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These resources have been reviewed and selected by STEM Learning’s team of education specialists for factual accuracy and relevance to teaching STEM subjects in UK schools.

What is Light?

This resource, from the Royal Observatory Greenwich, has a video that introduces 'light' as the electromagnetic spectrum and how an electromagnetic wave is made. It discusses the wavelength, speed and frequency of electromagnetic waves and how we can detect them. How light interacts with matter and the concept of red-shift are also introduced.


The supporting activity asks students to look at images of the sun and milky way in different wavelengths and explain what they see. This then leads to a discussion about why it is important to use the whole electromagnetic spectrum when observing astrophysical objects.

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