• The software I used to create this picture is "Paint".
• And honestly, the hardest part of drawing this was making the center and focal point darks circular. I don't use the "Paint" program that frequently, so I haven't mastered the manipulation of its tools. With a little more practice, I think my drawings could reach new levels.
  

PS: If this is too hard to read, let me know and I will print you a copy and give it to you in class.

Journal Entry 10/19

I would agree with Spud in so much as that an image of the orange is visible in the mirror, but it is not on the surface of the mirror. Through experiments and discussions in class I have learned that the location of the image is real, and behind the mirror, but the image itself is not on the surface of the mirror. In order to prove this to Spud, I would place an orange on the floor in front of the mirror. Then I would ask four people in the class to volunteer. I would give each person a ruler and ask them to place the ruler on the floor, pointed at the spot at which they see the orange. Each person would place their ruler in a different location, pointed at a different spot on the mirror, but towards a similar spot. I would then lift the mirror away and continue the line of each ruler with a line drawn with chalk. These lines would all meet at one point, which represents the location of the image. Linda's ideas about the image are wrong. In order to convince Linda that she is mistaken in her beliefs about the image, I would perform the same experiment as before, in front of her. I would place the orange in front of the mirror and then ask for four volunteers. I would give each volunteer a ruler and tell them to place the ruler on the floor, pointing at the image of the orange. If Linda was right, all of the rulers would be directed at the same point on the surface of the mirror. They would not be however. Each person sees the object from a different spot so when they direct their ruler it hits the surface in a different spot.

History of Discovery in Light and Vision

1. Euclid was an ancient Greek most noted for his contributions to geometry. He did contribute much to physics and light as well however. Euclid built off of Empedocles ideas and had the single greatest break through in light and vision history. He asked the question, Why do objects that are far seem so much smaller than they actually are? Through his studies, Euclid determined taht rays from the eyes must follow straight lines; rays of light travel in straight lines.

2. Empedocles was a Sicilian philosopher, doctor, and poet. He believed that we see objects because light streams out of our eyes towards them. An interesting story about Empedocles is that he threw himself into the volcano a Mount Etna in Sicily, in an attempt to prove that he was immortal. Unfortunately for Empedocles however, he was not immortal, and he died.

3. When Sicily fell to the rule of Islam, Islamic scholars translated, edited, and debated the optical and light ideas of the Greeks. al-Haytham was one of the leading scholars who worked with the ideas of the Greeks. He ultimately discovered how light and vision worked. He worked for al-Hakim, a powerful lord who encouraged learning because he wanted to control everything. He ordered al-Haytham to stop the Nile from flooding. But al-Haytham knew that this was impossible, so he pretened to be crazy to get out of the task. It didn't work however; he was thrown into jail. While in captivity, he bcame obsessed with light and dark. He refuted Empedocles ideas that rays come out of the human eye, because he realized that when he stared at the sun, his eyes hurt. This would not happen if rays came from the eyes. While in jail he studied light with the help of mirrors, and realized that light bounces like a ball. He said that rays travel through space in straight lines to our eyes. He ultimately estblished the laws of reflection and refraction. al-Haytham's works inspired future scientists like Roger Bacon, who built off his ideas about vision.

4. Roger Bacon was a 13th Century Fransiscan Friar who studied the al-Haytham's works. He studied the effect of light on glass and colors. He had a breakthrough when he realized that curved glassses can change the appearance of objects. This led to enhancement in spectacles. Roger Bacon was also obsessed with the rainbow, but his obsession borders on heresy. The rainbow represents an intense relationship between believers and god, and Bacon's work to replicate rainbows angered many religious people. Bacon was able to explain the miracle of the rainbow through natural law. He figured out that rainbows are a result of reflection and refraction in individual droplets of water. This discovery was religious suicide for Bacon. he was exiled for his works and placed in closed confinement in Paris.

