light travel in straight line

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How to Prove That Light Travels in a Straight Path

Last Updated: April 24, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Chris Hasegawa, PhD . Dr. Chris Hasegawa was a Science Professor and the Dean at California State University Monterey Bay. Dr. Hasegawa specializes in teaching complex scientific concepts to students. He holds a BS in Biochemistry, a Master’s in Education, and his teaching credential from The University of California, Davis. He earned his PhD in Curriculum and Instruction from The University of Oregon. Before becoming a professor, Dr. Hasegawa conducted biochemical research in Neuropharmacology at the National Institute of Health. He also taught physical and life sciences and served as a teacher and administrator at public schools in California, Oregon, and Arizona. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 213,457 times.

Light is an essential part of your day. It allows you to see objects, shapes, and colors. In fact, the pupils in your eyes filter in light to help you see everything around you. As part of a school assignment, you may be asked to prove that light travels in a straight line. You can do this using basic household items in three easy experiments.

Making a Light Pinhole

• Three index cards.
• A piece of modeling clay or sticky tack. You can also use double sided tape.

• A hole puncher.

• Take the hole puncher and punch a hole at the center of the card where the two lines intersect. Do this for the other two cards.

• Form a stand for the cards using the clay so the cards are straight and upright. Use the ruler to ensure the cards are two to five inches from each other.
• You can also use double sided tape to attach the cards to a surface in a vertical position. Do not cover or obstruct the hole in the center of the cards with modeling clay or tape.

• Note that the light can be seen through all the holes. You should be able to see the light go through all the holes and land on a wall or surface beyond the last index card.

Using a Mirror and a Flashlight

• Two to three sheets of black paper.
• Small objects like buttons, bottle caps, or dimes.

• The other person will use the small mirror to reflect the flashlight so it hits the objects. Move close to the light, at an angle, to catch the light so it hits the objects.
• You may need to position more than one mirror to create a light path that shines on the objects. Play around with reflecting the light on the mirrors until the light hits the objects. You can also move the objects around the room to create a more complicated light path, using the flashlight as the light source.
• This experiment shows that light travels in a straight line in the air. But it also bounces off of a reflective surface, like a mirror. The angle of the light as it bounces off the mirror will be the same as the angle of the light as it hits the mirror. The mirror reflects the light and changes its path from a straight line to an angled straight line.

Using Water and Oil

• A large glass jar.
• Access to water.
• One cup of oil.

• Make sure the jar is large enough to fit the ruler.

• Note that the numbers appear stretched or magnified as the light rays bend in the oil and the water. Move the ruler from side to side to note the different appearances of the ruler numbers in the oil and in the water.
• This will show that light travels at different speeds in different mediums, such as air, oil, and water. It will travel in a straight line in the air, but it will bend when it changes speed due to contact with a certain medium, like oil or water.

Expert Q&A

Things You'll Need

• A piece of modeling clay or sticky tack. You can also use tape.
• A flashlight or a laser pointer.
• A flashlight.
• A small mirror.

You Might Also Like

• ↑ http://www.ducksters.com/science/experiment_light_travel.php
• ↑ Chris Hasegawa, PhD. Retired Science Professor & Dean. Expert Interview. 29 July 2021.
• ↑ https://www.science-sparks.com/science-fair-projects-light-maze/
• ↑ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/now-you-see-it-testing-out-light-refraction/

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• Light Travels In a Straight Line

Light travels in a straight line can be observed by keeping an object in the path of light. In an atmosphere which is bit dusty, we can see light traveling in a straight line. Light emerging from the torch, train and lamps always travel in a straight line. Let us study in detail how does light travel in a straight line.

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Light travels along a straight line.

Life without light would have been pretty dull. Light travels at a speed of 186,000 miles per second. You must have observed that in your house that whenever a beam of light enters a dark room through a tiny hole in the window, the lightwave always travels in a straight line.

Let us carry out a small activity to show that lightwave travels along a straight line. Take three CD’s and align them together. Align them in such a way that all the CD’s line in a straight line. Now take a candle and place it at the other end. Do make sure that the tip of the candle and the holes of the CD’s all lie in the straight line. Ensure that the height of the CD’s and the tip of the candle are same. Observe the flame of the candle. We are able to see the flame of the candle because the light wave travels through the holes and reaches our eye.

