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Light | The Dr. Binocs Show | Learn Videos For Kids

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Invention Of BULB | The Dr. Binocs Show | Best Learning Video for Kids | Preschool Learning

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Light comes from different sources, like lamps, bulbs and the sun. Find out more in this Bitesize Primary 2nd level Science guide.

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Kids learn about the science of light. Energy made of waves and particles called photons traveling at the top speed in the universe. What is refraction? The difference between transparent, translucent, and opaque.

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Learn about India's biggest holiday of the year.

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Learn interesting information about animals that produce light. Find out more about light producing animals and improve your knowledge with DK Find Out.

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DK Find Out! | Fun Facts for Kids on Animals, Earth, History and more!

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Visit DK Find Out! to learn about dinosaurs, space, animals, nature & more. Fun learning activities for kids with videos, quizzes & galleries at DKFindOut.com

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Sources of Light | Science for Kids | Kids Academy

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Fireflies twinkle in a field. Mushrooms illuminate a dark forest. Colorful sea creatures light up the ocean. These natural light displays come from bioluminescent creatures. Bioluminescent organisms can produce their own light. Bioluminescence is a chemical reaction. It takes place…

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Fireflies lighting up a forest in Thailand. Sihasak Prachum/123RF

Did you know there are special animals that can make their own light without batteries or electricity? Light that is produced by a living organism's body is called bioluminescence ( say: by-oh-loo-muh-nes-ens).

Depending on the species, they may use their glow to attract prey, warn off other animals, scare predators, or to communicate with each other.

Fireflies

A lonely firefly looking for a mate. @AliPines/Twenty20

These are the kind of glowing creatures you're most likely to see in Canada. They can often be found near woods and fields in the warmer months of the year. Sometimes called lightning bugs, fireflies are actually a type of beetle, and they use a pattern of flashes to attract mates.

There are lots of different types of fireflies and each kind has their own special pattern of flashes.

Want to learn more about fireflies? Check out the magical world of fireflies

Glowworms

Glowworm Grotto Cavern is part of the Waitomo cave system in New Zealand. @bezfous/Twenty20

Inside certain caves in New Zealand, a very special insect hangs from the ceiling, looking like strings of twinkling lights.

The New Zealand glowworm is actually the larvae of a winged insect. While it's in this larva stage, the tiny glowworm dangles glowing threads from the cave ceiling. The threads are sticky, like spider webs, and catch tiny bugs that are drawn to the light.

Firefly squid

One of the few places to see the firefly squid is Toyama Prefecture in Japan. Blue Firefly squid/YouTube

Every year, millions of these glittering blue squid visit the waters around Japan. They're small - only about seven centimetres - but they put on a big show!

The squid usually live deep underwater, but every spring they come closer to the surface to spawn. Each one has tiny glowing spots over its entire body and tentacles. On their own the glow they give off is dim, but having so many squid together can make the seashore shine with a blue light.

Crystal jellyfish

The crystal jellyfish are nearly transparent until they are disturbed. steffstarr/123rf

These delicate-looking jellies live in the waters along the coast of British Columbia down to California. The body of the jellyfish is clear but its edges glow greenish blue when it's disturbed.

The crystal jellyfish isn't just cool to look at - it's also important to science! Researchers have been able to take the protein that makes the jellyfish glow and put it in other animals to study and track genes.

Anglerfish

Footage of a female "black sea devil" anglerfish was filmed 580 metres below the surface of the ocean. Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI)/YouTube

If there was a contest for ugliest underwater creature, the anglerfish would probably win. Most species of this toothy fish live in the deepest parts of the Atlantic and Antarctic Oceans, where it's almost totally dark.

The anglerfish uses the lack of light to its advantage - it has a long dorsal fin that's like a fishing rod with a glowing end as bait. The light attracts other fish close to the anglerfish's big mouth. The anglerfish isn't choosy about its prey - it's able to swallow fish almost twice as big as itself!

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Fireflies lighting up a forest in Thailand. Sihasak Prachum/123RF Did you know there are special animals that can make their own light without batteries or electricity? Light that is produced by a living organism's body is called bioluminescence ( say: by-oh-loo-muh-nes-ens).

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DK Find Out! | Fun Facts for Kids on Animals, Earth, History and more!

