How Light Works

We see things every day, from the moment we get up in the morning until we go to sleep at night. We look at everything around us using light. We appreciate kids' crayon drawings, fine oil paintings, swirling computer graphics, gorgeous sunsets, a blue sky, shooting stars and rainbows. We rely on mirrors to make ourselves presentable, and sparkling gemstones to show affection. But did you ever stop to think that when we see any of these things, we are not directly connected to it? We are, in fact, seeing light -- light that somehow left objects far or near and reached our eyes. Light is all our eyes can really see.

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The way we think about light has changed through the course of history, from the theories of the ancient Greeks to the theories of Albert Einstein.

­The other way that we encounter light is in devi­ces that produce light -- incandescent bulbs, fluorescent bulbs, lasers, lightning bugs, the sun. Each one uses a different technique to generate photons.

In this article, we will look at light from many different angles to show you exactly how it works!

Test your eyesTry this activity from Discovery Channel -- test your sight and learn how vision works at the same time! Other interactive segments let you explore your body's systems and see how they help you move smoothly through your daily life.

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