What are the Characteristics of Light

What are the Characteristics of Light

The Characteristics of light :     

  1. Light is an electromagnetic wave.
  2. Light travels in a straight line.
  3. Light is a transverse wave, and does not need any medium to travel. Light can travel through vaccum. Its speed through vaccum is 3 × 108 m/s.
  4. The velocity of light changes when it travels from one medium to another.
  5. The wavelength (λ) of light changes when it goes from one medium to another.
  6. The frequency (f) of the light wave remains the same in all media.
  7. Light gets reflected back from polished surfaces, such as mirrors, polished metal surfaces, etc.
  8. Light undergoes refraction (bending) when it travels from one transparent medium to another.
  9. Light does not need a material medium to travel, that is, it can travel through a vacuum too. Scientists have assigned a value of 299, 792, 458 m/s to the speed of light in vacuum.
  10. According to current scientific theories, no material particle can travel at a speed greater than that of light in vacuum.