The circuit detects a sudden shadow falling on the light-sensor and sounds the bleeper when this happens. The circuit will not respond to gradual changes in brightness to avoid false alarms. The bleeper sounds for only a short time to prevent the battery running flat. Normal lighting can be used, but the circuit will work best if a beam of light is arranged to fall on the light-sensor. Breaking this beam will then cause the bleeper to sound. The light sensor is an LDR (light-dependant resistor), this has a low resistance in bright light and a high resistance in dim light.
Read more at: http://www.kpsec.freeuk.com/projects/lalarm.htm