9 Light Energy Examples: Detailed Facts

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In a sense, light energy is kinetic energy that may cause different types of light to be visible to human eyes. Let us see some of the light energy examples in our surroundings.

light energy examples
Light Energy

Image Credits: Thomas Quine, Light energy (11793372165), CC BY 2.0

Read more on what is the kinetic energy of light

Let us see these examples in some details below.

Light Energy Examples

Sunlight:

When you hear the word light, the first thing that comes to mind is the sun’s light! The most obvious light energy example is sunlight. It is a renewable and natural source of light energy that is found in nature. It is this that motivates you to get up early in the morning by providing you with a sensation of warmth and brightness.

Laser light:

An acronym for LASER is Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. A laser is a very uncommon type of light source and a laser is a device that produces a beam of extremely strong light. When compared to the light created by conventional white light sources (such as a light bulb), laser light has several significant advantages, the most important of which are monochromatic, directed, and coherent. Lasers emit an extremely narrow beam of light when they are turned on. The term “monochromatic” refers to the fact that all of the light emitted by the laser has a single wavelength.

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LASER Light

Image Credits: “High Power Green Laser, Light Background” (CC BY-SA 2.0) by FastLizard4

Lightbulbs are used to provide illumination in a room:

Electric current warms a tungsten filament, which produces light. Incandescence refers to the emission of light that occurs as a result of something being heated. Depending on the bulb shape and filament type, they can provide the light that is equally distributed throughout the bulb.

Traffic light:

This type of signaling equipment, which is sometimes referred to as traffic lights or traffic signals, is strategically positioned at road intersections, pedestrian crossings, and other locations in order to manage traffic flow and avoid accidents. These are basically the incandescent source of light energy. Nowadays, traditional incandescent traffic lights are being replaced with LED traffic signals, which have begun to mimic their appearance.

Hot objects:

 Other than the sun, we have tube lights and bulbs as sources of light. The filament, which is usually tungsten (because of its high melting point and resistance), heats up as electricity passes through it. The filament glows as it heats up. This is why metals turn red hot. Also, you can see these hot objects light emission in your kitchen while cooking food in utensils like frying pans and cooking pots kept on gas burners.

Thermal radiation causes materials to glow when heated, and this is due to the nature of the material. When heated, atoms and subatomic particles begin to vibrate, indicating that matter is composed of these particles. In accordance with certain thermodynamic laws, electrons vibrate and oscillate between higher and lower energies. This causes the substance to glow as a result of the interaction. When we heat a thing, we are supplying it with energy, and the heated object emits a portion of this energy in the form of visible light. After all, light is considered to be a kind of energy.

Fireworks:

Firework basically works on the principle of excitation and deexcitation phenomenon. Fireworks are created from a variety of chemical compounds that contain metals. When heated, these compounds emit different colors of light depending on the chemical. When the electrons in a metal return to their ground state, they will emit shorter wavelengths of light (such as blue light) as a result of the higher energy they have absorbed. However, the electrons in metals that absorb lower energy return to their ground state, they will emit longer wavelengths of light (such as red light) as a result of this. A large number of fireworks colors are derived from different types of metal salts.

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Colorful Fireworks

Image Credits: Billy Hicks, Firework photomontage, CC BY-SA 3.0

Glow worm:

We all have seen glow worm in our life which is the most beautiful and fascinating light energy example from nature. The bioluminescence of glow worm larvae is similar to that of other insect larvae. It is a live organism’s ability to produce light. To create chemical energy, the enzyme called luciferase combines with the waste product luciferin, the adenosine triphosphate molecule also known as ATP, and oxygen in the presence of the enzyme. The blue/green light generated by this chemical energy is visible to human eyes.

It is via this process that these creatures are able to warn predators that they are not worth attacking because of the poisons inherent inside their bodies. It also aids them in attracting other insects in order to feast on them. In addition, they use it to communicate with one another.

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Glowworm showing green color bioluminescence

Image Credits: Lampyridae2.jpg: Herky derivative work: Yikrazuul (talk), Lampyris noctiluca glow worm, CC BY 3.0

Jellyfish:

Bioluminescence, on the other hand, is present in practically every sort of species found in the deep water, including squids, octopuses, fishes, shrimps, single-celled animals, and jellies of all types. These all are light energy examples from the ocean ecosystem. The generation of light by a chemical reaction occurring within a living species is known as bioluminescence. The light is caused by the reaction of a chemical known as luciferin with oxygen. As a result, energy is released and light is emitted into the environment.