Browse more Topics under Light

• Reflection of Light
• Sunlight – White or Coloured
• Images Formed By Lenses

Now if suppose we displace the center of the CD’s we observe that we are not able to see the flame of the candle. Why does that happen? This is because the light gets blocked. If the light could have the ability to take a curve and travel, we could have seen the lightwave. But since light travels in a straight line, we were unable to see the flame of the candle when the CD is displaced. This proves that light travels along a straight line.

(Source: Wikipedia)

In the above picture, we can clearly see that light coming through the holes in the window travel along a straight line.

Questions For You

Q1. The phenomenon in which the moon’s shadow falls on earth,  or the earth casts its shadow on the moon, is known as

• Lateral deviation

Answer: C. The phenomenon in which the moon’s shadow falls on earth or the earth casts its shadow on the moon is known as an eclipse. During a solar eclipse, moon’s shadow falls on the earth. During a lunar eclipse, earth’s shadow falls on the moon.

Q2. Two examples of non-luminous objects are

• Stars and Moon
• Burning candle, glowing bulb
• The moon, a spoon
• Stars, a spoon

Answer: C. Non-luminous objects are those that do not emit light. The moon and the spoon do not emit light. So these two are good examples of non-luminous objects.

Q3. We can see the objects only when

• Reflected light from the object reaches our eye.
• The objects absorb all the light.
• When the objects allow all the light to pass through them.
• None of these.

Answer: A. Objects can only be seen when light falls on the object and are reflected back to our eyes.

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Why Does Light Travel in a Straight Line?

Most recent answer: 11/20/2010

(published on 11/20/2010)

Follow-Up #1: gravity bending light

Yes. Light from a torch is just like any other light. Astronomers routinely see evidence of light being bent by gravity.

(published on 03/08/2018)

Follow-up on this answer

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• Can stars exist independently of galaxies ?

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• Light Travels in Straight Line

An Introduction

Light is one form of energy that plays a vital role in our life. We cannot imagine a world full of darkness. Light makes our vision possible and enhances the beauty of everything around us. Light is playing an important role in both art and science. Light is one of the important tools in science that helps scientists to observe things around the world.

Some theories of science are saying it is particles and some of them are saying light is a wave . If the light is a wave, how does light travel and what is the medium of propagation? Light travels in a straight line. The straight-line path of light is very much evident when light travels through a dusty atmosphere. In this article, we will be discussing the straight line motion of light.

How does Light Travel?

Light can travel through both in a medium and in a vacuum . But in a vacuum, there will not be any particles light can not reflect by hitting it. Hence, in a vacuum, light is invisible. In air, light can be reflected by hitting dust or some other particles, hence light is visible in the air.

Light can be considered as waves. Light waves travel in different wavelengths and depending on the wavelength, different light has different colours. For example, the high wavelength light in visible light has a red colour and the shortest wavelength of light has a violet colour. Being a wave light can show properties of waves such as interference and diffraction .

The answer to the question of how light normally travels is that light travels in a straight line. But the actual answer is light seems to travel in a straight line because of the smaller diffraction effect of light. Diffraction is the bending of waves around an object such that it spreads out and illuminates an area where a shadow is expected.

For light, the wavelength is in the order of nanometers. This wavelength is too small and obstacles of this size cannot be determined by our naked eyes. Hence, we feel that light travels along a straight line. The straight-line motion of light is also called rectilinear propagation of light .

Experiment for the Straight Line Motion of Light

Since the diffraction effect of light is too small, normally light travels along a straight line. By using a simple experimental setup, we can prove that light travels along a straight line.

Place three cardboard sheets back to back in front of a candle on the tabletop. Make sure that the cardboard sheets and the candles are placed in a straight line. Light the candle and make a pinhole on each cardboard sheet. The holes should be made at equal height such that the flame of the candle is visible through them. Now look through the holes and observe light travels in which line. The light flame will be visible along the straight line of holes. Now move one of the cardboard sheets to either side and observe the flame. Can you see the flame? On moving the cardboard sheet, the flame will not be visible. Now, again place the cardboard sheet back in its position. The flame is visible now.

