Physics miscellaneous


  1. The sky appears blue because of









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    The sky is blue because the molecules in the air scatter light in the higher wavelengths (that is, the blue light), while lower wavelength light (that is, the light on the red end of the spectrum) goes through to the ground. So the light that get finally reflected down from the scattering is blue, therefore a blue sky. This is called Rayleigh scattering. Rayleigh scattering, named after the British physicist Lord Rayleigh, is the elastic scattering of light or other electromagnetic radiation by particles much smaller than the wavelength of the light. The particles may be individual atoms or molecules. It can occur when light travels through transparent solids and liquids, but is most prominently seen in gases.

    Correct Option: B

    The sky is blue because the molecules in the air scatter light in the higher wavelengths (that is, the blue light), while lower wavelength light (that is, the light on the red end of the spectrum) goes through to the ground. So the light that get finally reflected down from the scattering is blue, therefore a blue sky. This is called Rayleigh scattering. Rayleigh scattering, named after the British physicist Lord Rayleigh, is the elastic scattering of light or other electromagnetic radiation by particles much smaller than the wavelength of the light. The particles may be individual atoms or molecules. It can occur when light travels through transparent solids and liquids, but is most prominently seen in gases.


  1. The energy emitted by the Sun is due to









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    The spectrum of the Sun’s solar radiation is close to that of a black body with a temperature of about 5,800 K. The Sun emits Electromagnetic radiation across most of the electromagnetic spectrum. Although the Sun produces Gamma rays as a result of the nuclear fusion process, these super high energy photons are converted to lower energy photons before they reach the Sun’s surface and are emitted out into space. nuclear fusion is a nuclear reaction in which two or more atomic nuclei join together, or “fuse”, to form a single heavier nucleus. During this process, matter is not conserved because some of the mass of the fusing nuclei is converted to energy which is released. Fusion is the process that powers active stars. The fusion of two nuclei with lower masses than iron (which, along with nickel, has the largest binding energy per nucleon) generally releases energy, while the fusion of nuclei heavier than iron absorbs energy.

    Correct Option: C

    The spectrum of the Sun’s solar radiation is close to that of a black body with a temperature of about 5,800 K. The Sun emits Electromagnetic radiation across most of the electromagnetic spectrum. Although the Sun produces Gamma rays as a result of the nuclear fusion process, these super high energy photons are converted to lower energy photons before they reach the Sun’s surface and are emitted out into space. nuclear fusion is a nuclear reaction in which two or more atomic nuclei join together, or “fuse”, to form a single heavier nucleus. During this process, matter is not conserved because some of the mass of the fusing nuclei is converted to energy which is released. Fusion is the process that powers active stars. The fusion of two nuclei with lower masses than iron (which, along with nickel, has the largest binding energy per nucleon) generally releases energy, while the fusion of nuclei heavier than iron absorbs energy.



  1. When a vehicle passes, TV reception gets distorted. This is because









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    This is caused due to the interference caused by the electromagnetic waves generated by a passing vehicle. These waves were within the same frequency range as that of the waves of TV reception and hence caused Interference. interference is a phenomenon in which two waves superimpose to form a resultant wave of greater or lower amplitude. Interference usually refers to the interaction of waves that are correlated or coherent with each other, either because they come from the same source or because they have the same or nearly the same frequency. Interference effects can be observed with all types of waves, for example, light, radio, acoustic, and surface water waves and due to the interference caused by the vehicle electromagnetic disturbances occurs in the TV reception and gets distorted.

    Correct Option: B

    This is caused due to the interference caused by the electromagnetic waves generated by a passing vehicle. These waves were within the same frequency range as that of the waves of TV reception and hence caused Interference. interference is a phenomenon in which two waves superimpose to form a resultant wave of greater or lower amplitude. Interference usually refers to the interaction of waves that are correlated or coherent with each other, either because they come from the same source or because they have the same or nearly the same frequency. Interference effects can be observed with all types of waves, for example, light, radio, acoustic, and surface water waves and due to the interference caused by the vehicle electromagnetic disturbances occurs in the TV reception and gets distorted.


  1. Who measured the velocity of light first ?









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    Galileo is often credited with being the first scientist to try to determine the speed of light. Galileo’s experiment was carried out by the Accademia del Cimento of Florence, Italy, in 1667, with the lanterns separated by about one mile, but no delay was observed. The actual delay in this experiment would have been about 11 microseconds. The first quantitative estimate of the speed of light was made in 1676 by Romer. From the observation that the periods of Jupiter’s innermost moon Io appeared to be shorter when the Earth was approaching Jupiter than when receding from it, he concluded that light travels at a finite speed, and estimated that it takes light 22 minutes to cross the diameter of Earth’s orbit.

    Correct Option: C

    Galileo is often credited with being the first scientist to try to determine the speed of light. Galileo’s experiment was carried out by the Accademia del Cimento of Florence, Italy, in 1667, with the lanterns separated by about one mile, but no delay was observed. The actual delay in this experiment would have been about 11 microseconds. The first quantitative estimate of the speed of light was made in 1676 by Romer. From the observation that the periods of Jupiter’s innermost moon Io appeared to be shorter when the Earth was approaching Jupiter than when receding from it, he concluded that light travels at a finite speed, and estimated that it takes light 22 minutes to cross the diameter of Earth’s orbit.



  1. What is the wavelength of visible spectrum ?









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    The visible spectrum is the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that is visible to (can be detected by) the human eye. Electromagnetic radiation in this range of wavelengths is called visible light or simply light. A typical human eye will respond to wavelengths from about 390 to 750 nm in terms of angstrom it is in between 3900 A° - 7600 A°. In terms of frequency, this corresponds to a band in the vicinity of 400–790 THz. A light-adapted eye generally has its maximum sensitivity at around 555 nm (540 THz), in the green region of the optical spectrum (luminosity function). The spectrum does not, however, containall the colours that the human eyes and brain can distinguish. Unsaturated colours such as pink, or purple variations such as magenta, are absent, for example, because they can be made only by a mix of multiple wavelengths.

    Correct Option: B

    The visible spectrum is the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that is visible to (can be detected by) the human eye. Electromagnetic radiation in this range of wavelengths is called visible light or simply light. A typical human eye will respond to wavelengths from about 390 to 750 nm in terms of angstrom it is in between 3900 A° - 7600 A°. In terms of frequency, this corresponds to a band in the vicinity of 400–790 THz. A light-adapted eye generally has its maximum sensitivity at around 555 nm (540 THz), in the green region of the optical spectrum (luminosity function). The spectrum does not, however, containall the colours that the human eyes and brain can distinguish. Unsaturated colours such as pink, or purple variations such as magenta, are absent, for example, because they can be made only by a mix of multiple wavelengths.