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Visit DK Find Out! to learn about dinosaurs, space, animals, nature & more. Fun learning activities for kids with videos, quizzes & galleries at DKFindOut.com

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Light | The Dr. Binocs Show | Learn Videos For Kids

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When light from an object is reflected by a surface, it changes direction. It bounces off the surface at the same angle as it hits it.

Smooth, shiny surfaces such as mirrors and polished metals reflect light well. Dull and dark surfaces such as dark fabrics do not reflect light well.

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When light from an object is reflected by a surface, it changes direction. It bounces off the surface at the same angle as it hits it. Smooth, shiny surfaces such as mirrors and polished metals reflect light well. Dull and dark surfaces such as dark fabrics do not reflect light well.

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Reflective clothes help you to be more visible in the dark when a light source is present, such as car headlights. Different colours reflect different amounts of light. Certain colours and materials are chosen to be more reflective in the dark. Retroreflectors in clothes and road signs are used to reflect light along the path from which it originates, making it seem brighter.

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The use of reflective materials for safety - KS2 Science - BBC Bitesize

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Reflective clothes help you to be more visible in the dark when a light source is present, such as car headlights. Different colours reflect different amounts of light. Certain colours and materials are chosen to be more reflective in the dark.

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Episode Seven: What is refraction of light? And What’s reflection of light?

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Episode Seven: What is refraction of light? And What’s reflection of light?

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DK Find Out! | Fun Facts for Kids on Animals, Earth, History and more!

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Visit DK Find Out! to learn about dinosaurs, space, animals, nature & more. Fun learning activities for kids with videos, quizzes & galleries at DKFindOut.com

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DK Find Out! | Fun Facts for Kids on Animals, Earth, History and more!

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Visit DK Find Out! to learn about dinosaurs, space, animals, nature & more. Fun learning activities for kids with videos, quizzes & galleries at DKFindOut.com

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DK Find Out! | Fun Facts for Kids on Animals, Earth, History and more!

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Visit DK Find Out! to learn about dinosaurs, space, animals, nature & more. Fun learning activities for kids with videos, quizzes & galleries at DKFindOut.com

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DK Find Out! | Fun Facts for Kids on Animals, Earth, History and more!

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Visit DK Find Out! to learn about dinosaurs, space, animals, nature & more. Fun learning activities for kids with videos, quizzes & galleries at DKFindOut.com

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DK Find Out! | Fun Facts for Kids on Animals, Earth, History and more!

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Visit DK Find Out! to learn about dinosaurs, space, animals, nature & more. Fun learning activities for kids with videos, quizzes & galleries at DKFindOut.com

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DK Find Out! | Fun Facts for Kids on Animals, Earth, History and more!

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Visit DK Find Out! to learn about dinosaurs, space, animals, nature & more. Fun learning activities for kids with videos, quizzes & galleries at DKFindOut.com

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What is refraction of light - Optics for kids

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What Is a Prism? | The Dr. Binocs Show | Best Learning Videos For Kids | Peekaboo Kidz

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The Science of Light and Color for Kids: Rainbows and the Electromagnetic Spectrum - FreeSchool

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ABC Zoom - Refraction: why glass prisms bend and separate light

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When children draw pictures of the Sun, they often show rays radiating outwards - similar to the image below.

These light rays travel in a straight line at nearly 300,000 kilometres per second. Sunlight that travels towards the Earth takes just over 8 minutes to reach us. When the rays reach Earth, they hit whatever is in their path. If the object they hit is opaque, the light cannot pass through, and a shadow forms.

Simply speaking, a shadow is an absence of light. If light cannot get through an object, the surface on the other side of that object (for example, the ground or a wall) will have less light reaching it.

A shadow is not a reflection, even though it is often the same shape as the object.

Light sources and shadows

There are many sources of light - stars like our Sun, candle flames, light bulbs, glow-worms and computer screens produce light. All of this light travels in a straight line until it hits something. Sometimes, it travels a short distance - like when we switch on the lamp. Other times, light travels thousands of years - like the light from stars we see in the Milky Way.

It is easy to see our shadows when we are outdoors in the sunshine on a clear, bright sunny day, but do shadows form when an object blocks light from other sources? The answer is yes, but they may be difficult to see if the light source is not very bright (has a low light intensity). Shadows are also more definite (sharper) where there is contrast between the shadow and the lit surface, for example, a shadow on a white wall will be more easily seen.

