Intensity (physics)

Intensity in physics is like how loud and bright something is. Imagine a flashlight when it is turned on, it looks bright and can illuminate things in a dark room. The intensity of the light from the flashlight describes how much light is coming out of it.

Similarly, when someone speaks very loudly, they are producing a high intensity sound which can be heard from far away. On the other hand, when someone whispers, they are producing a low intensity sound which can only be heard when you are close to them.

Intensity is usually measured in watts per square meter (W/m²). Think of a piece of paper – if you shone a flashlight on one side of the paper and measured how much light was coming out the other side, you could determine the intensity. The more light that comes through the paper, the higher the intensity.

Intensity can also refer to the energy of waves like sound or light. When waves have a higher intensity, they carry more energy and can cause things to vibrate or heat up. So, the intensity of a wave can tell us how powerful it is.

In summary, intensity in physics describes the strength or power of something like light or sound, and it’s measured in watts per square meter.