• Question: why can lightburn you and how

    Asked by bobchelsea to Sabina on 13 Mar 2014.
    • Photo: Sabina Hatch

      Sabina Hatch answered on 13 Mar 2014:

      When light interacts with a material, it can do a number of things, if the material is transparent it may travel through it, for e.g. water/a window and be refracted. It may be reflected, for e.g. on a mirror and bounce off in the direction in came in. It can also be absorbed, this is when the light is converted into heat and/or can generate a charge (electrons and holes). Depending on the intensity of light, the energy can be very intense and generate a lot of heat. I think this is a great video to show this in action:

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