From this experiment, we can conclude that light travels along a straight line and this experiment diagram is given below.

Examples of Straight Line Motion of Light

Light travels in straight line examples are as follows:.

Light comes out from a torch or train or lamp follows a straight line path.

A straight line path of light is visible when Sunlight comes out through the small holes in a dusty atmosphere.

When we place any opaque object in front of the object, we observe that the object will be invisible. It is because light cannot bend through the corners of the opaque object.

Interesting Facts

Sunlight can reach a depth of 80m in the ocean.

Paul Dirac proposed a theory in explaining the dual nature of light in 1927.

Particles of light are called photons.

The scientist Euclid Catoptrics in 280 BC found light travels in straight-line inhomogeneous media.

Key Features

Light travels along a straight line.

The straight-line motion of light is due to its small diffraction effects.

Light comes out from the train, torch, and lamp are examples of straight line motion of light.

FAQs on Light Travels in Straight Line

1. What is rectilinear propagation of light?

Light travels along a straight line. The straight-line motion of light is called rectilinear propagation of light.

2. Explain why light travels in a straight line?

Light is a wave exhibiting the property of diffraction. The phenomenon of diffraction is observed only if the wavelength of the wave matches the size of the particle it collides with. Light has wavelengths in the order of nanometers. Usually, an object of nanometer size can not be seen by the naked eye. Hence, the diffraction effect of light is too small to be considered. So, light appears to travel along a straight line.

3. Why is light invisible in a vacuum?

Light can travel through a vacuum. Since in a vacuum there are no particles, light can not reflect. Hence, light is invisible in a vacuum.

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May 20, 2016

How does light travel?

by Matt Williams, Universe Today

Ever since Democritus – a Greek philosopher who lived between the 5th and 4th century's BCE – argued that all of existence was made up of tiny indivisible atoms, scientists have been speculating as to the true nature of light. Whereas scientists ventured back and forth between the notion that light was a particle or a wave until the modern, the 20th century led to breakthroughs that showed that it behaves as both.

These included the discovery of the electron, the development of quantum theory, and Einstein's Theory of Relativity. However, there remains many fascinating and unanswered questions when it comes to light, many of which arise from its dual nature. For instance, how is it that light can be apparently without mass, but still behave as a particle? And how can it behave like a wave and pass through a vacuum, when all other waves require a medium to propagate?

Theory of Light in the 19th Century:

During the Scientific Revolution, scientists began moving away from Aristotelian scientific theories that had been seen as accepted canon for centuries. This included rejecting Aristotle's theory of light, which viewed it as being a disturbance in the air (one of his four "elements" that composed matter), and embracing the more mechanistic view that light was composed of indivisible atoms.

In many ways, this theory had been previewed by atomists of Classical Antiquity – such as Democritus and Lucretius – both of whom viewed light as a unit of matter given off by the sun. By the 17th century, several scientists emerged who accepted this view, stating that light was made up of discrete particles (or "corpuscles"). This included Pierre Gassendi, a contemporary of René Descartes, Thomas Hobbes, Robert Boyle, and most famously, Sir Isaac Newton.

Newton's corpuscular theory was an elaboration of his view of reality as an interaction of material points through forces. This theory would remain the accepted scientific view for more than 100 years, the principles of which were explained in his 1704 treatise "Opticks, or, a Treatise of the Reflections, Refractions, Inflections, and Colours of Light". According to Newton, the principles of light could be summed as follows:

• Every source of light emits large numbers of tiny particles known as corpuscles in a medium surrounding the source.
• These corpuscles are perfectly elastic, rigid, and weightless.

This represented a challenge to "wave theory", which had been advocated by 17th century Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens. . These theories were first communicated in 1678 to the Paris Academy of Sciences and were published in 1690 in his "Traité de la lumière" ("Treatise on Light"). In it, he argued a revised version of Descartes views, in which the speed of light is infinite and propagated by means of spherical waves emitted along the wave front.

