Question: How does Light work?

David Christensen answered on 22 Nov 2013:

Hi luiswalker, thanks for the question! I’m not much good at Physics, but I’ll try to give you a decent answer!

Light is a type of electromagnetic radiation that we can see. Other types of electromagnetic radiation include microwaves, X-rays and radio waves. Light can travel as a wave or as a particle called a photon. Light is produced from something as a way to release energy, often this might happen from something that is burning and in general most things that emit energy as light will also produce heat. The way light can be bent as it passes through a liquid or bounces off particles in the air is why things look funny through water, why the sky is blue and why we get rainbows. Light travels at 299,792,458 metres per second and because it is a small particle traveling very fast it actually can push things very slightly! This is why some scientists are trying to use lasers to move things around!

I hope this answers your question!