SCIENCE REVIEWER | Astronomy & Light

📚 SCIENCE REVIEWER
Astronomy • Light as Wave/Particle • Photon Concept

PART 1: ASTRONOMY
▶ Lesson 1 – Greeks & the Shape of the Earth
Key figures who proved the Earth is round:

PERSON CONTRIBUTION
Aristotle • Stars/constellations change as you travel
"On the Heavens" N or S
• Earth's shadow is always curved during
lunar eclipse

Alexander the Great Spread Aristotle's theory as far as East

India. His era = 'Hellenistic period'

Seleucus of Seleucia Proposed Earth is round AND revolves

(2nd century BC) around the sun

Eratosthenes Used round Earth theory and shadows to

MEASURE the circumference of the Earth

Claudius Ptolemy Created a MAP showing Earth as round —

(2nd century AD) most popular map in the Middle Ages

▶ Lesson 2 – Astronomical Phenomena (Before Telescopes)

Planets Visible to the Naked Eye:
• Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn
• Can be confused with stars; only seen at specific times of day
• Best time to observe: BEFORE SUNRISE and AFTER SUNSET

Gnomon (Shadow Caster):

• Used by Babylonian and Egyptian civilizations
• A primitive version of a sundial
• Used to observe motion of the sun
• Observed that the sun: rises in the EAST → reaches highest point at MIDDAY → sets in the
WEST

Understanding the Cosmos – Phases of the Moon:

• Ancient people observed the moon changes its path and appearance within 29.5 days
• Moon changes from thin semi-circular disk → full circular disk
• These phases were the basis of ancient calendars
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Lunar Eclipse:
Definition: Moon or part of it covered by a shadow
Cause: Earth casts its shadow on the Moon
Alignment: S – E – M (Sun – Earth – Moon)
Effect: Moon changes into a dark or blood red color
• Moon is between the Sun and the Moon... Earth is between Sun and Moon

Solar Eclipse:
Definition: Moon partially or completely blocks out the Sun
Alignment: S – M – E (Sun – Moon – Earth)
• Moon is in between the Sun and the Earth

Motion of the Stars:

• Stars appear attached to a celestial sphere that rotates on an axis in ONE DAY
• The axis intersects the celestial sphere at a point in the northern sky
• Presently close to the north star: POLARIS
• Constellations' positions in the night sky vary depending on the time of year

Visibility of Planets:
• Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn are planets — they are 'wanderers'
• Stars are in a FIXED position relative to each other (like constellations)
• Planets change positions periodically — they don't belong to any constellation group

▶ Lesson 3 – Tycho Brahe & Johannes Kepler

NIKOLAUS COPERNICUS CLAUDIUS PTOLEMY

Heliocentric Theory Geocentric Theory
= Sun-centered theory = Earth-centered theory
The SUN is the center of the universe The EARTH is the center of the universe

TYCHO BRAHE JOHANNES KEPLER

Developed his own model of the cosmos: Proposed the Three Laws of Planetary
• Planets orbit the Sun Motion:
• But the Sun orbits the Earth a. The Law of Ellipses
b. The Law of Equal Areas
c. The Law of Harmonies

Galileo Galilei – Concept of Inertia:

Inertia: An object in a state of motion possesses an 'inertia' that causes it to remain in that state of
motion unless an external force acts on it

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• Aristotle: Objects at rest stay at rest; objects in motion need constant force to keep moving
• Galileo: Aristotle was WRONG — he failed to account for FRICTION (hidden force)
• Galileo used inclined plane experiments to prove this

Isaac Newton's 1st Law of Motion:

Inertia is a property of matter that resists changes in motion.
• If a mass is NOT moving → stays at rest until an unbalanced external force moves it
• If a mass IS moving → stays in motion at same speed and direction until an unbalanced force
changes it
Mass: A measure of inertia — the greater the mass, the greater the inertia
• Example: Pushing a large man vs. small child on swings — larger mass = more inertia
• Example: Not wearing a seatbelt in a car that brakes suddenly — you keep moving forward

PART 2: MODELS OF LIGHT

▶ Lesson 2 – Light as a Wave or Particle
What is a Wave?
Definition: A travelling disturbance
• Some waves propagate through a medium (water or air)
• Light can travel in a VACUUM — no medium needed
• Waves carry energy; particles within a wave oscillate back and forth
• Speed of a wave is determined by the properties of the medium
Types/Examples of Waves:
• Kelvin-Helmholtz waves (in clouds and Jupiter's atmosphere)
• Density waves (in traffic and spiral galaxies)

Properties All Waves Share:

Superposition: When two or more waves coincide in space, their effects are additive
Interference: Consequence of superposition

CONSTRUCTIVE INTERFERENCE DESTRUCTIVE INTERFERENCE

Occurs when two interfering waves have Occurs when two interfering waves have
displacement in the SAME direction → OPPOSITE displacements → waves
waves ADD up (bigger wave) CANCEL out

Diffraction: Waves BEND around obstacles; a consequence of how waves propagate and interfere
✓ KEY RULE: If a phenomenon exhibits interference and diffraction → it is a WAVE

Light — Wave or Particle?

• Light exhibits interference and diffraction → it IS a wave

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• BUT: Shining very low intensity light through a double slit onto a CCD chip shows RANDOM
DOTS first (particle behavior), then a diffraction pattern forms (wave behavior)
• CONCLUSION: Light has BOTH wave and particle properties = WAVE-PARTICLE DUALITY

Matter is Made of Particles — or is it?