Double-Slit Experiment:

By the early 19th century, scientists began to break with corpuscular theory. This was due in part to the fact that corpuscular theory failed to adequately explain the diffraction, interference and polarization of light, but was also because of various experiments that seemed to confirm the still-competing view that light behaved as a wave.

The most famous of these was arguably the Double-Slit Experiment, which was originally conducted by English polymath Thomas Young in 1801 (though Sir Isaac Newton is believed to have conducted something similar in his own time). In Young's version of the experiment, he used a slip of paper with slits cut into it, and then pointed a light source at them to measure how light passed through it.

According to classical (i.e. Newtonian) particle theory, the results of the experiment should have corresponded to the slits, the impacts on the screen appearing in two vertical lines. Instead, the results showed that the coherent beams of light were interfering, creating a pattern of bright and dark bands on the screen. This contradicted classical particle theory, in which particles do not interfere with each other, but merely collide.

The only possible explanation for this pattern of interference was that the light beams were in fact behaving as waves. Thus, this experiment dispelled the notion that light consisted of corpuscles and played a vital part in the acceptance of the wave theory of light. However subsequent research, involving the discovery of the electron and electromagnetic radiation , would lead to scientists considering yet again that light behaved as a particle too, thus giving rise to wave-particle duality theory.

Electromagnetism and Special Relativity:

Prior to the 19th and 20th centuries, the speed of light had already been determined. The first recorded measurements were performed by Danish astronomer Ole Rømer, who demonstrated in 1676 using light measurements from Jupiter's moon Io to show that light travels at a finite speed (rather than instantaneously).

By the late 19th century , James Clerk Maxwell proposed that light was an electromagnetic wave, and devised several equations (known as Maxwell's equations) to describe how electric and magnetic fields are generated and altered by each other and by charges and currents. By conducting measurements of different types of radiation (magnetic fields, ultraviolet and infrared radiation), he was able to calculate the speed of light in a vacuum (represented as c).

In 1905, Albert Einstein published "On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies", in which he advanced one of his most famous theories and overturned centuries of accepted notions and orthodoxies. In his paper, he postulated that the speed of light was the same in all inertial reference frames, regardless of the motion of the light source or the position of the observer.

Exploring the consequences of this theory is what led him to propose his theory of Special Relativity, which reconciled Maxwell's equations for electricity and magnetism with the laws of mechanics, simplified the mathematical calculations, and accorded with the directly observed speed of light and accounted for the observed aberrations. It also demonstrated that the speed of light had relevance outside the context of light and electromagnetism.

For one, it introduced the idea that major changes occur when things move close the speed of light, including the time-space frame of a moving body appearing to slow down and contract in the direction of motion when measured in the frame of the observer. After centuries of increasingly precise measurements, the speed of light was determined to be 299,792,458 m/s in 1975.

Einstein and the Photon:

In 1905, Einstein also helped to resolve a great deal of confusion surrounding the behavior of electromagnetic radiation when he proposed that electrons are emitted from atoms when they absorb energy from light. Known as the photoelectric effect, Einstein based his idea on Planck's earlier work with "black bodies" – materials that absorb electromagnetic energy instead of reflecting it (i.e. white bodies).

At the time, Einstein's photoelectric effect was attempt to explain the "black body problem", in which a black body emits electromagnetic radiation due to the object's heat. This was a persistent problem in the world of physics, arising from the discovery of the electron, which had only happened eight years previous (thanks to British physicists led by J.J. Thompson and experiments using cathode ray tubes).

At the time, scientists still believed that electromagnetic energy behaved as a wave, and were therefore hoping to be able to explain it in terms of classical physics. Einstein's explanation represented a break with this, asserting that electromagnetic radiation behaved in ways that were consistent with a particle – a quantized form of light which he named "photons". For this discovery, Einstein was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1921.

Wave-Particle Duality:

Subsequent theories on the behavior of light would further refine this idea, which included French physicist Louis-Victor de Broglie calculating the wavelength at which light functioned. This was followed by Heisenberg's "uncertainty principle" (which stated that measuring the position of a photon accurately would disturb measurements of it momentum and vice versa), and Schrödinger's paradox that claimed that all particles have a " wave function ".

