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I know this might sound strange,but i really want to know the physical reason due to which light can pass through glass,but not metals or wood. Please dont give any mathematical reasoning.I have had enough of that. Just tell me what happens at the molexular level.

I know this might sound strange,but i really want to know the physical reason due to which light can pass through glass,but not metals or wood. Please dont give any mathematical reasoning.I have had enough of that. Just tell me what happens at the molexular level.

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1 Answers

SAGAR SINGH - IIT DELHI
878 Points
14 years ago

Dear student,

In this case, you mean "visible" light. However, the answer is rather general. Glass, diamond, and other "transparent" substances are transparent because they do not have the ability to absorb the frequencies which make the light we can see. Objects which are "opaque" can absorb the frequencies of light we can see.

All substances have frequencies which they can't absorb and frequencies which they can absorb. These frequencies depend on the substance. Diamond, for example, is clear in the visible frequencies, but opaque in some of the infrared. Wood is composed of many different substances, and is opaque in the visible and infrared, but fairly transparent in the microwave and radio range.

 

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Askiitians Expert

Sagar Singh

B.Tech, IIT Delhi

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