The experiments and activities on this site will prompt many questions and further exploration from your students. These articles provide simple to understand, in-depth information about physics and the scientific properties of optics.
Color and Light - Here we ask how color is sensed by the viewer. To answer the question we need to specify how color is described and how color information is received by the eye. The starting point of an understanding of color is a description of light.
Color Me Human - An article discussing the ways human beings see color.
Color, Thin Films, and Interference - The colors of nature are all around us and are produced by different aspects of the interaction of light with matter. The most common is light interacting with colored pigments.
Colors from the Black and White - A short description of Fechner colors.
Fluorescence and the Color of Day Glo Paints - To the casual observer, a white piece of paper seems white whether viewed at dawn, noon, or dusk. In contrast, fine arts painters must comparethe colors of their paint mixtures to the scene they are viewing. They recognize that the actual color of an object depends as ll~uch on the color of the light used for imnnination as it does on the nature of the object. The effect is most obvious with object and some. of the new “Day Glo” colors (especially the “Saturn” and “Arc” yellows’).
It's a Colorful Life - Unique materials for presenting color concepts.
Rainbows - White light is composed of all wavelengths of visible light. This means that the waves that make up sunlight and incandescent light are a mixture of all the colors of the spectrum.
Some Reflections on Color - A short article on perceived colors.
Sources of Light - The visible spectrum of light is just a small part of the electromagnetic spectrum which extends from radio waves to gamma rays.
The Composition of Color - The sensation of color depends primarily on the composition of light which is a mixture of white light and colored light (which in itself can be a mixture of wavelengths as in the case of purple).
The Life and Times of Roy G. Biv - An interesting and amusing article on color and more specifically Roy G. Biv.
Books for Optics Experiments - A short recommendation and review of five useful books of experiments demonstrating optics.
Edible Holograms - There is a popular misconception that the mass produced holograms affixed to credit cards and Fruit Loops cereal boxes are reflection holograms.
Encouraging Kids in Science - Getting young people, in general, and girls, in particular, interested in science is a subject of national debate and intense interest. This article provides comments on encouraging children in science.
Heads up Displays - A heads-up display is one example of an optical device that does pretty interesting things in rather clever ways, yet is based on principles a kid can understand.
Math Isn't Just Numbers Anymore - Today is a glorious time to be a mathematics teacher. The new national standards demand connections, not only between topics in mathematics but between mathematics and the real wor1d.
Olympic Optics - The Olympics are a big deal this summer,l and many Olympic events involve water: Swimming obviously, but also diving, rowing, synchronized swimming, canoeing, and kayaking, sailing, and, yes, water polo.
Power of Ten - People find it cumbersome to speak of units of measurement like "one ten thousandth of a billionth" of an inch, or even "ten to the minus thirteenth" (10-13) inches; so they devise different names.
Revisiting Columbus - Article on how simple optical observations, or the lack thereof, may have had a major impact on the course of world history.
The Christmas Corona - An article that describes a colorful night-sky display that is seen at its best by human eyes, and produces a less-adequate photograph.
Holograms - You've probably got a hologram in your pocket or purse right now. Just look at a credit card.
Lasers - DVD players. Eye surgery. Science fiction movies. These are some of the ways in which lasers are used but there are many others, as well.
Lenses and Geometrical Optics - We use lenses and mirrors everyday but sometimes don't really understand how and why they do what they do.
Modulating Light - Light intensity modulation is one of the oldest means of cornmunication the semaphore contains may of the same basic elements as a modern optical communications system: a light source (the sun), a modulator (the flags) and a detector and demodulator (the observer).
Only the Shadow Knows - This article looks at some very simple experiments to help youngsters understand the propagation of light.
Scintillate, Scintillate Little Star... - If you have a chance to get out with a youngster on a night when the stars are twinkling, it might be interesting to point out the phenomenon and ask why the stars twinkle. Is it a characteristic of the stars themselves?
Optical Illusions - The eye and the brain together give us an extremely detailed picture of the world, compensating smoothly for some of their own limitations. However, a few simple experiments can reveal some of the eye's limits.
Haidinger's Brush -
It is commonly appreciated that light in the sky is partially polarized and that some insects (e.g., honey bees) use the polarization for cues in navigation.
Polarized Light - Light of a single color can be described as a wave with a specified wavelength or as a photon with a specified energy.
Sugar Water Mirage - The thin blanket of air that envelopes the Earth is rarefied at high altitudes and densifies with proximity to the surface.
The Reflection of Light - What is it about objects that let us see them? Why do we see the road, or a pen, or a best friend? If an object does not emit its own light (which accounts for most objects in the world), it must reflect light in order to be seen.
The Refraction of Light - Ever notice how your leg looks bent as you dangle it in the water from the edge of a pool?
What Color is the Night Sky - When asked the color of the night sky, it is tempting to say, “black, of course!” However, that is not really correct.
What Makes the Colors in Candle Flames? - A short article on how candles produce light and what the colors they create, tell us.
Why is the sky blue - This article includes a few children’s responses to three questions: 1. "Why do you think the sky is blue?" 2. "If you stand on the moon and look up, the sky looks mostly black; if you do this on the Earth, it looks blue. Why do you think it's different?" and 3. "Have you ever noticed anything involving light that seems interesting or that you wish you understood better?"
Why Rainbows Aren't Pink - Color perception is a prime candidate for an optics lesson because children are keenly aware of colors and often already curious about them. This article discusses various ways to engage children through the use of color.