In accordance with quantum mechanical explanation, Schrodinger proposed that all the information about a particle (in this case, a photon) is encoded in its wave function, a complex-valued function roughly analogous to the amplitude of a wave at each point in space. At some location, the measurement of the wave function will randomly "collapse", or rather "decohere", to a sharply peaked function. This was illustrated in Schrödinger famous paradox involving a closed box, a cat, and a vial of poison (known as the "Schrödinger's Cat" paradox).

According to his theory, wave function also evolves according to a differential equation (aka. the Schrödinger equation). For particles with mass, this equation has solutions; but for particles with no mass, no solution existed. Further experiments involving the Double-Slit Experiment confirmed the dual nature of photons. where measuring devices were incorporated to observe the photons as they passed through the slits.

When this was done, the photons appeared in the form of particles and their impacts on the screen corresponded to the slits – tiny particle-sized spots distributed in straight vertical lines. By placing an observation device in place, the wave function of the photons collapsed and the light behaved as classical particles once more. As predicted by Schrödinger, this could only be resolved by claiming that light has a wave function, and that observing it causes the range of behavioral possibilities to collapse to the point where its behavior becomes predictable.

The development of Quantum Field Theory (QFT) was devised in the following decades to resolve much of the ambiguity around wave-particle duality. And in time, this theory was shown to apply to other particles and fundamental forces of interaction (such as weak and strong nuclear forces). Today, photons are part of the Standard Model of particle physics, where they are classified as boson – a class of subatomic particles that are force carriers and have no mass.

So how does light travel? Basically, traveling at incredible speeds (299 792 458 m/s) and at different wavelengths, depending on its energy. It also behaves as both a wave and a particle, able to propagate through mediums (like air and water) as well as space. It has no mass, but can still be absorbed, reflected, or refracted if it comes in contact with a medium. And in the end, the only thing that can truly slow down or arrest the speed of light is gravity (i.e. a black hole).

What we have learned about light and electromagnetism has been intrinsic to the revolution which took place in physics in the early 20th century, a revolution that we have been grappling with ever since. Thanks to the efforts of scientists like Maxwell, Planck, Einstein, Heisenberg and Schrodinger, we have learned much, but still have much to learn.

For instance, its interaction with gravity (along with weak and strong nuclear forces) remains a mystery. Unlocking this, and thus discovering a Theory of Everything (ToE) is something astronomers and physicists look forward to. Someday, we just might have it all figured out!

Source: Universe Today

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How does light travel in a straight line?

Explanation: light moves in a straight line, as any physics student is aware. but now, scientists have demonstrated that light can curve without any outside help. although the researchers claim it might be used in real-world applications like remotely controlling items with light, the result is essentially an optical illusion. the main reason why light moves in straight lines are because it is a wave and prefers to travel the smallest distance between the two points. light, however, can diverge from a straight trajectory when it strikes certain obstructions. diffraction is a popular name for this phenomenon. light is frequently considered to move in a straight line since diffraction has such a negligible effect in the real life..

Light travels in a straight line.

Why does light appear to travel in a straight line?

Under what special conditions, light does not travel in a straight line?

Light Travels Along a Straight Line

Introduction.

One type of energy that is essential to our existence is light. We are unable to envision a world without light. Light improves the beauty of everything around us and allows us to see. In both science and art, light is a crucial element. One of the crucial scientific instruments that enable scientists to examine things all across the world is light.

Some scientific theories claim that it is made up of particles, while others assert that it is made up of waves. What is the medium of propagation if the light is a wave? How does light move? We shall find answers to some of these questions in this article.

How does Light Travel?

Light can pass through a medium and in a vacuum. However, there won’t be any particles in a vacuum that light can’t reflect off of. Therefore, light is invisible in a vacuum. Light can reflect in the air when it strikes dust or other particles, making light visible in the atmosphere. Light may be thought of as having waves. Different light waves have varied wavelengths, and different light has different colours based on the wavelength. For instance, the shortest wavelength of light has a violet colour, whereas the highest wavelength of visible light has a red colour. Light, being a wave, may exhibit wave characteristics like diffraction and interference.

