Physics 125 - Seeing The Light

An introductory course on many aspects of light. The course will include discussion and classroom demonstrations of important aspects of light, shadows, reflection, light in nature (rainbows, mirages, etc.), lenses, image formation, reading glasses, photography (film, digital, f-numbers, etc.), the eye, perception, polarizing materials, where color comes from, color in nature, color mixing (lights and pigments), lasers, among other things. The course is designed for anyone with an interest in the physical and natural worlds, but should be of particular interest to anyone who wants to better understand light, especially artists, photographers and those involved with lighting, e.g. theater lighting. There will be many classroom demonstrations. Lecture attendance will be important. Prerequisite: familiarity with elementary high school geometry and algebra is recommended. (Gen.Ed. PS)