ANGLE OF REFLECTION DEFINITION PHYSICS SERIES

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, 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.

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.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. 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.

ANGLE OF REFLECTION DEFINITION PHYSICS SERIES

The ratio of angle of incidence and the angle of reflection is always constant.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. Also, the relationship between the angle of incidence and the angle of reflection can be explained with the help of Snell’s law. Note:We know that the incident ray, the reflected ray and the normal all lie in the same plane. Normal: A normal is defined as the line that is perpendicular to the surfaceTherefore, we can say that the ray incident at right angle to the interface separating two Medias is known as normal. The reflected does not follow the same path as that of the incident ray.Īngle of incidence: The angle of incidence is defined as the angle between the ray incident on the interface and line that is perpendicular to the surface that is at a point of incidence.Īngle of reflection: The angle between the ray that is reflected back from the interface and the line that is perpendicular to the surface is known as angle of reflection.

The ray of light that bounces back from the interface is known as reflected ray.

Reflected ray: A reflected ray is the ray that is thrown back from the interface on which the incident ray strikes. The incidence ray is the ray that is either refracted or reflected to form an image. Incident ray: An incident ray is the ray that strikes the interface separating two Medias after emitting from the source of light. The angle made by the incident ray and reflected ray with the normal are known as angle of incidence and angle of reflection. Incident ray is the ray that strikes the surface whereas reflected ray is the ray that bounces back from the surface. Hint:The given terms are the terms that are used in the ray optics.

Angle of reflection definition physics