The size of the light source can sharpen or blur the shadow. A small spotlight like a cellphone torch forms a more distinct shadow than an overhead room light, but the sharpness of the shadow changes when the torch moves away from the object.

Changing shapes and sizes

A shape of an object always determines the shape of its shadow. However, the size and shape of the shadow can change. These changes are caused by the position of the light source.

When we are outside on a sunny day, we can see how our shadows change throughout the day. The Sun's position in the sky affects the length of the shadow. When the Sun is low on the horizon, the shadows are long. When the Sun is high in the sky, the shadows are much shorter. We can create the same effects indoors by changing the position of a torch as it shines on an object.

Although the shadow effects are the same, the reasons for the moving light source are very different. When we use a torch to make long and short shadows indoors, it is the light source that moves. When the Sun makes long and short shadows outdoors, it is the Earth, not the light source (Sun), that moves.

The spinning Earth

From our vantage point on Earth, it appears that the Sun moves across the sky during the day. We see the Sun appear to rise in the east and set in the west. Actually, the Earth is spinning (rotating on its axis) so it is our view of the Sun in the sky that changes during each 24-hour cycle of light and dark.

We see the sunrise when our location on Earth spins towards the light of the Sun. As the Earth continues to spin, we see the Sun higher in the sky. As the Earth spins away from the light, we see the sunset. The Earth continues to spin until we are in a shadow - our place on Earth is dark because the Sun's light is blocked by the magnitude of our planet! We have several hours of night with our side of the Earth in darkness, and then as the Earth spins towards the Sun's light, we see a sunrise. When New Zealand is in darkness during the night, the opposite side of the world is in sunlight.

Shadows change with the seasons

The tilt of the Earth's axis affects the length of our shadows. During the summer, our location is tilted towards the Sun, so our midday shadows are very short. During the winter, our location is tilted away from the Sun, so our midday shadows are longer.

Useful link

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When children draw pictures of the Sun, they often show rays radiating outwards - similar to the image below. These light rays travel in a straight line at nearly 300,000 kilometres per second. Sunlight that travels towards the Earth takes just over 8 minutes to reach us.

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Below, check out a visualization of the April 8, 2024, total solar eclipse!

What's the difference between a lunar eclipse and a solar eclipse?

Solar Eclipse

A solar eclipse happens when the Moon gets in the way of the Sun's light and casts its shadow on Earth. That means during the day, the Moon moves over the Sun and it gets dark. Isn't it strange that it gets dark in the middle of the day?

This total eclipse happens about every year and a half somewhere on Earth. A partial eclipse, when the Moon doesn't completely cover the Sun, happens at least twice a year somewhere on Earth.

But not everyone experiences every solar eclipse. Getting a chance to see a total solar eclipse is rare. The Moon's shadow on Earth isn't very big, so only a small portion of places on Earth will see it. You have to be on the sunny side of the planet when it happens. You also have to be in the path of the Moon's shadow.

On average, the same spot on Earth only gets to see a solar eclipse for a few minutes about every 375 years!

Caution! Eye Safety During a Total Solar Eclipse
Except during the brief total phase of a total solar eclipse, when the Moon completely blocks the Sun's bright face, it is not safe to look directly at the Sun without specialized eye protection for solar viewing.

For safety information, visit the NASA Eclipse Safety Page.

Lunar Eclipse

During a lunar eclipse, Earth gets in the way of the Sun's light hitting the Moon. That means that during the night, a full moon fades away as Earth's shadow covers it up.

The Moon can also look reddish because Earth's atmosphere absorbs the other colors while it bends some sunlight toward the Moon. Sunlight bending through the atmosphere and absorbing other colors is also why sunsets are orange and red.

During a total lunar eclipse, the Moon is shining from all the sunrises and sunsets occurring on Earth!

Why don't we have a lunar eclipse every month?

You might be wondering why we don't have a lunar eclipse every month as the Moon orbits Earth. It's true that the Moon goes around Earth every month, but it doesn't always get in Earth's shadow. The Moon's path around Earth is tilted compared to Earth's orbit around the Sun. The Moon can be behind Earth but still get hit by light from the Sun.

