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Ray Nature Of Light definitions

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Terms in this set (15)

  • Electromagnetic waves
    Waves composed of oscillating electric and magnetic fields, which include light.
  • Wave fronts
    Points of maximum oscillation in a wave, representing peaks of the electric field in light.
  • Rays
    Lines representing the direction of wave propagation, perpendicular to wave fronts.
  • Wavelength
    The distance between consecutive peaks of a wave, crucial for determining wave fronts.
  • Medium
    The substance through which light travels, affecting its speed and direction.
  • Refraction
    The bending of light as it passes from one medium to another.
  • Diffraction
    The spreading of light waves when they encounter an obstacle or opening.
  • Huygens' Principle
    A theory stating that every point on a wave front acts as a source of spherical wavelets.
  • Wavelets
    Small waves produced by points on a wave front, used to determine new wave fronts.
  • Collimated light
    Light whose rays are parallel, indicating uniform direction of wave propagation.
  • Isotropic
    Light that propagates equally in all directions, forming spherical wave fronts.
  • Apex
    The peak point of a wavelet, used to determine the tangent line for new wave fronts.
  • Reflection
    The change in direction of light when it bounces off a surface.
  • Tangent line
    A line that touches the apexes of wavelets, forming the new wave front.
  • Vacuum
    A space devoid of matter, where light can propagate without a medium.