Behaviour of Light

Light waves travel in a straight line, although they can change direction. You cannot see an object that is around the corner, because light waves do not bend around corners. But, when a light wave strikes an object, some of the light waves may bounce off; something like a ball bouncing against a wall. The following three things happen when light waves strike an object: light is transmitted, reflected (bounces off), and/or absorbed.

transmitted	reflected	absorbed

What happens to the light is dependant on the kind of object or matter that the light strikes. Mirror's reflect light, glass transmits light, and plants absorb light.

Matter can be divided into three categories: transparent, translucent, and opaque. If an object will let most of the light pass through then it is called transparent e.g. glass. Translucent materials let some light through, but they significantly scatter the light. You cannot see objects clearly through translucent materials e.g. wax paper and frosted glass. Opaque materials don't let any light pass through them. Light is either reflected or absorbed by opaque materials e.g. books, plants, mirrors.