Why is glass transparent to visible light but opaque to ultraviolet and infrared?

Why is glass transparent to visible light but opaque to UV light? Beyond the range of UV light (wavelength >400 nm), the energy of visible and infrared light are not enough to excite the electrons and most of the incident light gets transmitted. Thus glass appears transparent to visible and infrared light.

What is opaque material?

Opaque material refers to common materials that are neither metallic (strong reflections) nor transparent (refractive). Plastic, wood, stone, ceramic are common examples of Opaque materials, and they are the most common type of material. Opaque materials can also be emissive, meaning that they actually emit light.

What makes an object transparent translucent or opaque?

When light encounters transparent materials, almost all of it passes directly through them. Glass, for example, is transparent to all visible light. Translucent objects allow some light to travel through them. Opaque objects block light from traveling through them.

Why do we need transparent materials?

Light passes easily through transparent materials, which means you can see through them clearly. Objects made from transparent materials, such as glass and clear plastic, are common. These materials play an important part in day-to-day life. Opaque materials, such as wood and metals, allow no light to pass through.

What makes water or glass transparent?

Water or glass molecules allow light or photons to pass through them which makes the glass or water transparent. Water and glass both have reflection is far less than one for visible light. So it passed torch through it and reflected for visible light, that’s why it becomes transparent than translucent.

How do you describe a transparent object?

Objects that are transparent look clear, like eye glasses or water. Light passes through transparent objects, so you can see through them. Some objects are translucent meaning they only let some light through. For example, most paper is translucent.

Is glass opaque to ultraviolet light?

Glass that is transparent to visible light absorbs nearly all UVB. This is the wavelength range that can cause a sunburn, so it’s true you can’t get a sunburn through glass. However, UVA is much closer to the visible spectrum than UVB. About 75\% of UVA passes through ordinary glass.

Is glass opaque to UV?

Ordinary glass is partially transparent to UVA but is opaque to shorter wavelengths, whereas silica or quartz glass, depending on quality, can be transparent even to vacuum UV wavelengths. Ordinary window glass passes about 90\% of the light above 350 nm, but blocks over 90\% of the light below 300 nm.

What happens to the energy of electrons in opaque materials?

If the object is opaque, then the vibrations of the electrons are not passed from atom to atom through the bulk of the material. Rather the electrons of atoms on the material’s surface vibrate for short periods of time and then reemit the energy as a reflected light wave. Such frequencies of light are said to be reflected.

What determines the appearance of a transparent object?

The appearance of a transparent object is dependent upon what color (s) of light is/are incident upon the object and what color (s) of light is/are transmitted through the object.

What happens to light waves when they travel through transparent materials?

If the object is transparent, then the vibrations of the electrons are passed on to neighboring atoms through the bulk of the material and reemitted on the opposite side of the object. Such frequencies of light waves are said to be transmitted.

Why do atoms and molecules absorb different frequencies of light?

Since different atoms and molecules have different natural frequencies of vibration, they will selectively absorb different frequencies of visible light. Reflection and transmission of light waves occur because the frequencies of the light waves do not match the natural frequencies of vibration of the objects.