"Light Fantastic" Movie Review

"Light Fantastic" was one of the best movies I've watched in school. I thought that Simon Schaffer was an exemplary host, who succeeded in providing the viewers with knowledge while bringing his own personality to the screen. I think what I liked the most about this film was the connection of both science and history; the physics behind light and the social impacts of light were represented simultaneously. I had never know that Impetecles, a Sicilian philosopher, doctor, and poet, was the first man to really contemplate the meaning of light, but learning of his discoveries was really interesting. Impetecles believed taht we see objects because light streams out of our eyes toward them. This idea probably seemed logical during the time of the Ancient Greeks, and even though it is not completely accurate, it was a great bounce point for future scientists to build off of. I think the best part of the movie began when Simon Schaffer talked about the Islamic takeover of the Greek views. Scholars of Islam translated, edited, and debated the optical and light ideas of the Greeks and Alhowzen (probably spelled wrong) was one of the most influential men in the history of light studies. I think Alhowzen became all the more interesting because I had never heard of him. He is definitely an underappreciated member of the physics community, who deserves a lot of respect. He refuted Impetecles ideas and established his own. Alhowzen discovered that rays travel through space in straight lines to our eyes. As he sat in jail, he studied light and established the laws of reflection and refraction. I thought it was interesting that the Islamic scholars were eager to understand light because it was a link to religion, but the militant Christians wanted it more to empower Europe. They believed taht light equaled divinity. When Simon Schaffer talked about the 13th Century Fransican Friar Roger Bacon, he did a superb job linking science and religion. Bacon was obsessed with the rainbow and he was able to explain this miracle through natural laws. His dedication to his field was religioius suicide; he was exiled to Paris for his works. During this segment of the film, I learned that rainbows are a result of reflection and refraction in individual droplets of water. This was extremely interesting because the awesomeness of the rainbow became more apparent. Overall, I would highly reccomend this film. I thought that the entire presentation was exceptional, and it really substantiated the light ray! I hope we continue to watch this film in class.

Good choice Mr. D'Amato!

Journal Entry 9/28 continued again

In a final attempt to understand the mystery of this scenerio, I turned to my notes. I think that the landscape does not appear because of diffuse reflection. A disturbance to the pond causes the surface to be rough and bumpy, which means that at each point, the normal line points in a different direction. This means that even if the rays that enter the water are parallel, they will be reflected in different directions. As a result of diffuse reflection, there aren't enough reflected rays concentrated in one direction, so no image appears on the surface of the pond.

Journal Entry 10/5

Conclusion To Today's Lab: To find the distance between the initial ray and the refracted ray, I used the trigonometric tool, SOH CAH TOA. I knew the distance between the wall and the laser adn the angle, after using Snell's law. Our equation was: tan 11.22 = x/670.56. When we solved for x, we got 133 cm. However, when we actually measured the distance between the two rays we got 126 cm. We then calculated our margin of error, again using SOH CAH TOA This time we knew the base of the triangle and the side and wanted to find the angle. Our equation was: arctan (126/670.56) = x. X equaled 10.64. This meant that our measurement of 11.22 degrees was off by 0.58 degrees. Looking at the protractor however, we concluded that a more precise measurement could not have been produced. Therefore, our measurement is accurate. I forgot to mention that in order to determine where the refracted point would hit the wall, we needed to set up another SOH CAH TOA equation. The triangle led us to the equation: tan 15 = x/61. X equaled 16.34 cm. We shifted the laser 16.34 cm and thus were able to continue the experiment.

Journal Entry 9/28 continued

1. Constant motion does not afford time for a light ray to reflect. When the pond is calm, it acts as a mirror for the rays to reflect off of, but when the water is moving, it is shifting as it is reflecting. Therefore, the reflected rays are being absorbed into the motion of the water, and fail to produce a picture of the landscape. 2. The portion of the spoon that is under water refracts light rays that hit it. Three-quarters of the spoon are underwater so a lot of rays are being refracted. When the refracted rays are all concentrated towards one area, that is the area where the image appears.