4/16/2023 0 Comments Light reflection![]() For instance, an apple appears a shiny red color because it has a relatively smooth surface that reflects red light and absorbs other non-red (such as green, blue, and yellow) wavelengths of light. Many of the objects that we casually view every day (people, cars, houses, animals, trees, etc.) do not themselves emit visible light but reflect incident natural sunlight and artificial light. However, in the real world most objects have convoluted surfaces that exhibit a diffuse reflection, with the incident light being reflected in all directions. When surface imperfections are smaller than the wavelength of the incident light (as in the case of a mirror), virtually all of the light is reflected equally. The amount of light reflected by an object, and how it is reflected, is highly dependent upon the degree of smoothness or texture of the surface. ![]() The reflected light produces a mirror image. Regardless of whether light is acting as particles or waves, however, the result of reflection is the same. Because the particles are so small, they travel very close together (virtually side by side) and bounce from different points, so their order is reversed by the reflection process, producing a mirror image. Wavefronts that originate from a source near the mirror will be highly curved, while those emitted by distant light sources will be almost linear, a factor that will affect the angle of reflection.Īccording to particle theory, which differs in some important details from the wave concept, light arrives at the mirror in the form of a stream of tiny particles, termed photons, which bounce away from the surface upon impact. The shape of light waves depends upon the size of the light source and how far the waves have traveled to reach the mirror. The reflection process inverts each wave back-to-front, which is why a reverse image is observed. ![]() According to wave-based theories, the light waves spread out from the source in all directions, and upon striking a mirror, are reflected at an angle determined by the angle at which the light arrives. This tutorial explores the relationship between incident and reflected angles for a virtual sinusoidal light wave.īecause light behaves in some ways as a wave and in other ways as if it were composed of particles, several independent theories of light reflection have emerged. Reflection of Light When light waves are incident on a smooth, flat surface, they reflect away from the surface at the same angle as they arrive. The best surfaces for reflecting light are very smooth, such as a glass mirror or polished metal, although almost all surfaces will reflect light to some degree. It is important to note that the light is not separated into its component colors because it is not being "bent" or refracted, and all wavelengths are being reflected at equal angles. This concept is often termed the Law of Reflection. Thus, the angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection for visible light as well as for all other wavelengths of the electromagnetic radiation spectrum. Visible white light that is directed onto the surface of a mirror at an angle (incident) is reflected back into space by the mirror surface at another angle (reflected) that is equal to the incident angle, as presented for the action of a beam of light from a flashlight on a smooth, flat mirror in Figure 2. The incoming light wave is referred to as an incident wave, and the wave that is bounced away from the surface is termed the reflected wave. However, it wasn't until a millennium and a half later that the Arab scientist Alhazen proposed a law describing exactly what happens to a light ray when it strikes a smooth surface and then bounces off into space. Some of the earliest accounts of light reflection originate from the ancient Greek mathematician Euclid, who conducted a series of experiments around 300 BC, and appears to have had a good understanding of how light is reflected. ![]() Throw a rock into the pool (see Figure 1), and the water is perturbed to form waves, which disrupt the reflection by scattering the reflected light rays in all directions. The simplest example of visible light reflection is the surface of a smooth pool of water, where incident light is reflected in an orderly manner to produce a clear image of the scenery surrounding the pool. Reflection of light (and other forms of electromagnetic radiation) occurs when the waves encounter a surface or other boundary that does not absorb the energy of the radiation and bounces the waves away from the surface. Molecular Expressions Microscopy Primer: Light and Color - Reflection of Light ![]()
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