Because they don't happen every month, a lunar eclipse is a special event. Unlike solar eclipses, lots of people get to see each lunar eclipse. If you live on the nighttime half of Earth when the eclipse happens, you'll be able to see it.

Remembering the Difference

It's easy to get these two types of eclipses mixed up. An easy way to remember the difference is in the name. The name tells you what gets darker when the eclipse happens. In a solar eclipse, the Sun gets darker. In a lunar eclipse, the Moon gets darker.

Related Resources for Educators

Launchpad: Solar Eclipses

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Does everything has a shadow?
Take a look around and see what all things form shadows. You will notice that swings, trees, cars, tables and almost everything else has a shadow. Any object - living or non living that can block light can cast shadows.
How are shadows formed?
Sometimes objects can block light which means that no light is able to pass through that object. An object from which no light can pass through is called an opaque object. The easiest example is our body. Stand in the way of a beam of a light from a small torch. Ask someone to stand behind you and spot the beam of light. The person behind you will see no light since your body did not allow it to pass. Whenever light is not able to go through an object, it creates a dark area around the object. This patch where the light can not reach is called a shadow. Opaque objects create clear dark shadows.
Why do shadows keep changing sizes?
The size of the shadow depends on the angle at which the light is falling on the object. Your shadow keeps changing throughout the day. It is longest in the early morning and the late afternoon? At noon, when the sun is overhead there is little or no shadow at all. Why? The position of sun changes throughout the day, thus changing the angle at which the rays fall on the ground. A long time ago people tracked the length of shadows throughout the day to keep track of time. The world's earliest clock was a .
Why does our shadow chase us?
If the source of the light is moving, the direction of the light rays in which they fall on the object also changes. This movement of light from the source makes the shadow move. In the case when the object is moving, the shadow moves as it is formed where all the moving object blocks light. It is that simple!

Did you know that shadows are used to make puppets? Yes, they are, and such an art is called Shadow Puppetry!

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Does everything has a shadow? Take a look around and see what all things form shadows. You will notice that swings, trees, cars, tables and almost everything else has a shadow. Any object - living or non living that can block light can cast shadows. How are shadows formed?

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Shadow | The Dr. Binocs Show | Educational Videos For Kids

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You probably don't think much about light and dark. After all, you can turn on a switch and the lights go on. Even in the middle of the night, you can have light. Two hundred years ago, though, people were very aware of light and dark. They worked during the day when the Sun was shining. As the sun went down, they used candles or oil lamps to see. However, these lights were dim. Outside, there were no street lights. The only light available came from the moon and stars. Night was very, very dark. People usually went to bed when the sun went down and woke up early.

What sources of light do you use every day? The sun is the biggest source of light. It warms the world so plants grow and animals can live. It allows you to work and play. Without the light of the sun, all life on earth would die. We also have electric light bulbs that bring us light. How about candles and flashlights? These light sources all need energy - from electricity, wax or batteries - to shine.

Fun Facts about Light and Dark for Kids

A shadow happens when an object blocks the sun's rays. Shadows are longer in the winter because of the angle of the sun.

Some animals are nocturnal. They are awake at night. These animals usually can see very well in the dark. Our eyes aren't designed to see well at night.

Black or dark objects absorb light and heat. White or light objects reflect it. During the summer, you'll stay cooler if you wear light clothing.

Some objects, such as glass, are transparent. Light can shine through them. Some light shines through translucent objects, such as a balloon or sheet of wax paper. Light cannot shine through opaque objects and you can't see through them. Opaque objects, including a desk, bath towel or blanket, are solid.

1. Shadow: a patch of darkness

2. Nocturnal: awake at night

3. Opaque: light cannot penetrate it. You cannot see through it.

4. Transparent: light can shine through it and you can see through it.

5. Translucent: some light shines through it and you can partly see through it

Light and Dark Vocabulary

Learn More All About Light and Dark

Check out this amazing video about darkness:

A video explaining why we can't see in the dark.

Light and Dark Q&A

Question: Do shiny objects, like a new penny, give off light?

Answer: No, these objects do not give off light and they need light to appear shiny.

Enjoyed the Easy Science for Kids Website all about Light and Dark info? Take the FREE & fun all about Light and Dark quiz and download FREE all about Light and Dark worksheet for kids. For lengthy info click here.