The answer to the question of how light typically moves is that it moves straightforwardly. However, the truth is that light’s smaller diffraction effect is the reason it appears to move in a straight line. The spreading out and the illumination of an area where a shadow is anticipated is known as diffraction, which is the bending of waves around an object. The wavelength of light is on the order of nanometers. We cannot see impediments of this size with our unaided eyes because the wavelength is too narrow. As a result, we see that light moves in a straight path. Rectilinear propagation of light is another name for the way that light moves in a straight line.

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Experiment with the Straight Line Motion of Light

Normal light travels in a straight line because there isn’t enough diffraction to cause any noticeable effects. We demonstrate that light moves in a straight line using a basic experimental setup. In front of a candle on the tabletop, arrange three cardboard sheets back to back. Ensure that the candles and cardboard sheets are arranged in a straight line. On each cardboard sheet, poke a pinhole after lighting the candle. To allow for the visibility of the candle’s flame, the holes must be made at equal heights. Now, observe which line light travels in by looking through the holes. Along the slender line of holes, the thin flame will be visible. Now move one of the cardboard sheets to either side and observe the flame. Can you see the flame? The flame won’t be seen when you move the cardboard sheet. Reposition the cardboard sheet in its original location. The flame may now be seen. The experiment diagram is shown below. From this experiment, we may infer that light moves in a straight line.

Examples of Straight-Line Motion of Light

• When a lamp, torch, or another source of light emits light, it travels in a straight line.
• When sunlight enters a dusty environment through tiny holes, a straight-line trail of light is apparent.
• The object will become invisible when an opaque object is placed in front of it. The reason for this is that an opaque object prevents light from bending through its corners.

The light rays move in a straight line. The minimized diffraction effects of light facilitate the propagation of the light in a straight path. Examples, where the light rays travel in a straight line, are the light ray that comes from a train, a torch, and/or a lamp.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. what is rectilinear propagation of light.

Ans: The motion of the light rays in a straight line is termed the rectilinear propagation of the light.

2. Explain why Light Travels in a Straight Line?

Ans: Diffraction is a wave characteristic of light. Only when the wavelength of the light wave is of the order of the dimension of the size of the particle it collides with, and the phenomena of diffraction take place. The wavelengths of light are on the order of nanometers. Typically, a nanometer-sized item is invisible to the human eye. Light’s diffraction impact is therefore too modest to be taken into account and travels in a straight-line path.

3. Why is Light Invisible in a Vacuum?

Ans: Light can travel through the vacuum, however, since there are no particles available in the vacuum, light cannot reflect in a vacuum and therefore light is invisible in a vacuum.

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Bridge Course Class 7th Science

Course: bridge course class 7th science   >   unit 4, light travels in a straight line.

• Light and its Characteristics

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Video transcript.

• 3 index cards
• small piece of modeling clay or sticky tack
• hole puncher
• science journal
• For each index card, use a ruler to draw lines connecting opposite corners of the card.
• At the intersection of the two lines, use a hole puncher to punch a hole in the center of the index cards.
• For each card, use a small piece of modeling clay and place the card into the clay to create a "stand" for the card. Place the cards so that they stand vertically and at an equal distance from each other. See Diagram.
• Place the flashlight at one end of the row of index cards and turn off the light in the room.
• Arrange the index cards so that light can be seen through all the holes.
• Observe and record your observations.
• How can light be seen through all the index cards?
• What does the experiment prove about the path light travels?
• What would happen if the holes were smaller?

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NOTIFICATIONS

Light travels in straight lines outwards from its source.

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Light is produced by a source and travels outwards from the source in straight lines and all directions at 300,000 km/s.

Because we can’t actually see light travelling, we depict this property in diagrams that show light travelling in straight lines called rays. These rays travel out from the source until they hit something. Depending on the properties of whatever they hit, all or some of the rays will pass through it, bounce off it or be absorbed by it.

Only a vacuum allows the completely free passage of light. Some light energy is always absorbed by any material through which light passes. Thicker samples of the same materials absorb more energy, for example, objects are seen more clearly through a thin layer of glass than through a solid glass block.

