INTRODUCTION LIGHT

Light of Class 9
Light is a form of electromagnetic energy that causes the sensation of vision.

NATURE OF LIGHT
The study of light is called optics and is classified in the following ways:

OPTICS

It is the branch of physics that deals with the study of light. It is mainly divided into three parts:

 Geometrical optics or optics: Geometrical optics, or ray optics, describes light propagation in
terms of “rays”.
 Wave or physical optics: It is concerned with nature of light and deals with interference,
diffraction and polarization. Wave motion is easily visualized in terms of water waves— such
as those created on A quiet pond by a bobbing cork. The successive high points (crests) and
low points (troughs) occur as a train of circular waves moving radially outward from the
bobbing cork. Each of the circular waves represents a wave front. A wave front is defined here
as a locus of points that connect identical wave displacements—that is, identical positions
above or below the normal surface of the quiet pond.
 Quantum optics: It deals with the interaction of light with the atomic entities of matter such as
Photo Electric effect, atomic excitation etc. Light propagating in avacuum has its energy and
momentum quantized according to an integer number of particles known as photons. Quantum optics
studies the nature and effects of light as quantized photons.

PARTICLE THEORY OF LIGHT: Newton said that light travels in space with a great speed as
a stream of very small particles called corpuscles. This theory failed to explain the interference
of light as well as the diffraction of light. So a wave theory of light was accepted. Many known
properties of light could be explained easily by a particle model.

For example, it was known that when light reflects from a smooth surface, the angle of
incidence is equal to the angle of reflection.

This is also how an elastic, frictionless ball bounces from a smooth surface.

WAVE THEORY OF LIGHT

According to the wave theory, light consists of electromagnetic waves. The light waves travel with a
very high speed of 3 × 10 8 m/s in vacuum. The wavelength of visible light waves lies between 4 × 10
– 7 m to 8 × 10 – 7 m. The phenomenon of diffraction (bending of light around the corners of tiny
objects) interference and polarization of light can only be explained if the light is considered to be of
wave nature.

Around the same time, as Newton formulated his corpuscles' theory, his contemporary Huygen
formulated the wave theory of light. The predominant model of wave propagation upto the end of the
19th century was modulations in some medium, therefore a medium called ether was hypothesized
for waves of light to be produced due to vibrations of the particles of ether. The necessity of
hypothesizing ether which is different than any material medium known to us, arises because light
travels through empty space for example from sun and stars as well as dense objects like glass,
diamond etc.

MODERN QUANTUM THEORY OF LIGHT

Quantum theory tells us that both light and matter consist of tiny particles which have wave-like
properties associated with them. Light is composed of particles called photons, and matteris
composed of particles called electrons, protons, neutrons. It's only when the mass of a particle gets
small enough that its wave like properties show up.
To help understand all this let's look at how light behaves as a wave and as a particle.

Wave-like Behavior of Light

When light falls on the surface of metals like Caesium, Potassium, etc., Electrons are thrown out.
These electrons are called ‘photo-electrons’ and the phenomenon is called ‘photo-electric effect.’

This was explained by Einstein. According to Planck, light consisted of packets or quanta of energy
called photons. Plank also studied this problem much earlier and constructed a mathematical model,
according to which light consists of packets or quantas of energy. Einestein explained this later in
1905. He named a quantum of energy as ‘Photon’. The rest mass of photon is zero. Each quanta
carries energy E= hv.

v → Planck’s constant = 6.6 × 10 -34 J-s.

v → frequency of light

Einstein’s photo-electric equation is h(v-v0) = 1/2 mv2 max

hνo = amount of energy spent in ejecting and electron out of metal surface.

V max = maximum velocity of the ejected electron.

Some phenomenon’s like interference of light, and diffraction of light are explained with the help of
wave theory but wave theory failed to explain the photoelectric effect. It was explained with the help
of quantum theory. So, light has dual nature.

(i) Particle nature (ii) Wave nature

ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES

Light, microwaves, x-rays, and TV and radio transmissions are all kinds of electromagnetic waves.
They are all the same kind of wavy disturbance that repeats itself over a distance called the
wavelength.

The waves which do not require a material medium for their propagation are known as
electromagnetic waves. e.g. All light waves are electromagnetic waves.

SOURCE OF LIGHT:

A body that emits light in all directions is said to be the source of light. The source can be a point
source one or an extended one. The sources of light are of two types:

 Luminous source: Any object that by itself emits light is called as a luminous source. e.g. Sun
and Stars (natural Luminous sources), Electric lamps, Candles and Lanterns (artificial
luminous sources).
 Non-luminous source: Those objects which do not emit light but become visible when light
from luminous objects falls on them and they reflect it back. They are called non-luminous. e.g.
Moon, Planets (natural non-luminous sources), Wood, Table (artificial non-luminous sources).