• Electrons shot through a double slit also create a diffraction pattern → electrons are ALSO
waves!
• Each individual electron 'knows' about both slits and interferes with itself
• All particles have wave-like properties
• Electron wavelengths are much SHORTER than light → why electron microscopes see smaller
details

Light as a Wave vs. Light as a Particle:

LIGHT AS A WAVE LIGHT AS A PARTICLE
Modeled as an electromagnetic wave: Modeled as individual 'things' (photons):
• Changing electric field creates a • Have energy that depends on their
changing magnetic field wavelength
• Does NOT need a medium to 'wave' in • Comes in discrete units called
PHOTONS

Properties of Light:
1. Reflection:
Definition: Bouncing back of rays of light from a polished and shiny surface
Laws of Reflection:
• The angle of incidence = the angle of reflection
• The incident ray, reflected ray, and normal to the point of reflection all lie in the same plane

2. Refraction:
Definition: When a ray of light travelling in a homogenous medium strikes a surface between two media,
passes through it and goes into the second medium
Laws of Refraction:
• The incident ray, refracted ray, and the normal line at the refracting surface all lie in the same
plane
• The ratio of the angle of incidence to the angle of refraction is CONSTANT for a given media
Real-world examples: Bent pencil in water, apparent vs real position of fish underwater

3. Dispersion:
Definition: Separation of white light into a spectrum of colors by the process of refraction
• Example: A prism separating white light into a rainbow

4. Scattering:

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Definition: Process where light rays deviate from their path due to nonuniformities in the medium
through which they pass
• Example: Red/orange sky at sunset

5. Diffraction:
Definition: Process in which a light ray travels through an obstacle or around a barrier and it SPREADS
OUT as a result
• Example: Shadow of a hand forming a shape on a wall

PART 3: PHOTON CONCEPT & ITS APPLICATION

▶ Lesson 3 – The Photon Concept of Light
Photon: A particle of light defined as a discrete bundle (or quantum) of electromagnetic (or light) energy
• Photons are ALWAYS in motion
• In a vacuum, photons have a CONSTANT speed of light to all observers

Basic Properties of Photons:

According to photon theory, photons:
✔ Behave like a particle AND a wave simultaneously
✔ Move at a constant velocity: c = 2.9979 × 10⁸ m/s (speed of light) in empty space
✔ Have ZERO mass and rest energy
✔ Can be destroyed/created when radiation is absorbed/emitted
✔ Can have particle-like interactions (collisions) with electrons and other particles
→ This is the Compton Effect: particles of light collide with atoms, releasing electrons

The Photon Concept Summary:

• A beam of light waves also behaves like a beam of light particles called PHOTONS
• Photons are little packets of electromagnetic energy
• Energy is PROPORTIONAL to frequency OR INVERSELY proportional to wavelength
Formula: E(photon) = hf but c = fλ → E(photon) = hc/λ
• h = Planck's constant; c = speed of light
• BLUE photons have MORE energy than RED photons
• Energy is absorbed or emitted in discrete amounts → sodium absorption line

Photon Absorption vs. Emission:

ABSORPTION EMISSION
Incoming photon is absorbed by the atom Electron returns to a LOWER energy level
→ Electron moves to a HIGHER energy → Higher-energy photon is EMITTED
level (excited state)

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▶ Applications of the Photon Concept

Why red light is used in photographic dark rooms?
• Photographic paper reacts to light to produce images stored on film
• Red lighting allows photographers to control light carefully
• Red light prevents light-sensitive photographic paper from becoming overexposed
• This ensures pictures are not ruined during the developing process

Why do we get sunburned by UV light but NOT visible light?

• Visible light: 400nm–700nm — not enough energy to break C–C bonds in skin
• Ultraviolet light has shorter wavelength → MORE energy → can break chemical bonds

UV TYPE WAVELENGTH EFFECT

UVC Rays 100 nm (shortest) Usually do NOT penetrate
Earth's ozone layer
UVB Rays 290 nm Reach skin's surface; cause
tanning, burning, signs of aging
UVA Rays 320–400 nm (longest UV) Penetrate deep into skin; release
free radicals; cause DNA
changes → skin cancer

QUICK REFERENCE — KEY TERMS CHEAT SHEET

TERM DEFINITION
Inertia Property of matter that resists changes in motion
Mass Measure of inertia
Heliocentric Sun-centered model of the universe (Copernicus)
Geocentric Earth-centered model of the universe (Ptolemy)
Wave A travelling disturbance that carries energy
Photon Discrete bundle (quantum) of electromagnetic energy; a particle of
light
Wave-Particle Duality Light (and matter) exhibits both wave and particle properties
Reflection Bouncing of light off a polished/shiny surface
Refraction Bending of light as it passes from one medium to another
Dispersion Separation of white light into a color spectrum by refraction
Scattering Light rays deviate from path due to nonuniformities in a medium
Diffraction Light bends around obstacles and spreads out
Constructive Two waves combine with displacement in the same direction →

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Interference bigger wave

Destructive Two waves combine with opposite displacements → cancel out
Interference
Compton Effect Photons collide with atoms, causing the release of electrons
Planck's Constant (h) Constant in the formula: E(photon) = hf
Speed of Light (c) 2.9979 × 10⁸ m/s in a vacuum
Lunar Eclipse Earth's shadow falls on the Moon (S–E–M alignment)
Solar Eclipse Moon's shadow falls on the Earth/blocks the Sun (S–M–E
alignment)
Polaris The North Star; where Earth's axis currently points

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