Akshata Pawar
16 May 2019
Light is a natural phenomena which helps to impart vision ability to our eyes. Light plays a major role in our life. The primary light source on earth is through sun. Light acts as an important source of energy. Diffraction, Reflection, refraction, absorption, transmission, dispersion, scattering, electromagnetic wave etc. are some fundamental characters of light.
International Day of Light is celebrated every year on 16th May for the anniversary of the first successful operation of the laser in 1960 by physicist and engineer, Theodore Maiman. The main objective behind International Day of Light is to understand the importance of light in field of science, technology, art, development, medicine and culture.
Light in Everyday Life
With the passing time, humans have evolved along with their thinking and creative ability. They have used this source for making several technologies and machinery which are used in day to day life to make it easier and simpler. Light is used in Computers, Transmitters, Energy, Entertainment, Space Science, Astronomy, Medical Technology, Microscopes, Telescope, radiation technology etc. All this is possible because of Light and its fundamental characteristics.
Each and every living organism is totally dependent on light in various ways, whether in the form of energy or technology and these are-
Photosynthesis– Plants use light for photosynthesis. Where sunlight is used by plants to generate their food. It is an essential part of plants life cycle.
Optical Fibers- Optical fibers are used for communication purpose in which the information is transmitted from one place to another by sending pulses of light through an optical fiber. The light forms an electromagnetic carrier wave that is modulated to carry information.
Laser Technology- Laser is a device that emits light through a process of electromagnetic radiation. Nowadays this technology is used commonly in medical diagnosis, treatments, or therapies, such as laser photo dynamic therapy, and laser surgery. Laser light has a specific wavelength. It is focused in a narrow beam and creates a very high-intensity light. Because lasers can focus very accurately on tiny areas, they can be used for very precise surgical work or for cutting through tissue instead of a scalpel.
Solar Energy- Light from sun also acts as source of solar energy. Solar energy technologies use the sun’s energy and light to provide heat, light, hot water, electricity, and even cooling, for homes, businesses, and industry.
Microscope- Microscope is a device which consist tubes packed with lenses, curved pieces of glass that refract light rays passing through them. It is an optical instrument used for viewing very small objects, such as mineral samples or animal or plant cells, typically magnified several hundred to thousand times. Light is an important factor for this device.
Telescope- A telescope is an optical instrument that makes distant objects appear magnified, due to emission, absorption, or reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Telescope can gather lot more light than the human eye, collecting all of the photons that come down on it from a far away object. This device is very useful in astronomy.
Light is an information carrier to understand the nature on the scale of small bacteria to distant galaxies. Research on light and its properties has revolutionized the way of understanding universe.
The study of light has led to promising alternative energy sources, lifesaving medical advances in diagnostics technology and treatments, light-speed internet and many other discoveries that have revolutionized the society.
