Huygens described light as a wave

In summary: ?"changing a charge induces a new magnetic field and 4) changing a magnetic field induces a new charge."
  • #1
pinkyjoshi65
260
0
Ok, so Huygens described light as a wave. So my question is how does his wave theory explain the phenonmenon of dispersion? What happens when a wave of light hits a prism? How does while light split into the different colours os a rainbow?

Also another question I have is about Maxwell's discription of light. The maxwell equations comprised of 4 imporant points:1) number of field lines is proportional to the charge,2) number of field lines leaving an about is 0,3) changing a charge induces a new magnetic field and 4) changing a magnetic field induces a new charge.

my question is what feature of electromagnetic waves do polaroid sunglasses take advantage of? I mean how do polaroid lenses work in terms of electromagnetic waves?
 
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  • #2
pinkyjoshi65 said:
Ok, so Huygens described light as a wave. So my question is how does his wave theory explain the phenonmenon of dispersion? What happens when a wave of light hits a prism? How does while light split into the different colours os a rainbow?

Also another question I have is about Maxwell's discription of light. The maxwell equations comprised of 4 imporant points:1) number of field lines is proportional to the charge,2) number of field lines leaving an about is 0,3) changing a charge induces a new magnetic field and 4) changing a magnetic field induces a new charge.

my question is what feature of electromagnetic waves do polaroid sunglasses take advantage of? I mean how do polaroid lenses work in terms of electromagnetic waves?

They take advantage of the polarization of the EM wave.
 
  • #3
umm..more explanation please..
 
  • #4
hello?
 
  • #5
Sorry, I'm not the expert here. I was hoping maybe that you just missed the fact that light does have a polarizing property (its wave is oriented along a particular axis). For a more in-depth explanation, you'll have to wait for the heavy-lifters around here to weigh in.
 
  • #6
umm k thnkz anyway..Anyone else know the answer?
 
  • #7
Have you tried to research this on your own yet? Look up polarization on your own to see if you can get the answer.
 
  • #8
I did search on the net. Didn't use the word "polarization". Will try that. what about the 1st part of the question?
 
  • #9
hellllooooooo
 

1. How did Huygens describe light as a wave?

Huygens proposed that light is transmitted through a medium in the form of waves. He believed that each point on a wavefront acts as a new source of waves, and the resulting wave pattern is the sum of all these individual waves.

2. What evidence did Huygens use to support his theory of light as a wave?

Huygens used the phenomenon of diffraction, where light waves bend around obstacles, as evidence for his theory. He also observed that the speed of light is consistent with the speed of waves in a medium.

3. How did Huygens' theory differ from Newton's theory of light as a particle?

Newton proposed that light is made up of tiny particles, or corpuscles, which travel in straight lines and interact with matter to produce the effects of light. Huygens' theory, on the other hand, focused on the wave-like behavior of light.

4. Did Huygens' theory of light as a wave have any limitations?

Yes, Huygens' theory could not fully explain the phenomenon of polarization, where light waves vibrate in a specific direction. It also could not explain the photoelectric effect, which later became a key piece of evidence for the particle nature of light.

5. How did Huygens' theory of light as a wave contribute to our understanding of light today?

Huygens' theory laid the foundation for the wave theory of light, which was further developed by later scientists such as Maxwell and Hertz. Today, we understand that light has both wave-like and particle-like properties, known as wave-particle duality, and Huygens' work played a crucial role in this understanding.

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