White light combines the colours of light. These colours are also called spectral colours. As a first look at the topic, you will to get to know these spectral colours and the light spectrum. Therefore, watch the following video and answer the questions below by taking notes in your portfolio.
Question 1: What was Newtons hypothesis on white light?
Question 2: The colourful light spectrum is called „the visible spectrum“. Exchange ideas on why it is named that and think: Do you already know something about invisible light?
Now, watch the following video on the socalled „electromagnetic spectrum“, the full spectrum of light and work on the tasks below the video.
Task 1: We want to create a leaflet about the full light spectrum.
Therefore, take the scetch of the light spectrum provided here and label it with information on the names of parts of the spectrum and on the distribution of energy levels and frequencies. You should also include examples for where you can find each part of the spectrum in your daily life. Feel free to add more information from the videos that you feel like should be part of the leaflet.
Don´t forget to put your finished leaflet in the portfolio.
Task 2: Remember the experiment from the first video? We will now try to generate our own „rainbow“ using a prism and white light.
You need:
- a white light source (spectral lamp) with a power source
- a prism
- a white screen
Try to align the three components so that you can see the visible light spectrum („rainbow“) on the screen. Write down what you notice.
Lights on! 