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The light box

This page was translated from German with AI. It has not been checked by a native speaker. Original page in German

A bright lamp sits inside the light box. With it you do experiments with light: with mirrors, lenses and colours. Here you learn where parallel light and where diverging light comes out and what to watch out for to stay safe.
📄 Open worksheet (PDF, German)

The video

In the video you mostly look at the box from above. The lens side is on the left, the lamp side on the right.

Subtitles are available in ten languages. Choose them at the bottom right of the video.

Contents of the video

  1. 0:00 Overview
  2. 0:12 Connection
  3. 0:29 Lamp side
  4. 0:47 Lens side
  5. 0:57 Inserts
  6. 1:16 Caution
  7. 1:33 In short

The most important points

The fixed cable goes into sockets 1 and 2 at the station, where 12 V is applied. Which plug goes where does not matter. You do not have to adjust anything.
The fixed cable goes into sockets 1 and 2 at the station, where 12 V is applied. Which plug goes where does not matter. You do not have to adjust anything.
On the lamp side and at the two light shafts on the sides the light spreads out. On the lens side parallel light comes out.
On the lamp side and at the two light shafts on the sides the light spreads out. On the lens side parallel light comes out.

Parallel light

The rays run side by side and do not get wider. The lens does that; without a lens the light comes straight from the lamp and spreads out.

Inserts: a solid shutter closes a shaft, a slit shutter lets through one, two, three or five narrow rays, colour filters colour the light. Close the shafts you do not need.
Inserts: a solid shutter closes a shaft, a slit shutter lets through one, two, three or five narrow rays, colour filters colour the light. Close the shafts you do not need.
The lamp gets very hot: never touch it. Keep the slots on top free, at most ten minutes at a time, pull one plug during the breaks. Never look into a light shaft.
The lamp gets very hot: never touch it. Keep the slots on top free, at most ten minutes at a time, pull one plug during the breaks. Never look into a light shaft.

The worksheet

Here you can see the worksheet for the video (in German). The hints are printed upside down – turn the sheet only when you cannot get on by yourself. You can also open it as a PDF.

📄 Open worksheet (PDF, German)

The worksheet – Page 1
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The worksheet – Page 2
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Show the worksheet solutions
The worksheet – Page 3
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Try it yourself

Task

For an experiment you need three narrow, parallel light rays. Which side of the light box do you use, what do you slide in, and what do you do with the other openings?

Show solution

The lens side, because parallel light comes out only there. A slit shutter with three slits goes in there. You close the other openings with solid shutters, otherwise their light disturbs.

Keep learning with a language model

You are my physics teacher. I am learning about the light box: on the lens side parallel light comes out, on the lamp side and the side light shafts diverging light. With slit shutters I get narrow rays. Name three experiments with light, one after the other, and ask me each time which side and which insert I use. Always wait for my answer.

How this was made: The idea and the choice of equipment are mine. A language model (LLM) drafted the script, the drawings, the worksheet and this page following my instructions. The devices are drawn from photos of our collection and from my own templates. The voice was generated with Qwen3-TTS, modelled on my own voice.

Limits and operation apply to the devices in our collection. If you work with other devices, follow what is written on the device and what your teacher says.

The videos, worksheets, texts and prompts in this series are licensed under CC BY 4.0: you may use, change and share them if you name the source.