Background Information on the Properties of Light We Are Exposed to Light Everyday but Do We Every Really Think About It
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Career Blended Mathematics Visual Media/Dramatic Arts Teacher Manual Luminosity Background Information on the Properties of Light We are exposed to light everyday but do we every really think about it. We get a tan from the light of the sun. We read a magazine from the light of a lamp. We watch a movie at a theater from the light of the movie projector. We know that if we are too far away from a light at night that it is hard to see. If we are too close to a light it is blinding. So what can we say about light? How can we describe light in mathematical and scientific terms? Does anyone ever talk about light in that way? This set of examples and exercises will answer those questions. One thing that is really neat about the American measurement of light intensity is that it is measured in candles, as in candlepower. In fact, a very old definition of candlepower is stated in terms of candles. One candlepower is the light intensity of a standard candle made of whale 1 7 wax, weighing lb of inches in diameter, and burning 120 grains per hour. 6 8 One candlepower or one candela equals the light intensity of one candle. Light cast from a candle onto an object that is one foot away is called a footcandle. The illumination of an object by a light source is measured in footcandles. We have a modern definition of light intensity that is much more precise and scientific than the old. It is given in candelas which is really just the same name as candlepower. One candela is the luminous intensity, in a given direction, of a source that emits monochromatic radiation of frequency 540 1012 Hz , hertz, and that has 1 a radiant intensity in that directions of W , watts per steradian. 683 sr Sometimes you will see Light Intensity listed as lumens instead of candlepower and illumination referred to as lux instead of Footcandles. Lux is the European measurement of illumination based on the metric system. It is measured in lumens per square meter. Lumen gives an overall description of light intensity from a light bulb. You might not talk about footcandles that much in everyday life or among your friends but cinematographers, photographers and gaffers (movie lighting technicians) talk about footcandles all the time. When lighting a scene for a movie or lighting a fashion model for a magazine, gaffers and photographers refer to the amount of light falling on the actors, models, or objects that are to be filmed or photographed. They often refer to the light in footcandles which is an absolute measurement of light level. 16 © Copyright 2014. The Johns Hopkins University. All Rights Reserved. Career Blended Mathematics Visual Media/Dramatic Arts Teacher Manual Luminosity Another neat thing about light is how it disperses. As we mentioned above, we know that if we are too far away from a light that it is hard to see anything, but if we are too close to a light, it is blinding. So, how exactly does light disperse? It disperses with the inverse square of the distance. For example, as your distance from a light source doubles the light intensity does not fall off by half, it falls off by a fourth. If your distance triples, the light falls off by a ninth. Illumination is given in terms of light intensity per area! It’s called the Inverse Square Law. I E d 2 E is illumination, I is the light intensity of the light bulb, and d is the distance from the light bulb to an object. What do you think the units of Illumination are? Footcandles, which is candlepower per square foot. 10 ft 10 ft 10 ft © Copyright 2014. The Johns Hopkins University. All Rights Reserved. 17 Career Blended Mathematics Visual Media/Dramatic Arts Teacher Manual Luminosity Cut Out – Cookie Square This is not a projection master/transparency. Print on paper and then cut-out the square. Place on an overhead projector to project square of light. © Copyright 2014. The Johns Hopkins University. All Rights Reserved. 19 Career Blended Mathematics Visual Media/Dramatic Arts Teacher Manual Luminosity Grouping Cards 52 © Copyright 2014. The Johns Hopkins University. All Rights Reserved. Career Blended Mathematics Visual Media/Dramatic Arts Teacher Manual Luminosity © Copyright 2014. The Johns Hopkins University. All Rights Reserved. 53 .