light waves when they find an obstacle or when they cross a slit. They also occur in sound waves or in fluids.
This property is applied in the operation of the lenses of the cameras. The light waves enter through a small hole and the diffraction property causes them to be dispersed inside the chamber.
Interference
Interference occurs when two or more waves coincide and their effects are added together. These effects can be constructive or destructive according to the point of the wave where they are.
Constructive interference occurs when the light waves are at the points where the two crests coincide, thus adding up the wave frequencies.
For its part, destructive interference occurs when a valley with a ridge coincides. In this case the amplitudes are subtracted and may disappear completely.
The importance of light energy
Light energy plays a fundamental role in the development of different natural and artificial processes that are used in different fields.
Photosynthesis
The photosynthesis Is one of the most important functions that light energy fulfills in nature. In this process, plants transform the energy of the sun into food for plants and in turn produce the oxygen that gives life to other living things.
On the other hand, light is an important source of vitamins for humans. Thanks to the light energy, photobiogenesis is produced, a process in which vitamin D is generated, necessary for the development of the bones of human beings.
The vision
Living organisms can see objects around them thanks to the eyes, but the eyes work thanks to the light. The light waves stimulate the eyes so that they perceive the images when the light falls on her and the information is sent to the brain.
Therefore, the light energy is fundamental in the vision of the human being and of all the living animals.
Colors
The colors that are perceived through the eyes are also possible thanks to the light energy. The light is made up of different spectra and each of them can be perceived through a different color.
The mixture of all the colors of the spectrum produces the white light and in turn, the white light is divided in all the colors of the spectrum through the phenomenon of the dispersion.
This is a phenomenon that can be observed daily in the rainbow. This occurs when white light is dispersed through small drops of water present in the air after the rain.
The electromagnetic spectrum
There are different Types of electromagnetic radiation And the light is just one of them. In addition to light waves, the electromagnetic spectrum is made up of radio and television waves.
In turn, there are different types of light waves. Each wave has a different length and this determines its characteristics.
The longer the wavelength, the lower the amount of light energy it carries. On the contrary, when the waves are short and tight, they carry a greater amount of energy.
Electromagnetic spectrum
Smaller wavelengths are known as gamma rays, followed by X-rays and ultraviolet rays. These are the ones that carry more energy, therefore, although they can not be captured by the human eye, they can penetrate the skin.
This poses a great danger to human health. When these rays penetrate the skin, they can affect the DNA of the cells, with negative effects on the organism.
The longest light waves are the infrared rays. These are the ones that carry less amount of light energy and are not visible to the human eye.
Between the ultraviolet rays and the infrared rays, there are a series of waves of intermediate length that are the only ones that can be perceived by the human eye. These waves are known as"visible light".
References
- Boundless. (S.F.). Introduction to Light Energy. Retrieved from boundless.com.
- Byjus. (2016). Light Energy. Retrieved from byjus.com.
- New World Encyclopedia. (S.F.). Light. Retrieved from newworldencyclopedia.org.
- Stark, G. (2017). Light. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved from britannica.com.
- What is light energy. (S.F.). Light energy. Recovered from whatislightenergy.com.