iSCIENCE
Sunlight gives life to Earth and to the rich
mixture of creatures and habitats that live
on our abundant planet. It allows us to see
the world around us and decorates it with
splashes of colour.
From the simple yet amazing “Moser Lamp”
bottle lights that are revolutionising poor
areas of Brazil with nothing much more than
sunlight, water, bleach and a bottle...to new
technology and complex solar panels, the
Sun provides us with light in lots of ways!
Don't forget 2015 is the International Year of
Light and Light-Based Technology, so look at
our Cool Weblinks page 19 for ideas on this
and more.
The rules are the same as for the solar
eclipse earlier this year - NEVER look at the
Sun directly! But here are some reasons
why sunlight it is fascinating and well worth
further thought.
8
FUSE
We are only able to see objects because of the
light they give off either directly or indirectly.
Directly -from a source (starting point) such as the
sun, a lightbulb, bonfire or mobile phone. There are
even fascinating creatures like the firefly or tiny
sea tunicate that produce their own light energy.
Indirectly -by reflecting (bouncing) this direct light
off anything from a shiny CD to our huge Moon we
gaze up at.
Objects like glass aren't very reflective and so they
allow lots of light to pass through, which is what
makes them transparent.
Most objects absorb some light and 'keep it' and
also reflect some light and bounce back the colour
of the object.