What is Light ?

What causes the Aurora Borealis ?

What is an Atom ?

Basic Atom Structure

Atoms also have shells

Hydrogen Carbon

What happens when we give an electron more energy?

Activity: Flame Test

Now we will test what happens when we add heat from a flame to different chemical compounds.

Flame Test – Explanation

Energy/heat is added to an electron

This causes the electron to move

from a lower electron shell to a

higher one

Movement of electrons

The electron loses the extra energy...

Eventually the electron loses this energy and both

heat and light are released as it

drops back down.

Different elements produce different light when excited

But where does the majority of light come from?

The Sun

What elements are being excited in the sun? Mostly HYDROGEN and HELIUM atoms

Colours produced from hydrogen

Colours produced from helium

And when the colours combine....

They produce white/visible light

Different Suns produce different colours

Different suns produce different colours based on the elements they contain and the amount of heat/energy they produce

So what causes the Aurora Borealis ?