Light

Did you know light can decrease visibility? Light pollution absolutely makes it more difficult to see stars. Scholars build a simple magnitude reader to determine the magnitude of stars. They use these data to estimate the impact of...

Ahoy, matey! Here is an engineering expedition that mini mariners are sure to be swept away by! After reading a brief description and history of periscopes, they work in crews to construct one. Use this activity to enhance a lesson plan...

An average home produces twice as many emissions as an average car. Teach your class how to reduce energy consumption by replacing standard incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs. Perform an experiment to compare...

Does light affect molecules or does it go right through them? The simulation explores four different types of light: microwave, infrared, visible, and ultraviolet. Scholars alter the energy level of each as it is aimed at seven different...

An illuminating activity demonstrates how interference of light waves creates a pattern. Using Plexiglas™ and construction paper, participants see rainbows appear as they twist or press against the plastic plates. After the activity, you...

How do lighting types affect energy efficiency? Explore different types of lighting and the energy they use. Pupils learn about types of lights and calculate the energy used during a typical school year. They discover that being energy...

Careful, that light bulb is hot! Compare heat and light energy using a simple light bulb. The exercise addresses energy conservation and presents actual calculations to determine the most cost-effective light bulb.

An impressive animation explains the earth's awe-inspiring auroras. The contributions of high-energy particles from the sun collide with our neutral atmospheric atoms. Explained are the roles of solar wind, plasma, the magnetosphere,...

Any work with light, lenses, lasers, or mirrors is called optical engineering. Optical engineers bend and bounce light to make it useful for humans. Examples are telescopes, invisibility, nanomedicine, and solar energy. This...

Different colors of the spectrum travel at different speeds through media, causing them to refract at different angles—which allows humans to see their colors. Through a simulation, pupils see how air, water, and other media bend light....