Light and shadow
One lamp casts a sharp shadow, two lamps a penumbra. Solar and lunar eclipses form in just the same way.
PhysicsGrade 6–13
Optics
Trace light rays, move mirrors and lenses and create interference patterns.
Link to the German educational standards (KMK)
- SSubject knowledge
- EScientific inquiry
- BKInteraction
- BKSuperposition and components
Ray optics
Grade 6–9
Reflection at a plane mirror
Laser at the mirror, measure the angles: angle of incidence equals angle of reflection, every time. And why does the candle appear just as far behind the mirror?
Refraction and total internal reflection
A light ray bends when it passes into glass or water. At a shallow angle it cannot get out at all: total internal reflection, as in an optical fibre.
Lenses and image formation
Move a candle in front of a lens and construct the image with three special rays. It becomes sharp on the screen.
Wave optics
Grade 10–13
Double slit and grating
Laser light passes through a double slit or a grating. A pattern of bright and dark stripes appears on the screen.