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Deepwater jellyfish

Image Credits: N i c o l a from Fiumicino (Rome), Italy, Jellyfish (22155766231), CC BY 2.0

Distant astronomical objects:

There are millions of objects in our universe which emit light and are light energy examples. For instance, we can consider here Andromeda galaxy as a light energy example because it can be seen with an unaided eye. The Andromeda galaxy is a cluster of a trillion stars that is located 2.5 million light-years away from Earth. It is sometimes referred to as M31 since it is the galaxy that is closest to the Milky Way. Also, apart from this, there are different stars, pulsars, quasars, comets, nebulas which are the light source examples.

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Distant Astronomical Objects

Image Credits: Donald Pelletier, NGC 2453 PanS, CC BY-SA 4.0

Battery torch:

We all utilize various sorts of LED torches for a variety of functions throughout our daily lives. These torches generate light energy from the batteries that are included within the torches themselves. If our batteries go down, we can easily replace them and we will have access to light energy once more for our purposes.

So herein we have seen various light energy examples in our surroundings and our day to day life.

Read more on the uses of kinetic energy.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):

Q. What do you mean by light energy?

Ans: It is considered to be a form of kinetic energy.

LIGHT energy is a kind of electromagnetic radiation with an observable wavelength that can be detected by the human eye.

Read more on what is light energy, the interaction of light, and its important uses

Q. What is the process through which light energy is created?

Ans: Photons, the smallest units of energy that make up light, are the building blocks of visible light. Photons are generated by the movement of atoms during the heating process of an item. Photons are created in greater abundance in hotter objects.

Q. How does the light travels?

Ans: Light energy moves in waves, which are made up of photons. Light energy moves extremely quickly — in fact, nothing travels faster than light.

Q. What are the uses of light energy?

Ans: Light energy is utilized to assist humans in seeing — whether it comes from natural sources such as the Sun or fire, or from manufactured sources such as candles or lightbulbs.

  • Food formation
  • Human growth
  • Vision
  • Heat and temperature
  • Evaporation and drying
  • Solar energy
  • Sterilization
  • Water cycle
  • Spectroscopy
  • Signalling system

Q. What are the properties of light?

Ans: Following is the list of properties of light

Intensity: Depending on how quickly light energy is released by the source, the amount of light energy emitted by the source influences the intensity of the light emitted by the source. As another definition, it may be defined as the brightness measured as the rate at which light is emitted from a unit surface or as the amount of energy emitted per unit time per unit area in a given amount of time. Watts are the units of measurement for electrical power.

Frequency: The number of crests that pass across a specific point in a second is defined as the frequency of light.

Wavelength: In general, the length of a wave is defined as the distance between two successive crests or troughs of the wave. A vacuum has the same speed as air, hence light waves move at the same speed through a vacuum. The wavelength and frequency of light have an inverse connection, with the higher the frequency resulting in a shorter wavelength.

Polarization: When unpolarized light is converted to polarised light, this is known as polarisation.  Unpolarized light is defined as light waves that vibrate in more than one plane at the same time.

Phase: Within a cyclic waveform, phase refers to a certain moment in time during the time period. When the waves are in phase with one another, the intensity of light rises.

Q. What are the different types of light energy?

Ans: Light energy is classified as below

Visible light: Light is the only type of electromagnetic radiation that can be seen with the naked eye, or in other words, without the use of a microscope, telescope, or other special equipment. In spite of this, sunlight is by far the most prevalent source of energy, visible light, it may also be emitted by light bulbs, lanterns, flashlights, and other gadgets, among other things.

Infrared light: Infrared radiation is also a form of electromagnetic energy that releases heat and may be detected. It is utilized to turn on your television using the remote control since infrared rays may flow from the remote control to the television set.

X-ray and ultraviolet (UV) light: X-rays and ultraviolet light are brief light waves that are used by doctors to picture the inside of the human body in order to determine what is wrong with the patient. X-rays are frequently used by dentists to determine the extent of tooth decay.

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