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Facts About Light and Dark - Easy Science For Kids

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You probably don't think much about light and dark. After all, you can turn on a switch and the lights go on. Even in the middle of the night, you can have light. Two hundred years ago, though, people were very aware of light and dark.

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You've probably heard about the northern lights. You may have even been lucky enough to see them. But you probably don't know what causes them. The northern lights - also called aurora borealis (say "ah-ROAR-ah bore-ee-AH-lis") - are coloured lights that appear in the northern sky. Kind of like nature's fireworks.

So...what causes them?

The northern lights are caused by electrons being blown out by the solar wind. Sounds technical, right? Think of it this way: it's like the sun burping out these really small particles (the electrons) into the air. These tiny electrons mix with gases in the Earth's atmosphere, which makes them glow.

When can I see them?

The best time to see the northern lights is when the skies are clearest. Winter and spring - or between December and April - are the best times to see them. You'll have to stay up late, though. You can see the lights best between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. (way past your bedtime!). And you should dress warm - the best place to see the northern lights in Canada is way up north in the Yukon Territories, so you're going to get chilly!

Aurora borealis or northern lights?

The auroral borealis in Estonia. (Wikimedia/Kristian Pikner/CC BY-SA 4.0)

They're both right! The name "aurora borealis" comes from the French astronomer and scientist Pierre Gassendi. He called it aurora for the Roman goddess of the dawn, and boreas, which is the Greek word for the north wind.

Northern lights mythology

A painting by Peter Nicolai Arbo of a Valkyrie - a female Viking warrior, 1869, National Gallery of Norway. (Wikimedia/public domain)

There are many different folktales about the northern lights. The Vikings believed that the lights were the reflection of the shields and armour of the female warriors - also known as the Valkyrie - who were immortal, or that it was the Bifröst Bridge that led those who fell in battle to their final resting place in Valhalla.

It would have been rare to see the northern lights in China, but early Chinese legends about the northern lights have to do with dragons! The lights were believed to be a celestial battle between good and evil dragons who breathed fire across the sky.

There are many Indigenous legends about the northern lights all across North America. Some spoke of them as torches of giants in the sky or the souls of animals they hunted like deer, whales or salmon. Other legends spoke of the lights as a powerful spirit who assisted shamans; a torch-lit path to help souls along their journey; or the light from the fire built by the creator.

In Finland, where the northern lights are very bright, their myth involves a sly little arctic fox. It ran so quickly across the snow that its tail made sparks fly into the night sky, creating the northern lights. Which makes sense, since the Finnish word for northern lights is revontulet - which literally means " fox fire"!

Did you know?

You can see the northern lights from space. (Photo via Visual Hunt)

The northern lights appear 200 to 300 kilometers above the earth and are bright enough to be seen from space.

The most common colours of the northern lights are green, pink, purple, red, yellow and blue.

You can also see southern lights - or aurora australis (say "ah-ROAR-ah os-traw-lis") - if you're close to the southern pole.

Earth isn't the only planet to have auroras - scientists have found them on Neptune, Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus.

No two northern lights will ever look the same - you will always see different patterns and colours in the lights.

The northern lights don't just produce beautiful colours, they also make sounds like claps, crackles and static. But these are hard to hear with all the other noise around us.

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What are the northern lights? | CBC Kids

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You've probably heard about the northern lights. You may have even been lucky enough to see them. But you probably don't know what causes them. The northern lights - also called aurora borealis (say "ah-ROAR-ah bore-ee-AH-lis") - are coloured lights that appear in the northern sky. Kind of like nature's fireworks.

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Let's learn all about lenses. You may have noticed your teacher or parents wearing spectacles, so let's find out more!

First, here are some definitions you will need to know in order to understand how lenses work:

Transparent - material that allows light passes through unhindered.

Refraction - bending of light as it passes through glass or some material that is transparent.

Focal Point - where the light rays meet as they pass through a lens.

Curvature - how a lens surface is curved and not flat.

Convex - the curve of the lens bulges out.

Concave - the curve of the lens is depressed (falls inward).

Lens - a circle of polished glass or any transparent material, most often spherical that can form an image of something in front of it.

Plane - the surface has no curvature.

Parallel rays - rays of light that are equal distance apart and never meet.

In a single lens, either one surface is curved and one is plane, or both surfaces are curved. Light travels through a lens slower than it does in the air.