TYPES OF MEDIUM:

When light falls on a medium, it can be treated in three ways.

A medium is a substance through which light propagates or tries to do so. Based on this interaction
mediums are classified into three categories.

 Transparent: The medium which allows most of the light to pass through it is called a
transparent medium. e.g. Air, Water, Glass etc.
  Translucent: The medium which allows only a part of the light to pass through it is called a
translucent medium. e.g. Paper, Ground glass etc.
 Opaque: The medium which does not allow any light to pass through it is called opaque
medium. e.g. Wood, Bricks, Metals etc.

RAY:

A ray of light is the straight line path along which the light travels. It is represented by an arrow head

on a straight line . The direction of the arrow gives the direction of propagation of
light.Imagining light as a ray makes it easy to describe, with great accuracy, three well-known
phenomena: reflection, refraction and scattering. Let's take a second to discuss each one.

BEAM OF LIGHT

A light beam or beam of light is a directional projection of light energy radiating from a light
source.Sunlight forms a light beam(a sunbeam) when filtered through media such as clouds,foliage,
or windows.

A group of parallel rays is called a beam of light. It is also called a pencil of light.

A pencil of light or a beam of light may be of three types.

 Convergent Pencil of light

 Divergent Pencil of light
 Parallel Pencil of light

Convergent Pencil of light

Convergent Pencil is also known as convergent beam of light. In this case, as the beam of light
progresses the rays converge to a point.

Or

A convergent Pencil is that in which rays of light propogate to meet at a particular point say O as
shown in the figure.
Convergent Pencil of light

The diameter of the pencil goes on decreasing as the rays proceed forward.

Divergent Pencil of light

A divergent pencil is also known as a divergent beam of light. Here, as the beam of light progresses,
the rays diverge from each other.

Or

A divergent pencil is that in which rays of light come out of a point source such that the diameter of
the pencil goes on increasing as the rays proceed forward, as shown in the figure.

Divergent Pencil of light

Parallel Pencil of light

A parallel pencil is that in which all the rays move parallel to one another. The diameter of the pencil
remains constant throughout as shown in figure 3.

Parallel Pencil of light

BEHAVIOUR OF LIGHT AT THE INTERFACE OF TWO MEDIA:

When light traveling in one medium falls on the surface of a second medium the following three
effects may occur:

(i) A part of the incident light is turned back into the first medium. This process is called the reflection
of light.
(ii) A part of the incident light is transmitted into the second medium along a changed direction. This is
called refraction of light.

(iii) The remaining third part of light energy is absorbed by the second medium. This is called
absorption of light.

We can understand all three behavior as

Light in Medicine
Even though man is now very efficient at making artificial light, the sun is still the major source
of light in the world. The sun is both beneficial and hazardous to our health.
Light has some interesting properties, many of which are used in medicine: -

1. The speed of light changes when it goes from material into another. The ratio of the speed of
light in a vacuum to its speed in a given material is called the index of refraction. If a light beam
meets a new material at an angle other than perpendicular, it bends, or is refracted. This
property permits light to be focused and is the reason we can read and see objects clearly.

2. Light behaves both as a wave and as a particle. As a wave it produces interference and
diffraction, which are of minor importance in medicine. As a particle it can be absorbed by a
single molecule. When a light photon is absorbed its energy is used in various ways. It can
cause a chemical change in the molecule that in turn can cause an electrical change. This is
basically what happens when a light photon is absorbed in one of the sensitive cells of the retina
(the light-sensitive part of the eye). The chemical change in a particular point of the retina
triggers an electrical signal to the brain to inform it that a light photon has been absorbed at that
point.

3. When light is absorbed, its energy generally appears as heat. This property is the basic for the
use in medicine of IR light to heat tissues. Also, the heat produced by laser beams is used to
"weld" a detached retina to the back of the eyeball and to coagulate small blood vessels in the
retina.

4. Sometimes when photon is absorbed, a lower energy light photon is emitted. This property is
known as fluorescence. The amount of fluorescence and the color of the emitted light depend on
the wavelength of the UV light and on the chemical composition of the material that is
fluorescing.
One way fluorescence is used in medicine is in the detection of porphyria, a condition in which
the teeth fluoresce red when irradiated with UV light. Another important application is in
fluorescent microscopes.

5. Light is reflected to some extent from all surfaces. There are two types of reflection. Diffuse
reflection occurs when rough surfaces scatter the light in many directions. Specular reflection is
more useful type of reflection; it is obtained from very smooth shiny surfaces such as mirrors
where the light is reflected at an angle that is equal to the angle at which it strikes the surface.
Mirrors are used in many medical instruments.

