Students perform a version of the 1800 experiment in which a form of radiation other than visible light was discovered by the famous astronomer Sir Frederick William Herschel.
This activity will help students understand how white light is broken up into its component colors by a diffraction grating and what the relationships are between the wavelength, frequency, and energy of light. Objectives, applicable standards, and prerequisite materials are described, and instructions and a materials list are provided.
Students learn and use the properties of light to solve the following challenge: "A mummified troll was discovered this summer at our school and it has generated lots of interest worldwide. The principal asked us, the technology classes, to design a security system that alerts the police if someone tries to pilfer our prized possession. How can we construct a system that allows visitors to view our artifact during the day, but invisibly protects it at night in a cost-effective way?"
Students learn the basic properties of light the concepts of light absorption, transmission, reflection and refraction, as well as the behavior of light during interference. Lecture information briefly addresses the electromagnetic spectrum and then provides more in-depth information on visible light. With this knowledge, students better understand lasers and are better prepared to design a security system for the mummified troll.
Through an introduction to the design of lighting systems and the electromagnetic spectrum, students learn about the concept of daylighting as well as two types of light bulbs (lamps) often used in energy-efficient lighting design.
This video segment adapted from Shedding Light on Science illustrates the dispersion of light through a prism and how raindrops refract sunlight to form rainbows.
Do you ever wonder how a greenhouse gas affects the climate, or why the ozone layer is important? Use the sim to explore how light interacts with molecules in our atmosphere.
The colors of the rainbow are within visible, or white light. An easy way to remember the colors is to remember ROY G. BIV - red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. These colors make up the spectrum of visible light.
This Website shows our world in the infrared light and teaches about the benefits of infrared technology. It includes images and applications in science, medicine, fire fighting, history, art, navigation, and law enforcement.
Students participating in Storm Signals play a critical role in the overall process of the Student Observation Network (S.O.N.). They are able to confirm the predictions of the Sunspotter's Sunspot Suspect, and they will predict magnetic storms around Earth, issuing Space Weather alerts that tell other students to begin monitoring the Magnetosphere for magnetic storms. By collecting and analyzing real-time data from their radio antennas, professional observatories, and NASA satellites, they can carry out the same duties as NASA researchers! The Space Weather alerts issued by the Space Environment Center (SEC) of NOAA (National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration) are essential to protect satellites, power grids and astronauts.
In Storm Signals you will learn:
1. How to instruct students in the construction of a simple device to detect radio emissions from the Sun.
2. How to enable students to obtain and interpret radio emissions from ground-based professional observatories.
3. How to enable students to obtain and interpret radio, x-ray and ultraviolet emissions from NASA satellites.
In this interactive activity adapted from the University of Utah's ASPIRE Lab, learn how to measure wavelengths and see how wavelength affects the color of the light that we see.
