Module 7: The Nature of Light

Electromagnetic Spectrum

HSC Syllabus: What is light?

• Maxwell's Unification of Electromagnetic Theory
• Measuring Light's Speed
• Understanding Spectroscopy and Atomic Spectra
• Understanding Stellar Spectra

Light: Wave Model

HSC Syllabus: What evidence supports the classical wave model of light and what predictions can be made using this model?

• Understanding Diffraction and Young's Double Slit Experiment
• Historical Models of Light: Newton vs Huygens
• Understanding Light Polarisation

Light: Quantum Model

HSC Syllabus: What evidence supports the particle model of light and what are the implications of this evidence for the development of the quantum model of light?

• Understanding Black Body Radiation and Quantum Theory
• The Photoelectric Effect
• Photoelectric Effect: Current and Frequency

Light and Special Relativity

HSC Syllabus: How does the behaviour of light affect concepts of time, space and matter?

• Einstein's Special Relativity
• Understanding the Michelson-Morley Experiment
• Time Dilation and Length Contraction
• Relativistic Momentum and Special Relativity
• Mass and Energy: E = mc²