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IMAGE: Public domain

Shadows: Effects of the absence of light

This interactive explores the sequential and interlinking science concepts that underpin knowledge and understanding about light and shadows.

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People baffled after noticing strange straight line running through city

O ccasionally, strange and baffling incidences leave us scratching our heads and wondering what on earth is happening. However, now and then there is such a simple explanation it will make us wonder why we didn’t know about it until then.

Recently, an image went viral, showing a weird straight line running through the ground in Arizona, US. What made it strange was that the line could only be seen from the sky. After spotting the anomaly and sharing it on social media people rushed to help solve the mystery.

Posted to Reddit's GltichInTheMatrix thread, they wrote: "What is this? Saw this while flying in Arizona. What is this line on the ground?" In the photo, a very clear, wide straight line can be seen on the ground running for what looks like miles into the distance.

While some people joked it could be an alien landing strip, or to indicate the border of a state line, others had much more practical explanations. One user replied: "It's Overhead power lines, if you zoom in you can see 1 of the towers/supports." And another person confirmed this was the right answer, adding: "I design these. 100% correct. And it has brush clearance on both sides because it’s high-powered."

Another user explained the reason, penning: "Well-mowed areas like that usually have overhead power lines. Keeping it mowed, etc helps reduce brush fires, cuts down on bushes and even saplings that will grow into trees (if left undisturbed)."

It's not the first time people have noticed something strange on a map or on a road. Google Maps is constantly on the road taking photos of the world to keep its Street View service up to date. But despite their almost 20 years of experience, they still manage to make an embarrassing blunder from time to time.

While venturing around Ottawa, Ontario, the Google Maps Street View car got into a spot of bother after driving toward a bridge. It seems the driver forgot just how tall its camera stands as he is seen standing outside the car trying to figure out if he'll be able to slide under it without causing any damage.

The quirky moment has been shared on Reddit on Googlemapsshenanigans - and has been upvoted more than 5,000 times by users who love to spot unusual happenings on the platform. Commenting on the post, one user said: "The bloopers."

Do you have a story to share? Email [email protected]

Ukraine war latest: Belarus deploys extra air defence forces to border; 10 Ukrainian prisoners freed with Vatican's help

Ten Ukrainian civilians who had been imprisoned in Russia for years have been released after mediation from the Vatican. Overnight, five people were killed in a Ukrainian drone strike on a Russian village. Listen to a Sky News podcast on Putin and North Korea while you scroll.

Saturday 29 June 2024 18:05, UK

• Five killed, including two children, in Ukrainian strike on Russian village
• Ten Ukrainians imprisoned in Russia freed after Vatican mediation
• Belarus deploys additional air defence forces to Ukraine border
• Your questions answered : Has the West been honest about Ukraine's failures?
• Listen to the Daily above and tap here to follow wherever you get your podcasts

Ask a question or make a comment

We're pausing our live coverage for now. 

You can scroll below to catch up on the latest developments, and we'll be back with our regular coverage tomorrow. 

Six people have been killed in a Russian attack on a small town in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, a Ukrainian official has said. 

A further eight people have been injured, regional governor Ivan Fedorov said. 

Infrastructure, a shop and residential buildings in Vilniansk have also been damaged, he added. 

The strike comes after five people were killed in the Kursk region of Russian due to a Ukrainian drone attack. 

Two young children were also injured in the strike on the village of Gorodishche, around 73 miles (118km) from the Ukrainian border, Kursk governor Alexey Smirnov said. 

Two other people were injured and were in a "serious condition" in hospital, he added. 

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has met one of the men released from Russian captivity earlier today. 

The Ukrainian president met Nariman Dzhelyal who was successfully returned home after three years in captivity. 

"We will bring security to all our people and peace to Ukraine. I thank everyone who is helping. I thank Nariman for this meeting and for his strength," Mr Zelenskyy said. 

Mr Dzhelyal was detained in Crimea in 2021 while serving as the first deputy chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People. 

During his imprisonment, he sent several letters, Mr Zelenskyy said. 

He added that in one of them he wrote: "We are fighting not only for the integrity of our territories but also for the unity of our society, our beautiful, strong nation." 

