C4 1
Light waves
a) In the 17th century there were two conflicting theories about the nature of light. Huygens proposed one of these theories and Newton supported the other. Briefly outline these TWO theories. Newton Huygens [2]
b) Young provided experimental evidence that supported one of the theories in a). Which one did it support? [1]
c) Einstein used one of the theories in a) to explain the observations of experiments in which light was interacting with matter. Which one was it? [1] 2
a) Explain what is meant by the term ‘diffraction’.
[1]
b) Light is usually thought of as travelling in straight lines because diffraction is not normally observed. State why this is so and state ONE observation that supports this.
[2]
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