Measurement of light and its units

The three general categories of light-UV, visible, and IR-are defined in terms of their
wavelengths. Wavelengths of light used to be measured in microns (1μ=10-6m) or in angstroms
(1Å=10-10m), but at present the recommended unit is the nanometer (1nm=10-9m). Ultraviolet
light has wavelengths from about 100 to 400 nm; visible light extends from about 400 to 700
nm; and IR light extents from about 700 to over 104nm.Visible light is measured in photometric
units that relate to how light is seen by the average human eye.

Applications of visible light in medicine

An obvious use of visible light in medicine is to permit the physician to obtain visual
information about the patient regarding, for example, the color of his skin and the presence of
abnormal structures in or on his body.
Applications of visible light in medicine are:-

1) The ophthalmoscope for looking into the eyes.

2) The otoscope for looking into the ears.
3) Endoscopes are used for viewing internal body cavities. Special purpose endoscopes are
often given names indicating their purpose.

A-cystoscopes are used to examine the bladder.

B- proctoscopes are used for examining the rectum.

C-bronchoscopes are used for examining the air passages into the lungs.

Types of endoscopes are:-

 Rigid endoscopes, rigid tubes with a light source to illuminate the area of interest. Many of
them are equipped with optical attachments to magnify the tissues being studied.
 Flexible endoscopes, the development of fiberoptic techniques permitted the construction of
flexible endoscopes; it can be used to obtain information from regions of the body that
cannot be examined with rigid endoscopes, such as the small intestine and much of the large
intestine. Some flexible endoscopes are over a meter in length. The image obtained with a
flexible endoscope is not as good as that obtained with a rigid endoscope, but often the only
alternative to a flexible endoscopic examination is exploratory surgery.

Flexible endoscopes usually have an opening

or channel that permits the physician to take
samples of the tissues (biopsies) for later
microscopic examination.
Since light contains energy that largely appears as heat when it is absorbed, there is a limit on
the amount of light that can be used in endoscopy. For endoscopy, the heating can be reduced
by reducing the IR light from the source with special IR absorbing glass filters.

In this cold-light endoscopy the light source contains very little IR radiation and the heating of
tissues is minimized.

4) Transillumination is the transmission of light through the tissues of the body. Most of us
have at one time or another shone a flashlight through our fingers to see the red glow that is
produced. The glow is primarily red because most of the other colors in the beam are absorbed
by the red blood cells; the red light is the only important component that is transmitted.

Transillumination is used clinically in the detection of:-

A-Hydrocephalus (water-head) in infants. Since the skull of young infants is not fully calcified,
light is able to penetrate to the inside of the skull; if there is an excess of relatively clear
cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the skull, light is scattered to different parts of the skull producing
patterns characteristic of hydrocephalus.

B- pneumothorax (collapsed lung) in infants. The bright light penetrates the thin front chest
wall and reflects off the back chest wall to indicate the degree of pneumothorax.

The physician can then insert a needle attached to a syringe into the
area of collapse to remove the air between the lung and chest wall,
causing the lung to reinflate.

5) Visible light has an important therapeutic use. Since light is a form of energy and is
selectively absorbed in certain molecules, it should not be surprising that it can cause important
physiological effects. Many premature infants have jaundice, a condition in which an excess of
bilirubin is excreted by the liver into the blood. Relatively recently (1958) it was discovered that
most premature infants recover from jaundice if their bodies are exposed to visible light
(phototherapy).

Applications of ultraviolet and infrared light in medicine

The wavelengths adjacent to the visible spectrum also have important uses in medicine.
Ultraviolet photons have energies greater than visible photons, while IR photons have lower
energies. Because of their higher energies, UV photons are more useful than IR photons.

Uses of ultraviolet light:-

1) Ultraviolet light with wavelengths below about 290nm is germicidal-that is, it can kill germs-

and it is sometimes used to sterilize medical instruments.

2) Ultraviolet light also produces more reactions in the skin than visible light. Some of these
reactions are beneficial, One of the major beneficial effects of UV light from the sun is the
conversion of molecular products in the skin into vitamin D. Dermatologists have also found
that UV light improves certain skin conditions.

Effects of UV light:-

 Ultraviolet light from the sun affects the melanin in the skin to cause tanning. However, UV
light can produce sunburn as well as tan the skin.
 Solar UV light is also the major cause of skin cancer in humans. The high incidence of skin
cancer among people, who have been exposed to the sun a great deal. The UV wavelengths
that produce sunburn are also very well absorbed by the DNA in the cells. Skin cancer
usually appears on those portions of the body that have received the most sunlight, such as
the tip of the nose, the tops of the ears, and the back of the neck.