US officials told Reuters news agency late last night that the Biden administration would provide Ukraine with $150m (£118.6m) worth of weapons and ammunition, including HAWK air defence interceptors and 155 millimetre artillery munitions.

The weapons aid package is expected be unveiled on Monday, the officials said.

Ukraine has urgently requested air defence support as Russia has pounded its energy facilities in recent weeks via aerial attacks. 

The US began shipping HAWK interceptor missiles to Ukraine in 2022 as an upgrade to the shoulder-launched Stinger air defence missile systems - a smaller, shorter-range system. 

The support package will include other munitions and equipment to support Ukraine's defence needs, the officials added. 

The US has provided Ukraine with more than $50bn (£39.5bn) in military aid since 2022. 

We reported earlier on the 10 Ukrainian civilians who were released from Russian captivity earlier today after years of imprisonment (see 8.49am post). 

Watch them reunite with their loved ones in Kyiv's international airport in newly released footage.

A report by the Ukrainian military's centre for strategic communications has found that the country's forces have damaged or destroyed more than 30 Russian military aircraft in the first six months of 2024. 

Most of the strikes against the aircraft have taken place in occupied Ukraine except for a handful of strikes over the Sea of Azov and within Russia, the centre said, as reported by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW). 

The centre did not specify what portion of these Ukrainian strikes were air defence interceptions of Russian aircraft in flight and what percentage were strikes against Russian aircraft at airfields. 

The ISW said they were unable to verify the report.

But it said the downing of Russian aircraft, especially critical aircraft like the A-50 and Il-22, has temporarily constrained Russian aviation activities over occupied Ukraine, but added Ukrainian forces "have yet to be able to significantly attempt to contest the air domain".

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has revealed that Russian strikes have resulted in Ukraine losing around 80% of its thermal power and one third of its hydroelectric power.

Discussing the attack in Dnipro, Mr Zelenskyy said it was a reminder to Ukraine's allies that the country needed more air defence systems. 

He said: "This is why we constantly remind all of our partners: only a sufficient amount of high quality of air defence systems, only a sufficient amount of determination from the world at large can stop Russian terror."

Kyiv has also struck back at Russia with its own attacks, which also often target energy infrastructure.

Belarus has deployed additional air defence forces to its border with Ukraine to protect "critical infrastructure facilities" due to increased Ukrainian drone activity, a Belarusian military commander has said.

Belarus, an ally of Russia, said earlier this week it had shot down a quadcopter that had illegally crossed the border from Ukraine "to collect information about the Belarusian border infrastructure". 

The situation in the airspace over the border remains tense, Andrei Severinchik, commander of the Belarusian Air Defence Forces, said. 

"We are ready to decisively use all available forces and means to protect our territory and the population of the Republic of Belarus from possible provocations in the airspace," he said. 

Belarus' defence ministry said earlier today it had information showing Ukraine had been moving more troops, weapons and military equipment to the northern Zhytomyr region, which borders Belarus. 

There was no immediate response from Ukraine. 

Russian elites and oligarchs have reportedly moved from criticising the country's war effort in Ukraine to supporting it, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has reported.

Mikhail Zygar, the founder of the Russian opposition television channel TV Rain, reported that many elites who were opposed to the war in 2022 started to support the war in 2023 because they "believe Russia is prevailing".

Mr Zygar said these people made this assessment due to Russia's slow but steady battlefield gains, a persisting Ukrainian munitions disadvantage, and perceived "waning" Western security assistance to Ukraine.

One anonymous Russian oligarch who previously criticised the war reportedly told Mr Zygar that Russia must win the war otherwise "they won't allow us to live... and Russia would collapse".

The ISW said it cannot independently verify Mr Zygar's reporting but it is consistent with the institute's assessment that this section of Russian society came to heel behind Vladimir Putin in support of the war after his government intensified crackdowns against elites in the wake of the 2022 invasion. 

As Russia announces it has captured a second village in 24 hours (see 12.26pm post), let's take a look at where Russia has advanced along the frontline with Ukraine. 

As well as pockets of advances on the border north of Kharkiv, Russia appears to have captured areas along the length of the front, from the Donetsk region right up to the western edge of Luhansk.

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