Light and Light

Optics Inquiry !
By  Sabrina    

Sabrina Veckenstedt Thursday, April 22, 2010 12:00:32 PM MT

 Questions    
Main  Question:  

Is  it  possible  to  make  a  camera  not  effected  by  

different  light?  

Sub  Questions:  

•  What  are  the  different  kinds  of  light?  

•  How  does  a  camera    work?    

Sabrina Veckenstedt Thursday, April 22, 2010 12:00:32 PM MT

 What  are  the  different  
Kinds  of  Light?  
•  The  main  and  most  commonly  used  types  
lights  are:  

-­‐Sunlight  

-­‐Incandescent  Light    

-­‐Fluorescent  Light    

-­‐LED  light      

Sabrina Veckenstedt Thursday, April 22, 2010 12:00:32 PM MT

 •  It  takes  sunlight  
About     approximately    499.0  
second  to  reach  the  surface  
Sunlight     of  the  earth.  

•  Sunlight  is  a  frequent  

spectrum  of  
electromagnetic  radiation.  

•  When  the  sunlight  passes  

through  the  atmosphere  
most  of  the  radiation  gets  
filtered  out.      

•  The  sunlight  we  see  is  clear  

with  no  additional  colors  or  
tinges  in  it.    

Sabrina Veckenstedt Thursday, April 22, 2010 12:00:32 PM MT

 About  
Incandescent  
light    
There  are  different  kinds  of  
Incandescent  which  include:  

-­‐Mazda:  Screw  in  light  bulb    

-­‐Neodymium:  Full  spectrum  bulbs    

-­‐Quartz  Halogen  Systems    

-­‐Heat  Lamp  Systems    

All  may  very  in    lumen  intensities  

All  of  these  forms  of  incandescent  

lighting  fall  under  the  inferred  
section  of  the  spectrum.      
Sabrina Veckenstedt Thursday, April 22, 2010 12:00:32 PM MT
 About  Incandescent  light    
•  On  the  visible  spectrum  incandescent  light  reaches  a  peek  of  10,000  
angstroms.  On  the  spectrum  this  means  that  the  majority  of  the  output  is  
in  the  lower,  yellow  to  red  segments  of  the  visible  spectrum  .  

•  This  means  2  things:    

•  -­‐Gives  off  and  provides  a  larger  amount  of  heat.  

•  To  enhance  this  feature  manufacturers  will  coat  the  bulb  with  a  diffusion  
material  that  scatters  the  cooler  and  higher  spectrum  colors.  This  causes  
a  more  intense  warmth.    

•  -­‐There  is  a  slight  yellow  and/or  orange  tinge  to  the  lights  color.    

•  Because  of  this  feature  manufacturers  line  the  light  bulb  with  a    white  
material  that  allows  the  warmth  given  off  to  continue  but  will  cause  the  
light  to  appear  as  a  “whiter”  light.    

Sabrina Veckenstedt Thursday, April 22, 2010 12:00:32 PM MT

 About  Fluorescent  light    
•  Fluorescent  light  on  the  visible  spectrum  lies  within  
the  blues  and  greens.  This  means  that  unlike  
incandescent  light  it  doesn’t  produce  large  amounts  of  
heat.  
•  The  main  element  used  in  a  fluorescent  light  is  
mercury.    To  power  the  light  bulb  electrons  and  atoms  
are  charged  by  an  electrical  circuit.  When  contact  is  
made  with  the  mercury  it  converts  into  a  gas.  When  
they  complete  their  charge  they  release  a  light  
photon.  
•   Because  of  the  energy  created  form  this  process,  
fluorescent  lights  are  4-­‐6  times  more  powerful  than  
incandescent  lamps.    

