{"id":30838,"date":"2019-09-05T15:02:03","date_gmt":"2019-09-05T15:02:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.natgeokids.com\/uk\/?p=30838"},"modified":"2019-09-10T13:18:59","modified_gmt":"2019-09-10T13:18:59","slug":"light-and-lenses-10-facts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.natgeokids.com\/nz\/discover\/science\/general-science\/light-and-lenses-10-facts\/","title":{"rendered":"Light and lenses: 10 facts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
ADVERTISING PROMOTION<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Telescopes<\/strong> are pretty amazing, aren\u2019t they? For hundreds of thousands of years, us humans have stared up at the stars<\/strong> in wonder. But it’s only since the invention of the telescope<\/strong> that we\u2019ve finally been able to unlock the secrets of the night sky. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Amazingly, though, the technology used to make telescopes work is surprisingly straightforward. Put simply, they use pieces curved glass<\/strong> called lenses<\/strong> to magnify light<\/strong>. Here are 10 facts know about light and lenses to light up your day!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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10 Facts about light and lenses<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
1. <\/strong>The light we see on Earth<\/strong> is a form of energy<\/strong> from the Sun<\/strong>. It travels through space and takes just over eight minutes<\/strong> to reach us. What could you do in eight minutes?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2. <\/strong>We call the light we can see visible light<\/strong> or white light<\/strong>. It\u2019s actually made up of a number of colours: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. You\u2019ll see these colours in a rainbow<\/strong> in nature. We need special equipment to see infrared <\/strong>and ultra violet<\/strong> light because our eyes can\u2019t normally see these types.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3. <\/strong>You don\u2019t need to wait for rain<\/strong> to see a rainbow. You can see one if you shine a beam of light through an object called a prism<\/strong>. This is a clear object often made from glass or plastic, with straight polished sides<\/strong>. When you shine a straight beam<\/strong> of light through a prism, you can bend light <\/strong>and make it change direction<\/strong>. Scientists call this refraction<\/strong>. You\u2019ll also be able to see the beam of light split into the colours of the rainbow. This is called the spectrum<\/strong>. Try it for yourself!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
4. <\/strong>Refraction is how lenses<\/strong> in eye glasses, telescopes and binoculars work. In eye glasses, the lenses bend light <\/strong>enough to focus<\/strong> the image for the wearer to see clearly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
5.<\/strong> The telescope is one of humankind\u2019s most important inventions. We\u2019ve been using them since 1608 <\/strong>when a Dutch<\/strong> eyeglass maker, Hans Lippershey<\/strong>, is said to have invented them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
6. Telescopes<\/strong> and binoculars<\/strong> use lenses to help us see things that are far away by making them seem closer. That\u2019s why binoculars let you see animals that are far off in the distance, and telescopes let you see the moon and stars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
7.<\/strong> Microscopes<\/strong> let scientists to see really small objects <\/strong>like tiny insects up close and in detail thanks to light and powerful magnifying lenses<\/strong>. How do you think a spider would look magnified 600 times?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
8.<\/strong> Just like mixing paint to create a new colour, you can mix light<\/strong> and create new colours<\/strong>, too. But while you know that primary colours of paint are red, yellow and blue, did you know that the primary colours of light are red<\/strong>, green<\/strong> and blue<\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
9. <\/strong>A red ladybird<\/strong> looks red because its body reflects <\/strong>red light while absorbing green and blue light. Special cells<\/strong> in our eyes see this light and tell our brains to understand it as red. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
10. <\/strong>Animals don\u2019t always see colours the we do. Some insects like bees<\/strong> can see ultra violet <\/strong>colours which we can\u2019t. You may have heard that dogs<\/strong> can only see black and white. It turns out they can see colour, just not as much as humans can.<\/p>\n\n\n
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Terrific telescopes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Check out the range of incredible telescopes from Learning Resources<\/strong>. They are the perfect instruments for exploring the cosmos from the comfort of your own garden. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Take a tour of the nighttime sky with Nancy B’s Science Club\u00ae MoonScope<\/strong>. This cool bit of kit comes with its own tripod <\/strong>and two eye pieces<\/strong> offering 18x <\/strong>to 90x <\/strong>magnification. The Moon filter finder scope comes with built in red LED<\/strong> that enables night viewing<\/strong>, too. Plus, there’s the Sky Gazer\u2019s Activity Journal<\/strong>, which is packed full of awesome exploration activities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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The durable, lightweight GeoSafari\u00ae Vega 360 Telescope <\/strong>allows you to explore the natural wonders of the Earth, Moon and beyond. It delivers clear, up\u2010close images at magnifications of 20x <\/strong>to 80x<\/strong>. The tabletop tripod<\/strong> makes exploring on\u2010the\u2010go easy. It includes two interchangeable eyepieces and an image erector<\/strong> for viewing earth-based subjects, too. <\/p>\n\n\n
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