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Light reflects from a smooth surface at the same angle as it hits the surface. For a smooth surface, reflected light rays travel in the same direction. This is called specular reflection. For a rough surface, reflected light rays scatter in all directions. This is called diffuse reflection.
- Light Waves Travel in Several Directions at Once. So in our wave view of light, we say that the light wave is traveling in many directions at once, but now we are going to change our perspective to that of an observer and a source.
- Source and Observer Define a Ray. Alert. When most people encounter the idea of a light ray for the first time, what they think of is a thinly-confined laser beam.
- Spherical Wave Passes Through Imaginary Plane. Now suppose the plane is not imaginary, but instead reflects the wave. Every point on this plane becomes a source of a wavelet, but this time, the wave created by these wavelets is going in the opposite direction.
- Spherical Wave Reflects Off Plane. Thanks to the symmetry of the situation, it's not difficult to see that the reflected wave is identical to a spherical wave that has originated from a point on the opposite side of the reflecting plane, exactly the same distance from the plane as the source, and along the line that runs through the source perpendicular to the surface
The path a light ray will follow after hitting a surface can be predicted based on the incident angle and information about the surface. Light rays that reflect follow the law of reflection. The law of reflection states that the angle of reflection * is equal to the angle of incidence.
angle of incidence = angle of reflection. For example, if a light ray hits a surface at 32°, it will be reflected at 32°.
The law of reflection states that when a ray of light reflects off a surface, the angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection. Reflection and the Locating of Images. It is common to observe this law at work in a Physics lab such as the one described in the previous part of Lesson 1.
The law of reflection is illustrated in Figure 25.2.1 25.2. 1, which also shows how the angles are measured relative to the perpendicular to the surface at the point where the light ray strikes. We expect to see reflections from smooth surfaces, but Figure 25.2.2 25.2. 2 illustrates how a rough surface reflects light.
People also ask
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Light is also reflected when it is incident on a surface or interface between two different materials such as the surface between air and water, or glass and water. Each time a ray of light strikes a boundary between two materials - air/glass or glass/water - some of the light is reflected.
