Light reflects off the top and bottom of a thin layer (like oil on water).
Materials (like LEDs or stars) create their own light. Absorption: Electrons soak up specific photon energies. Reflection: Light bounces off the surface. Transmission: Light passes through the material. 🔬 Key Optical Properties 1. Absorption and Selective Reflection This is the most common cause of color. Pigments: Absorb certain wavelengths and reflect others.
A leaf looks green because chlorophyll absorbs blue and red light, reflecting the green. 2. Refraction Colour and The Optical Properties of Materials:...
Microscopic patterns in butterfly wings or peacock feathers cancel out some colors and amplify others. 🏗️ Material Classes Material Type Typical Interaction Visual Result Metals High electron density reflects almost all light. Shiny, opaque, often "silvery." Semiconductors Absorption depends on "band gap" energy. Can be transparent (glass) or opaque (silicon). Polymers Long chains often allow light to pass through. Usually transparent or translucent unless dyed. 💡 Practical Applications
Explains why the sky is blue (small molecules scatter shorter blue wavelengths). Light reflects off the top and bottom of
Different colors bend at different angles (like a prism creating a rainbow). 3. Scattering Light is deflected in many directions by small particles.
Optical properties describe how a material interacts with light, which ultimately determines the colors we see. This interaction is governed by the material's atomic structure and how its electrons respond to electromagnetic radiation. 🎨 Why Do We See Color? Reflection: Light bounces off the surface
Solar cells are engineered to maximize light absorption.