The theoretical construction that refers to the path of light energy is called a ray of light.
The Latin word radius became ray , the term in our language that is used to name the line originating in the place where a type of energy is produced and that extends in a sense to the direction in which it propagates.
Light , on the other hand, is a concept that derives from lux . It is the physical agent that enables the visibility of bodies. The current of electricity and the clarity radiated by something are also called light.
A ray of light , therefore, is a line that has the same direction of propagation as light. At a graphic or symbolic level, a line is drawn that represents how the luminosity spreads.
What is a ray of light
It can be said that the ray of light is a theoretical construction to refer to the path taken by light energy. Due to certain physical phenomena that may develop, the notion may lack logic in some contexts.
Light rays, in short, are the lines that are part of a light beam . The light beam, for its part, is the set of those rays that share a certain origin and whose propagation develops without dispersion. From the same point , therefore, multiple light rays emerge that make up a beam of light.
Light rays are the lines that make up a light beam.
Different points of view
The concept of a ray of light can be analyzed from various points of view, with different ways of understanding it, such as the following three:
* physical optics : it is the branch of physics that considers light a wave and explains certain phenomena that would not be possible if it were understood as a ray. For example, diffraction (the ability of waves to change direction when they encounter certain obstacles, something that a ray could not do since it does not have this property of the wave) and polarization (a property that produces, for example, example, the glare elimination effect, when one or more of the various planes in which light waves vibrate prevent them from passing);
* geometric optics : in the field of physics, geometric optics is based on the laws of refraction and reflection of Snellius, a Dutch mathematician and astronomer of the 16th century, to obtain the formulas that represent the concepts of diopter , lens and mirrors . This branch takes advantage of the concept of a ray of light and aims to provide the governing laws of the most common optical instruments;
* twilight theory : it is based on the idea that light is composed of corpuscles , material particles emitted by bodies in which light is reflected at high speed. Based on this theory it is possible to affirm that light is reflected, refracted and that it presents a rectilinear movement, for example.
Symbolic use of the expression ray of light
Symbolically, the idea of a ray of light is used to talk about something that appears suddenly and that positively modifies a reality : "Meeting you was a ray of light in my life," "The priest's words were a ray of light." at that time."
Since bad times, difficult stages of life, are considered journeys that we travel in the dark , without knowing where to go, it is logical that any advice or help in a situation of this type is equivalent to a ray of light, since that gives us clarity and allows us to walk with determination once again. Although loved ones are expected to give us this opportunity, we often find it in strangers or in those we thought did not care about us.