By Sylvia Adjoa Mitchell
And God said, Let there be light: and there was light (Genesis 1:3).
I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh (Genesis 9:13-15)
Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life (John 8:12).
WHAT IS LIGHT?
The lessons to be learned in this science article are important for us as we learn line by line and precept by precept about God’s truth. God created light, and through light, He enables us to see.
Science has given us some understanding of the nature of light, which I will be sharing with you for the next few weeks. In my devotionals, I have used ‘The Light Shineth’ as the overarching theme, as it is the illuminating power of Jesus who causes us not to walk in darkness (John 8:12). The Bible also says that the physical world is given to us to help us understand the spiritual (Romans 1:20); hence, my focus on what I’ve learned about physical light.
We must remember, though, that as scientists, we see through the veil of truth only dimly and science can only explain a small portion of God’s truth.
DISCOVERING THE NATURE OF LIGHT
An amazing feature of light was revealed to mankind when the gift of the rainbow was given by God as a sign of His covenant with the earth, that He would no longer use a flood to destroy all flesh (Genesis 9:13–15). But what is a rainbow? Do we know how it is made? How does white sunlight become many colours?
Then, it was discovered that light travels in straight lines and at a speed that is constant – referred to as “the speed of light.” This means that light does not bend around corners.
Having a constant speed means it can be measured and manipulated. These characteristics of light are constant, never changing. So how does a straight beam of white light split into many colours?
THE PRISM
It was discovered that white light travelling through a prism splits into different rays of coloured light. What we then see is called “the light spectrum.”
The colours are always in the same order – red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. Although they appear as five colours, they are actually three primary colours, and where their beams overlap, they appear as secondary colours (more on this next time we meet).
WHAT IS A RAINBOW?
When light shines through the rain, each droplet acts as a prism.
If it is raining and the sun is behind you, you will see that as the sunlight travels through the rain, it will produce a rainbow.
The colours on a primary rainbow are always in the same order – red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet.
A rainbow is actually a complete circle, but from the ground we see only part of it. From an airplane, under the right conditions, one can see an entire circular rainbow.
When the sunlight and rain are at the right angles to each other, a double rainbow can be seen.
You can visit laserclassroom.com/lessons/additive-color-mixing-finding-hidden-rainbows/and education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/rainbow/ to learn even more about rainbows.
LIGHT COMMUNICATES GOD’S BLESSINGS TO US
I think light is fascinating as it always reminds me of God. In light there is no darkness, so thinking about light reminds me to shun evil.
The rainbow reminds me of God’s promises that however terrible the world becomes, there will always be night and day until He comes back for us.
And, as I will share in my next article, white light is actually a mixture of three coloured lights – blue, green, and red – this always reminds me of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
What does light mean to you? Maybe you’ll start looking at it a bit differently now?
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. Romans 12:2
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Dr. Mitchell is a Senior Lecturer, Medicinal Plant Research Group, The Biotechnology Centre, UWI, Mona. Jamaican-raised & naturalized, she is African-born with English ancestry. Contact [email protected] or 876-545-2646.
