Discussion Questions: Light Wave Behaviors

Before the Interactive

• What are your experiences in how light interacts with matter? For example, why does a dentist take X-ray images of your mouth? Why do you wear a heavy vest when you get dental X-rays? What examples have you seen of reflection, refraction, scattering, absorption, and transmission of light?
• What does it mean for an object to be opaque? If it is opaque to one type of light, can another type still get through?

After the Interactive

• Consider the statement: "Wood is transparent to radio waves." Applying your understanding of the word “transparent,” explain how radio waves are transmitted through wood.
• The Hubble Telescope is composed of a large mirror to collect visible, near-infrared, and near-ultraviolet light. The mirror is protected by a door. Why do you think it has a door that can open and close instead of a transparent cover?
• Watch this video on diffraction: Light Particles Acting Like Waves: The Uncertainty Principle. Compare the two explanations that you've seen.