Why your surroundings dictate the way light and sound travel
In short: From the echo in a canyon to the color of a leaf, waves are constantly interacting with the world. This video breaks down the fundamental behaviors of light and sound waves, explaining how they move, bounce, and change.
Waves are categorized as either transverse or longitudinal. When they encounter obstacles, they exhibit specific behaviors: reflection (bouncing off surfaces), transmission (passing through objects), and absorption. For example, sound waves reflect off hard, flat surfaces to create echoes, while light can be transmitted through a window or reflected off polished metal to create a mirror image.
The video also explores more complex interactions like refraction, diffraction, and scattering. Scattering occurs when waves depart from their expected path to spread in multiple directions. Furthermore, the color of an object is determined by which specific wavelengths of white light it absorbs and which it reflects.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Wave Behaviour | Waves | Physics | FuseSchool
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