•Absorption
–When light passes through an object the intensity is
reduced depending upon the color
absorbed. Thus the selective absorption
of white light produces colored light.
•Refraction
–Direction change of a ray of light passing from one
transparent medium to another with
different optical density. A ray from less to more dense medium is bent perpendicular to the surface, with greater deviation for shorter
wavelengths
•Diffraction
–Light rays bend around edges - new wavefronts are
generated at sharp edges - the
smaller the aperture the lower the definition
•Dispersion
–Separation of light into its constituent wavelengths
when entering a transparent
medium - the change of refractive index with wavelength, such as the spectrum produced by a
prism or a rainbow