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| An energy-carrying wave emitted by a vibrating charge (often electrons) that is composed of oscillating electric and magnetic fields that regenerate one another. |
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| The range of electromagnetic waves extending in frequency from radio waves to gamma rays. |
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| Materials through which light can pass in straight lines. |
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| Materials that absorb light and through which light cannot shine. |
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| A changing magnetic field induces an electric field and vice-versa. |
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| Three colors (red, green, and blue) that, when added, produce any other color. When mixed equally produce white light. |
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| Any two colors that, when added, produce white light. |
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| Subtractive Primary Colors |
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| The three colors of absorbing pigments (magenta, yellow, cyan) that, when mixed reflect any other color; when all are mixed, black results. |
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| The bending of light that passes around an obstacle or through a narrow slit, causing the light to spread. |
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| The result of superimposing different waves. Can create bright or dark places when light from slightly different distances interferes. |
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| The alignment of the transverse electric vibrations of light. Such light is said to be polarized. |
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| The return of light rays from the surface. |
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| The bending of a ray of light as it passes from one transparent medium to another. |
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| A reflected ray leaves the surface at the same angle as the incident ray made approching the surface. |
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| A lens that is thicker in the middle than at the edges and that refracts parallel rays to a focus. Also called a convex lens. |
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| A lens that is thinner in the middle than at the edges, causing parallel rays to diverge as if from a point. Also called a concave lens. |
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| What a particle of light is called. |
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| The distribution of frequencies in the light from a luminous source. |
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| The state fo flowing while at a high temperature, caused by electrons bouncing around over dimensions larger than the size of the atom, emitting radiant energy in the process. Peak frequency is proportional to the temperature. |
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| The property of certain substances to absorb radiation of one frequency and to reemit radiation of lower frequency. It occurs when an atom is boosted up to an excited state and gives off light when the electron returns to a lower energy level. |
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| A type of light emission that is the same as fluorescence except for a delay between the excitation and de-excitation, which provides an afterglow. |
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| E = energy of a photon, f = frequency of the same photon, h is a constant. |
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| An atom in which an electron has been given extra energy. It eventually loses the energy as the electron returns to a lower energy and gives off a photon. The frequency of the photon is determined by the amount of energy lost (E = hf). |
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