4. Introduction
Dual nature of light
1) Particle nature – The fact that a small source of light casts a sharp shadow of an
opaque object points to this straight-line path of light, usually indicated as a ray of
light.
2) Wave Nature- If an opaque object on the path of light becomes very small, light has
a tendency to bend around it and not walk in a straight line – an effect known as the
diffraction of light. Then the straight-line treatment of optics using rays fails. To
explain phenomena such as diffraction, light is thought of as a wave, the details of
which you will study in higher classes. Again, at the beginning of the 20th century, it
became known that the wave theory of light often becomes inadequate for
treatment of the interaction of light with matter, and light often behaves somewhat
like a stream of particles. This confusion about the true nature of light continued for
some years till a modern quantum theory of light emerged in which light is neither a
‘wave’ nor a ‘particle’ – the new theory reconciles the particle properties of light with
the wave nature. 4
5. Light is a form of
energy which helps
us to see objects.
When light falls on
objects, it reflects
the light, and when
the
reflected light
reaches our eyes
then we see the
objects.
LIGH
T
6. Reflection- When light falls on a highly polished surface like a mirror most of
the light is sent back into the same medium. This process is called reflection of light.
Presentation title 6
Laws of reflection of light :-
i) The angle of incidence
is equal to the angle of
reflection.
ii) The incident ray, the
reflected ray, and the
normal to the mirror at
the point of incidence all
lie in the same plane.
7. Reflection through plane mirror -
Presentation title 7
i) The image is erect.
ii) The image is same size as the
object.
iii) The image is at the same
distance from the mirror as the
object is in
front of it.
iv) The image is virtual (cannot
be obtained on a screen).
v) The image is laterally inverted.
