Exploring Space with Light

A pair of workshops with the Sonoma County Museum

Part 1 Light, 4 October 2003

Light and Afterimages

Afterimage of a minimaglite, Move a minimaglite around in you field of vision to create an interesting afterimage.

Positive Afterimages, looking at a brightly lit scene can produce positive afterimages.

Red-Green afterimage Look at bright colored light for a while and your perception of the colors of the world will change. (See also Red-Green Filters)

Expanding and Shrinking Afterimages. Create an afterimage and then watch it change size as you change the position of a screen.

Gray Step, the retina converts light into electrical impulses then processes these impuses before sending them down the optic nerve to the visual cortex.

Part 2

Light and the Land

Earth Rotation use stars and the sun to measure the rotation of the earth.

Dance of the Day and the year, why the length of the day varies over the course of a year.

Moon Illusion, the full moon appears larger on the horizon even though it is the same size as when it is overhead.

Self Centered Globe, Place an earth globe in sunlight and see a model of the sunlight pattern on the real earth.

Return to Draft Activities

Scientific Explorations with Paul Doherty

© 2003

1 September 2003