What is Light?
To most of us, light is somewhat of an abstract term. It is often bundled with spiritual and not-so-scientific concepts, which takes away from the more tangible concepts many people need in order to believe health claims associated with light. Although there is something to be said for the unmeasurable aspects of our world, for the purpose of our discussion, we will only be discussing the measurable aspects of light; those we are able to understand with physics, first principles, and current technology.
Light at a Fundamental Level
There are four forces in our universe that we know of, but only two we need to discuss. You are familiar with the first: gravity, which is actually the weakest force. You may not know much about the second, the electromagnetic force, which is the strongest force in nature.
Light is the carrier for this electromagnetic force, which means it is composed of both electric and magnetic fields (hence, electro-magnetic). The smallest unit of light is a particle called a photon. With light, instead of being made of mass like everything you touch and feel, it’s made of energy. Energy doesn’t have mass. But each are the same. They can be converted into each other, and this is where the power of the atomic bomb comes from — converting mass into energy. The popular equation Einstein gave us for this is E=MC^2.
If light carries the strongest force in nature, it must have some pretty powerful effects. Indeed, all life on Earth depends on sunlight, starting with plants creating energy for the entire food web.
Light is stronger at smaller distances. Governed by the equation 1/distance^2, standing 1 foot away from a light vs 2 feet gives you 4x more light. Standing 4 feet away gives you 16x less light than 1 foot away. This gives light an incredible amount of power within your cells. Since they are only 0.004 inches wide, everything is so close together that only a small amount of light is needed to produce large signals.
Light’s energy can change as it passes through materials, like glass or fabric, which changes how it affects our cells. Light is usually either absorbed or reflected, depending on what it hits. White objects reflect light, and black objects absorb it. This is why black objects get hotter in sunlight — they absorb all of the energy.
When you see a red flower, it’s color comes from the light it reflects. Since it doesn’t absorb the red frequency of light, this light is what hits your eyes. Different materials or elements, like concrete versus leaves, absorb and reflect different frequencies of light due to their molecular structure. This means the environment around you is what determines what frequencies of light hit your eyes and skin.
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