Paragraph on “Is it possible to bend light?” complete paragraph for Class 9, Class 10, Class 11 and Class 12

Is it possible to bend light?

You cannot shine a torch round a corner because light normally travels in straight lines. When light hits something several different things may happen to it. If the object is black then almost all the light will be soaked up. If it is white most of the light will bounce off in all directions and we will see it clearly. If it is coloured then only some of the light will bounce off, depending on what colour it is.

Some surfaces, such as mirrors, are very smooth and polished. If light hits one, it is all reflected in the same direction instead of scattering. This means we can see reflections in the surface, which is how mirrors work.

When light enters a block of glass it is bent as it goes in. It bends again, the other way, when it comes out. This bending is called `refraction’. In fact, the reason a prism can split up white light into its different colours is that each colour bends by a slightly different amount. Refraction also happens when light goes into water. That is why it is hard to judge just where something is when it is under water. A good example is shown in the picture below.