why is glass transparent but other things are not? As in, why can you see through glass but not say a wall?
In: Physics
Disclaimer:
I am in no way qualified to answer but I thought I’d say something anyway so you’ll get my idea:
As far as I know if an object is see-through/ transparent is determined by whether light can pass through it or not.
Example: If you take a dense object like metal, no light will pass through it and therefore the object is not transparent at all.
If you take a thin piece of paper, a small amount of light can pass through, it’s not transparent yet though, but you can see if a light source is behind it. If you take glass however, much light can pass through, therefore you can see through. The complete opposite would be a mirror, where all light is reflected.
So in summary: Object properties concerning perception are related to their ability to reflect and absorb light. The less it can absorb and or reflect, the more transparent it gets.
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