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Feb 4, 2016 · Essentially, a mirror is made up of a shiny piece of extremely smooth metal, kept in place with a glass front and a thin layer of backing (usually aluminum). Key to the way a mirror functions is how the physics of light behave in our Universe: the same laws that make a banana appear yellow and a piece of paper appear white.
- Specular Reflection
- Concave Mirrors
- Convex Mirrors
- Scattering of Light
The angle at which light hits a reflecting surface is called the angle of incidence, and the angle at which light bounces off a reflecting surface is called the angle of reflection If you want to measure these angles, imagine a perfectly straight line at a right angle to the reflective surface (this imaginary line is called ‘normal’). If you measur...
The inside curve of a spoon is an example of a concave mirror Concave mirrors are used in certain types of astronomical telescopes called reflecting telescopes. The mirrors condense lots of light from faint sources in space onto a much smaller viewing area and allow the viewer to see far away objects and events in space that would be invisible to t...
Convex mirrors curve outwards, like the outside of a balloon. Parallel rays of light strike the mirror and are reflected outwards. If imaginary lines are traced back, they appear to come from a focal point behind the mirror. Convex mirrors are useful for shop security and rear-view mirrors on vehicles because they give a wider field of vision.
Some light is scattered in all directions when it hits very small particles such as gas molecules or much larger particles such as dust or droplets of water. The amount of scattering depends on how big the particle is compared to the wavelength of light that is hitting it. Smaller wavelengths are scattered more. “Why is the sky blue?” is a common q...
4. A ray of light is approaching a set of three mirrors as shown in the diagram. The light ray is approaching the first mirror at an angle of 45-degrees with the mirror surface. Trace the path of the light ray as it bounces off the mirror. Continue tracing the ray until it finally exits from the mirror system.
Oct 2, 2014 · That image results from light rays encountering the shiny surface and bouncing back, or reflecting, providing a "mirror image." People commonly think of the reflection as being reversed left to ...
Nov 14, 2024 · Light - Reflection, Refraction, Physics: Light rays change direction when they reflect off a surface, move from one transparent medium into another, or travel through a medium whose composition is continuously changing. The law of reflection states that, on reflection from a smooth surface, the angle of the reflected ray is equal to the angle of the incident ray. (By convention, all angles in ...
Suppose a light bulb is placed in front of a concave mirror at a location somewhere behind the center of curvature (C). The light bulb will emit light in a variety of directions, some of which will strike the mirror. Each individual ray of light that strikes the mirror will reflect according to the law of reflection.
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Jan 5, 2024 · A plane mirror is a flat, reflective surface that reflects light rays in a regular manner. This means that the angle of incidence (the angle at which light hits the mirror) is equal to the angle of reflection (the angle at which the light bounces off the mirror). This property is known as specular reflection.
