Light travels in a straight line


Does light travel in a straight line?

 Take 2 pipes, one straight and one bent. Look at the flame of a burning candle through both the pipes separately.

We notice that we can see the flame through the straight pipe.

Looking at a flame through a straight pipe

 But we cannot see the flame through the bent pipe. We can use pipes having different kinds of bends, the result will be the same.

Looking at a flame through a bent pipe

 This proves that light does not bend, but travels in a straight path.

How does the straight-line path of light form shadows?

 When an opaque object is kept in the path of light, light does not curve around the object. This is why a shadow is formed.

Formation of shadows due to the straight-line path of light