Optical Properties Of Solids -

When light strikes a solid, three primary phenomena occur: , absorption , and transmission . The balance between these depends on the material's internal electronic structure. Licensed by Google

): Represents how much light is lost to absorption as it travels through the solid. 4. Important Optical Phenomena Optical Properties of Solids

When a solid absorbs energy and re-emits it as light (e.g., LED lights). When light strikes a solid, three primary phenomena

Anti-reflective coatings on glasses use thin-film interference to "cancel" reflected light. An increase in electrical conductivity caused by light

An increase in electrical conductivity caused by light absorption (used in light sensors).

The most critical factor in a solid's optical behavior is its . Insulators and Semiconductors: These have a "band gap" ( Egcap E sub g ). If a photon's energy ( ) is greater than Egcap E sub g

In semiconductors, an absorbed photon can create a bound electron-hole pair called an exciton, which dominates the optical spectrum at low temperatures.