The Nature of Light. The scientific study of the behavior of light is called optics and covers reflection of light by a mirror or other object, refraction by a lens or prism, diffraction of light as it passes by the edge of an opaque object, and interference patterns resulting from diffraction.Also studied is the polarization of light.Any successful theory of the nature of light must be able to explain these and other optical phenomena. The earliest scientific theories of the nature of light were proposed around the end of the 17th cent.ore on light The Nature of Light from Infoplease: 1  light: The Nature of Light-The Nature of Light The scientific study of the behavior of light is called optics and covers ...