This causes the light beam to bend (refraction) and meet somewhere beyond the lens.

Where the light beams meet is called the focal point and the distance from the centre of the lens to the focal point is the focal length.

The diagram below shows a single lens made up of two convex surfaces and shows the focal point of the beam of light after it refracts through the lens.

Different rays of light are refracted (bent) at different angles as it passes through a lens. Notice that the light ray that passes through the center of the lens does not bend.

The rays of light continue in a straight line beyond the focal point to project an image on a screen or photographic paper.

The focal length of the lens and the distance between the lens and the object will cause the image to be smaller or larger than the original object.

An image can be classified as real (able to be photographed), or virtual (visible only when viewed by looking into the lens).

An image formed by a single lens is usually out of focus or blurry and not sharp. So for scientific work, such as astronomy, microscopy, and precise photography, more complicated lenses are used.

Sometimes multiple single lenses - some convex and some concave - are used together.

1. What is a single lens?

2. What is bending light called?

3. What is the focal point?

4. What is the meaning of convex?

5. Describe an image produced by a single lens.

1. A single lens has one curved surface and one plane surface.

2. Bending light is called refraction.

3. The focal point is where the refracted rays meet and is somewhere beyond the lens.

4. Convex means to curve outward.

5. A single lens usually produces a blurry, out-of-focus image.

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Lenses Facts Let's learn all about lenses. You may have noticed your teacher or parents wearing spectacles, so let's find out more! First, here are some definitions you will need to know in order to understand how lenses work: Transparent - material that allows light passes through unhindered.

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It's a quiet, warm summer evening with no human in sight for miles in the woods. As the sun sets, tiny flashes of light start to flicker throughout the trees. At first there's just a few, but soon hundreds of blinking lights are floating in the forest.

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Happy Canada Day! If you're out celebrating, chances are you'll see some amazing fireworks displays. Here are some flashy facts to add to your fiery festivities!

Many historians believe that over 2,000 years ago, people in China would put fresh bamboo stalks on the fire and as the air inside would heat up, the bamboo would make a loud popping sound - kind of like logs on a campfire. Many years later, gunpowder was added, which made the popping sounds much louder and flashier! Today, China is the largest maker of fireworks in the world.

In Italy, they discovered that if you added different elements to the mix, the chemical reactions would burn to create different colours: Sodium for yellow, barium for green, lithium and strontium burn red. It was also in Italy where they invented the high flying skyrocket type of fireworks we see today. The different chemical elements used in fireworks are also what gives them different sounds like hissing, crackling, whistling and booming!

Even after all of these years, the makers of fireworks still can't figure out how to make really good blue fireworks. Engineers have figured out that using copper will create a blue flame but if the temperature is too high then the blue just looks white. If you do see a blue firework, just know that it's rare!

Skyrockets are the ones that shoot way up into the sky and then explode into different colourful shapes.

Pinwheels are lower to the ground and make loud whistling sounds while spinning really fast and shooting out bright sparks.

Firecrackers are smaller ones that usually just make loud noises and sparklers are the kind you see on birthday cakes.

It comes from the Greek words pyro for "fire" and techne for "art." So the term pyrotechnics basically means fire art! The people responsible for the safe handling and setting off of large-scale public fireworks displays are called pyrotechnicians - how's that for a cool job?!

Some people call it pyrotechnophobia, others call it kovtapyroergasoiphobia(say what?!). There's also the fear of loud noises called phonophobia, ligyrophobiaor sonophobia. Whatever you want to call it, the fear is real for some. Oh, and pets really don't like fireworks either, so it's best to keep them inside and far away from all of the loud, bright and awesome action!

Safety tips

Let adults be the only ones to handle and light fireworks

Stand far away

Have buckets of water nearby

Keep pets inside and far away from fireworks - they usually get scared and will want to hide

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How fireworks get their colours + 5 more flashy facts | CBC Kids

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Happy Canada Day! If you're out celebrating, chances are you'll see some amazing fireworks displays. Here are some flashy facts to add to your fiery festivities! Many historians believe that over 2,000 years ago, people in China would put fresh bamboo stalks on the fire and as the air inside would heat up, the bamboo would make a loud popping sound - kind of like logs on a campfire.

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Amazing Drone Magical Holographic Light Show in China