Light My Way Trivia Quiz

Answer: He published a book about how light travels.

The book was called 'Astronomiae pars Optica'. He explained that light travels in straight lines, how it cast shadows, and that it would bend when moved from one substance to another. He is also the person that discovered why near and far sighted people had blurred vision.

Sidenotes:
The hologram wasn't outlined until the 1900's.
The lacemaker's condenser was an invention that used a candle surrounded by globes of water to concentrate light beams for detail work.

Answer: It is the middle of a shadow during solar eclipse.

In the umbra, all of the sun's light is blocked. If you are in the path of the umbra, you will experience a total eclipse. The edges of the shadow are called penumbra. In the path of penumbra, only a partial eclipse will be experienced.

Answer: A dependable way of predicting how far light will bend.

There were other theories before Snell's, but his was the first that was truly reliable. He created a ratio that had to do with the angles of the light beams entering a substance. He also realized different substances would bend light different amounts. He created the refractive index to cover this.

Sidenotes:
E=mc2 is Einstein's Equivalence of Energy and Matter.
'For every action' is Newton's third law of Physics.
Newton and Cassegrain designed some of the first reflecting telescopes.

Answer: A shadow cast on a cloud and surrounded by colored rings.

This phenomenon occurs high in the mountains. When the conditions are right and someone climbs higher than the sun's position, then this trick of light might be witnessed. It is named for the German mountain, Brocken.

Answer: a mixture of many other light colors

The three primaries of light are red, blue, and green. When the primary colors of light are combined equally, white light is the result. Newton wrote all about light in his book, 'Opticks'. He experimented splitting white light into spectrums using prisms.

Answer: True

Light can actually exhibit properties of both particles and waves.

When light is diffracted, or interfered, it splits into waves. There are two types of interference. They are constructive and destructive. If you look at your t-shirt from many different angles it stays the same color. Interference is when the colors seem to shift when viewed from different angles. You can see this on an oil slick, a soap bubble, the back of a CD, or an opal.

Answer: UV has more energy than visible light.

UV actually has some short waves, but they are strong. They are created by very hot things like the sun and other hot stars. They are the reason sunblock is needed outside.

Answer: a laser

Laser is an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation.

Lasers have become a modern precision tool. Their intense light beams always follow a straight line. They are used for everything from cutting steel to reattaching human retinas.

Answer: It is how things that do not give off light are colored.

Here is an example. You are walking through a dewy grass meadow and all around you is green. While you are enjoying the fresh smells and sunshine, this is what is going on around you to make it all so green. The sun is shining light down on the grass. The grass is absorbing the light. It absorbs all the spectrum except for the green. The green is reflected back off of the grass for you to see.

Some substances are very good at light subtraction. These are often used as dyes and inks. Henna, indigo, mauveine, and safflower are all examples of these substances.

Answer: False

Luminiferous ether was a theory supported during the 19th century. Albert Einstein debunked this theory in 1905 with the Special Theory of Relativity. It is now believed that light is capable of traveling through nothing.