explanation of the tyndall effect with labeled diagram

Explanation of the Tyndall Effect with Labeled Diagram

Light, on passing through a colloidal mixture, gets scattered by its particles. This effect is called the Tyndall effect. This Buzzle extract gives an insight into the definition of the Tyndall effect, and a detailed explanation, coupled with a labeled diagram.

What Causes the Tyndall Effect?
Processes such as reflection and diffraction cause this effect. When light particles are incident on the body surface of the particle, they get reflected. Some of the particles that are transmitted in the mixture are reflected by the inner walls of the particles. Besides reflection, the process of refraction and diffraction are known to occur too. This phenomenon depends on the size of the particles of the mixture.
Tyndall Effect Explained with Examples
Early morning sun's rays passing through a forest, scatter light. If the air is misty and contains tiny droplets of moisture, these droplets disperse light. The mixture of air and moisture is a colloid. A car (with its headlights on) passing by on a foggy road is an apt example of this effect. The light passes through the fog particles and scatters, which is termed as the Tyndall effect. Human eyes contains melanin, which absorbs light. If the amount of melanin is less, then less light is scattered. Consider clear and translucent human eyes which appear blue. When light falls on them, all of its wavelengths pass through the eyes, after which blue light particles are reflected back. Thus, the eyes appear blue. Another example can be of a lighthouse which is located on a hill. The strong light rays pass through the colloidal air mixture, which brings about dissipation in them.
┗ Does Suspension Show the Tyndall Effect?
The answer to this question is affirmative. Suspensions do exhibit this effect. Consider a simple example of a suspension in which milk is mixed into water. This mixture seems to be blue in color, even when the color of milk is white. This is because, the light particles having lesser wavelength (blue light rays) in the spectrum are scattered more than the light particles having higher wavelength (red light rays).
┗ Why Don't Solutions Demonstrate the Tyndall Effect?
A solution is a type of mixture whose particles are too small to reflect or diffract light. Thus, solutions keep light from passing through their particles. Consider a solution of water and sugar. Sugar dissolves completely in water, leaving no particulates. As such, light rays have no particle surfaces over which they can get reflected. Thus, it is said that the particles of a solution don't scatter light rays.
Application of Tyndall Scattering
This effect is witnessed by us in our daily lives. The sky appears blue because sunlight passes through the clouds and various other particles in air. Blue light particles have very short wavelength. Thus, the sky is predominantly blue. This effect also finds its use in industrial applications wherein the particle size of aerosols or gases is to be determined.
Tyndall Effect Experimental Setup
Given below are the steps and the list of things needed to perform an experiment which shows the Tyndall effect.
Things you need:
Glasses, 2 Milk Water Sugar Torchlight
Procedure:
Step #1: Dissolve sugar in a glass of water. Step #2: Mix milk in another glass of water. Step #3: Place both the glasses side by side in a dark room. Step #4: Focus the torchlight on both the glasses. Watch sideways to observe the scattering process.
Observation:
1) The colloidal solution of milk and water scatters light, thus explaining the occurrence of the Tyndall effect. 2) The clear solution of sugar and water doesn't scatter light at all.
In a nutshell, this effect, also termed as Tyndall scattering, doesn't occur in case of solutions, but for colloids.

Похожие статьи