Sabrina Veckenstedt Thursday, April 22, 2010 12:00:32 PM MT

 About  LED  lights    
•  LED’s  are  high  efficient  energy  saving  lights.  They  
last  up  to  100  times  longer  than  incandescent  
light.    
•  LED  stands  for  Light  Emitting  Diodes.  Diodes  are  a  
semiconductor  device  with  two  terminals  only  
allowing  the  flow  of  a  current  in  one  direction.  
•  On  the  visible  spectrum  LED  lights  are  more  off  to  
the  right  side,  this  means  that  this  type  of  light  is  
similar  to  a  fluorescent  light  by  being  in  the  blue  
and  greens.  This  causes  the  light  to  produce  little  
heat.    

Sabrina Veckenstedt Thursday, April 22, 2010 12:00:32 PM MT

 •  A  basic  camera  consists  of  three  
main  parts:  an  optical  lens,  a  
How  do  Cameras   chemical  element  (the  film),  a  
mechanical  element  (the  
Work     camera  itself).    

•  An  optical  component  of  a  

camera  is  the  lens.  The  lens  is  a  
curved  piece  of  glass  which  
takes  the  beams  bouncing  off  
an  object  and  redirects  them  so  
they  come  together  to  form  the  
image  in  front  of  them  on  the  
center  of  the  film.  

•  The  film  is  a  strip  of  plastic  with  

tiny  grains  spread  all  over  it.    
Sabrina Veckenstedt Thursday, April 22, 2010 12:00:32 PM MT
 How  does  a  camera  
work?  
•  When  light  makes  contact  with  the  grains  they  go  
through  a  chemical  reaction  creating  a  recording  
of  the  image  through  the  pattern  of  the  light.    

•  Depending  on  the  type  of  light  and  its  intensity  

the  reaction  will  have  a  different  result.  Causing  
the  picture  to  either  be  lighter,  darker  or  blurry.    

•  The  film  will  them  get  professionally  developed  

into  a  picture.    

Sabrina Veckenstedt Thursday, April 22, 2010 12:00:32 PM MT

 Conclusion  For  Main  
Question    
•  After  doing  research  regarding  the  different  light  we  
encounter  everyday  and  how  a  camera  works.  I  have  
concluded  that  no,  it  is  not  possible  to  create  a  camera  not  
effected  by  different  light.  The  old  cameras  such  as  the  fully  
manual  ones  create  the  image  by  recording  the  light  
patterns  made  on  a  film.  Depending  on  the  type  of  light  and  
intensity  the  film  will  record  the  light  differently.  The  light  
could  cause  problems  such  as  brightness,  blurring…etc.  
With  more  recent  cameras  that  do  not  use  film  such  as  a  
cannon  for  example  are  still  effected  by  light  in  the  same  
way.  With  all  the  technology  put  into  them  we  still  find  
loopholes  such  as  different  settings  in  which  allow  the  
camera  to  adapt  to  the  lighting  at  the  given  moment.  
Because  a  picture  is  captured  with  light  bouncing  off  an  
object  into  a  camera  its  intensity  has  a  definite  effect  on  the  
pictures  outcome.  So  I  conclude  that,  no,  it  is  not  possible  
to  create  a  camera  not  effected  by  different  light.    
Sabrina Veckenstedt Thursday, April 22, 2010 12:00:32 PM MT
 Bibliography    
•  http://users.mis.net/~pthrush/lighting/glow.html  

•  http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/camera5.htm  

•  http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/camera4.htm  

•  http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/camera3.htm  

•  http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/camera2.htm  

•  http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/camera1.htm  

•  http://www.diyhomeguide.com/lighting/fluorescent  

•  http://www.ehow.com/  

•  http://www.cksinfo.com/clipart/nature/weather/sun/bright-­‐sun-­‐by-­‐cloud.png  

•  http://files.myopera.com/Noah503935/blog/Light%20bulb.png  

•  http://www.core77.com/hack2school/img/cc_camera.jpg  
Sabrina Veckenstedt Thursday, April 22, 2010 12:00:32 PM MT