The Visible Light Effect: Helping You See

Of the electromagnetic spectrum, the visible light portion is one of the most useful. Visible light is what we use to see everything around us, such as this blog post that you are reading. Every portion of it is used in our everyday lives, from teaching a college physics course to working at an oil rig in the ocean. While the other frequencies of the electromagnetic spectrum have very specific applications, the visible range is used in virtually all human applications.

Visible light being one of the smaller bands of the electromagnetic spectrum, it has a short frequency range, around 4.3 * 10^14 to 7.5 * 10^14 Hz, and a short wavelength range, around 4.0 * 10^-7 to 7.0 * 10^-7. There are many sources that create such a short range on EMS (electromagnetic spectrum), with the most commonly known one, the sun. A few other common sources are reading lamps, car headlights and anything that emits a beam of light.

With such an intriguing topic as visible light it would be hard to believe if there were no phenomenon about it. Luckily, there are, such as refraction. Refraction in the process of shining a beam of white light into a prism and having the light bend as it passes through the prism and spreading apart all of the colors that make up white light. If yo have ever seen Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon album cover then you have seen an example of refraction. Another example of refraction is if you are spear fishing. The fish seems to be in one place when it's another. The reason for this is because when light passes through another medium, in this case watter, it bends causing you to see an image that is actually not there. Another phenomenon of visible light is reflection. If you have ever looked in a mirror than you have experienced reflection first hand. During the process of reflection, the angle of the incident beam of light is equal the the angle of the reflected beam of light. We know this because of the normal which is perpendicular to the plane, or mirror. But at a fun house the mirrors are curvy and your image appears distorted, why is that? Your image appears distorted because the normal of the reflection perpendicular at another point than eye level. If there is a concave mirror (mirror that turns inward) your image will appear taller because the normal of the mirror and if the mirror is convex (mirror that caves outward) then your image will appear squished because the normal of the mirror to your eyes is down lower.

Because visible light is such a versatile band on the EMS there are many everyday applications. A very important application is harnessing solar energy in solar panels. Solar panels work by charging photons that are in a solar cell. Another interesting applicant is one that you may not have heard of before, it's called spectroscopy and it works by refracting the light from stars that are very far away. By doing this a spectroscopist will be able to tell what the star is made of. And if you want to look at the star you would need a telescope that uses concave and convex mirrors and lenses to magnify the image of the star so it is possible to see it clearly on the earth's surface, and if you wanted to examine an example of the elements that make up the star you would need a microscope which also uses concave and convex lenses to look at the smallest of particles. One of the most interesting way light is used today in the world is the use of fiber optics. With fiber optics you can use a beam of light encoded with tiny bits of information and shine it through a fiber optic so that the information travels at the speed of light (299,792,458 meters per second).

After reading this you may think, "Oh boy! This is so cool! I want to learn more about the visible light band of the electromagnetic spectrum! I'm going to do some experiments!" but first you must know some safety precautions. First off, don't stare into a high powered light source, such as the sun. Especially with a telescope because you could burn your retinas and become blind.

In this blog we have covered many interesting phenomenon, like the refraction of light, and many fascinating applications of visible light, such as spectroscopy. You have learned throughout this blog post a thing or two about visible light and how it works and that it is essential in our everyday lives.

Works Cited

Lerner, Eds. K. and Brenda Lerner. "Electromagnetic Spectrum." World of Forensic Science.

Vol. 1. 247-249. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 15 Mar. 2010.

< http://www.infotrac.galegroup.com >

Netting, Ruth. "Visible Light Waves." The Electromagnetic Spectrum. The National Air and Space Administration, 27 Mar. 2007. Web. 16 Mar. 2010. < http://science.hq.nasa.gov >

Villanueva, John Carl. Visible Light. Universe Today, 19 July 2009. Web. 16 Mar. 2010

< http://www.universetoday.com >

If I Were A Scientist I Would Be a Materials Scientist

(picture courtesy of Phoenix X-ray)

A materials scientist is a scientist who works with, combines and experiments with different materials to create an end product with certain desired features. This type of scientist usually works in specific fields such as: metals, ceramics, polymers, composites, semiconductors, biomaterials, nanotechnology and films, ETC. This science field is relatively new and a hybrid of biology, chemistry, physics and engineering.

(picture courtesy of Southwest Research Institute)

A materials scientist would be able to explain why an oil pipe in Alaska might break, or why the Titanic sunk. They would also think about how to make the materials for those "products" stronger and more durable. This type of scientist looks at the problems in everyday items and thinks about what materials have the features that are needed to make that product better and how to combine the two or more materials to create the perfect product.

The requirements to be a materials scientist are to have a bachelors degree in biology, chemistry or physics although, because the fields are always changing and progressing one should have a master's or Ph. d in materials science.

This science field appeals to me because I have always been interested in what materials mix well and what materials don't. Also, I have always been fond of hands-on projects and experiments.This particular profession matches my learning style because I have always believed that I learn by doing, and I still believe that, and in this science field there are many experiments that need to be done. This scientific field also matches my interests because longboard and snowboard companies are always looking for new materials and experimenting with new materials to give their products more "pop" and "flex".

(picture courtesy of ImageShack)

Take Insect Longboards for example, they are one of the only longboard companies that uses "carbon nanotechnology" to make their longboard skateboards. In their description on their home page they talk about how they made their boards too stiff and brittle and how they learned from that mistake to produce the type of board they are famous for.

There are many other applications for a materials scientist such as aerospace technology. A materials scientist was needed to discover a way to keep the space shuttle from bursting into flames upon its re-entry on Earth, thus the material on the wings and body were created.

More information can be found at the following websites: Career Planner, Newton Ask A Scientist and OSU Materials Science.

The Great Wall of China Is The Only Man Made Structure Visible From Outer Space

This myth has been with us for many years now. One of the sparks of this myth may be that when the U.S.A. landed on the moon, they could've possibly seen other man made structures (although this is highly unlikely). There aren't really more than two perspectives on this myth, either yes it is true, or no it is false. There really isn't any room for an "in between" perspective.

(Picture: courtesy of the Scientific American article)
There isn't much science to this myth, just "can you see the great wall of china from space?" Satellites and rocket ships may have to do with it in a little way but not much else.

This myth has a hint of truth in it, you can in fact see the great wall of china from space, according to Scientific American, but it is not the only man made structure visible from space. the only way that you can see the great wall of China from space is when the weather conditions are perfect and when a satellite or rocket ship is in low orbit. Websites like Snopes, The Great Wall of China's website, Live Science Online and Funtrivia.com are all reputable sites (snopes and Funtrivia.com are debatable) that say the same thing. The great wall of china is not visible from outer space. I'm going with them on this one. As much as i wanted to see the great wall of china from space i can't because it's just not physically possible.

The Leaves Are Fallin' video from over the summer

Longboarding - Where to ride for different styles

There are many places to longboard, but it all depends on what type of longboarding that you like to do. If you are looking to just cruise around with the wind in your hair then flatland is for you. If you are into going fast with sharp hairpin turns and big predrifts then you would be looking for hills and mountains. If you like what we longboarders call dancing then flatland or a hill with a low grade is just what you're looking for. One last style called freeride, this means you like to do everything within the longboarding family, you would choose anything between a 35% grade mountain road or a flat road for cruising.