Ultraviolet light cannot be seen by the eye because it is absorbed before it reaches the retina.
The large percentage of near-UV light absorbed by the lens may be the cause of some cataracts
(opacities of the lens).

Uses of IR light:-

1) Physical therapy purposes: Heat lamps that produce a large percentage of IR light with
wavelengths of 1000 to 2000 nm are often used for physical therapy purposes. Infrared light
penetrates further into the tissues than visible light and thus is better able to heat deep tissues.

2) IR photography: Two types of IR photography are used in medicine

 Reflective IR photography: reflective IR photography, which uses wavelengths of 700 to

900 nm to show the patterns of veins just below the skin. Some of these veins are visible to
the eye, but many more can be seen on a near-IR photograph of the skin. Since the
temperature at the skin depends on the local blood flow, a thermogram with good resolution
shows the venous pattern much like a near-IR photograph.
 Emissive IR photography, which uses the long IR heat waves emitted by the body
that give an indication of the body temperature, is usually called thermography.

Lasers in medicine
A laser is a unique light source that emits a narrow beam of light of a single wavelength
(monochromatic light) in which each wave is in phase with the others near it (coherent light).
Laser is an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. Since 1960
scientists have made many types of lasers using gases and liquids as well as solids as the laser
materials.

In a laser, energy that has been stored in the laser material (e.g., ruby) is released as a narrow
beam of light-either as a steady beam continuous wave (CW) or as an intense pulse. The beam
remains narrow over long distances and can be thought of as an ideal "spot" light. A laser beam
can be focused to a spot only a few microns in diameter. When all of the energy of the laser is
concentrated in such a small area, the power density (power per unit area) becomes very large.
The total energy of a typical laser pulse used in medicine, which is measured in

millijoules (mJ), can be delivered in less than a microsecond, and the resultant instantaneous
power may be in megawatts.

Since in medicine lasers are used primarily to deliver energy to tissue, the laser wavelength
used should be strongly absorbed by tissue. The short wavelengths (400 to 600 nm) are always
absorbed better than the long wavelengths (~700nm).
Laser energy directed at human tissue causes a rapid rise in temperature and can destroy the
tissue. The amount of damage to living tissue depends on how long the tissue is at the increased
temperature. For example, tissue can withstand 70oC for 1sec. However, not all laser damage is
due to heat. It also produces noticeable damage due to photochemical effects.

The laser is routinely used in clinical medicine only in ophthalmology. Its effectiveness in
treating certain types of cancer and its usefulness as a "bloodless knife" for surgery are under
active investigation. Lasers are also being used in medical research for special three-
dimensional imaging called holography.

In ophthalmology lasers are primarily used for

photocoagulation of the retina that is, heating a
blood vessel to the point where the blood
coagulates and blocks the vessel.
A complication of diabetes that affects the retina, called diabetic retinopathy, can also be treated
with photocoagulation.

Protective glasses must be worn in medical laser areas to protect the eyes of the patient and the
workers. Since the laser energy is concentrated in a narrow beam for long distances, even a
reflected beam can be a hazard; thus the walls and other surfaces in a laser installation should
have low reflectivity (e.g., flat black paint).

Applications of microscopes in medicine

There have been few breakthroughs in science that have had as great an impact as the invention
of the microscope by Leeuwenhoek (~1670). The use of the microscope in the pathology
laboratory is as common as the use of the thermometer in the clinic.

The standard light microscope usually can be set at any of several magnifications by changing
the power of the eyepiece or of the objective lens. The highest magnification that can be
obtained is limited by the wavelength of visible light. Since the wavelengths of visible light
range from 400 to 700 nm (0.4 to 0.7 µm), the smallest object that can be resolved is about
1μm in diameter. Since most cells are 5 to 50 μm in diameter, this type of microscope is
adequate for resolving all but subcellular objects.

If you put a thin slice of tissue under a microscope you will not see much because most cells are
transparent to all wavelengths of visible light-red blood cells are exceptions. In order to
distinguish different cells it is usually necessary to stain them with a chemical that strongly
absorbs certain visible wavelengths.

Several microscopy techniques used primarily in research involve electron beams. Electrons can
be focused by electrical and magnetic lenses, much like light is focused by glass lenses, to form
an image. The wave lengths of electrons depend on their energy but are usually very short
compared to those visible light. As result, electron microscopes show details better than light
microscopes. Magnifications of up to 250,000 times have been obtained in electron microscopy,
while the maximum in conventional light microscope is about 1000 times.