Waves

We are all familiar with waves; from ripples on the surface of a pond to the swell of the ocean. A wave is just a regular vibration that travels through something, like air or water. 

This light that we see is just one small chunk of light which is made by stars. We often call the small range of wavelengths our eyes can detect, optical, or visible light.

Even though light often looks white, it is made up of lots of different colours all added together. 

When we talk about light we usually mean the light we can see with our eyes.

This is also called visible or optical light.

Light is one way energy can be transferred - moved from one place to another.

Gravitational waves are tiny, invisible ripples in space. They travel for huge distances at the speed of light. The waves squeeze and stretch any objects they pass, but only by a tiny amount.