VIDYASPARSH
Physics Notes
Reflection of Light
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Physics By-
Abhishek Kushwaha
Reflection of light
Light: Light is a form of energy which enables us to see objects from which it comes or from
which it is reflected.
The objects which emit their own light are called luminous objects.
For example, the sun, other stars, electric bulb, tube light etc.
The objects which do not emit light themselves but only reflect the light which falls on
them are called non luminous objects.
For example, a flower, chair, book, human beings, mirror diamond etc.
We can see the non luminous objects because they reflect light into our eyes.
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Light travels in straight lines.
Nature of light:
According to wave theory, Light consists of electromagnetic waves which do not require a
material medium for their propagation.
The speed of light is very high(3 × 108 𝑚𝑚/𝑠𝑠).
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According to particle theory, Light is composed of particles which travel in a straight line at
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very high speed.
The elementary particle that defines light is the photon.
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Some of the phenomena of light can be explained only if it is considered to be made up of
waves whereas others can be explained only if light is thought to be made up of particles.
For example the phenomena of diffraction, interference and polarisation of light can only
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be explained it is considered to be of wave nature.
The phenomena of reflection and refraction of light, and casting of shadows of objects by
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light, can be explained only if light is thought to be made of particles.
The modern theory of light called Quantum theory of light combines both the wave and
particle models of light.
Reflection of light: The process of sending back the light rays
which fall on the surface of an object, is called reflection of light.
The Ray of light which falls on the mirror surface
called the incident ray.
The point at which the incident ray falls on the
mirror is called the point of incidence.
The Ray of light which is sent back by the mirror is called the reflected ray.
The normal is a line which is perpendicular the mirror at the point of incidence.
The angle of incidence is the angle made by the incident ray with the normal at the point
of incidence.
The angle of reflection is the angle made by the reflected ray with the normal at the point
of incidence.
Laws of reflection:
1. First law of reflection: The incident ray, the
reflected ray, and the normal the point of
incidence, all lie in the same plane.
2. Second law of reflection: The angle of reflection
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is equal to the angle of incidence.
𝜽𝜽𝒊𝒊 = 𝜽𝜽𝒓𝒓
Ray of light which is incident normally on a mirror is reflected back along the same path.
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Note: Laws of reflection of light apply to all kinds of mirror, plane mirrors as well as spherical
mirrors.
Regular reflection: Regular reflection of light occurs from smooth surfaces like that of a
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plane mirror when a parallel beam of incident light is reflected as a parallel beam in one
direction.
Diffuse reflection: The diffuse reflection of light takes place from rough surfaces when a
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parallel beam of incident light is reflected in different directions.
Most of the objects around us cause diffuse reflection of light and scatter the light falling
on them in all directions.
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Objects and images: Anything which gives out light rays either its own or reflected by it, is
called an object.
Image is an optical appearance produced when light rays coming from an object are
reflected from a mirror or refracted through a lens.
Real images and virtual images: The image which can be obtained on a screen is called a
real image. A real image is formed rays coming from an object actually meet at a point after
reflection from a mirror or refraction through a lens.
The image which cannot be obtained on a screen is called a virtual image.
A virtual image is formed when light rays coming from an object only appear to meet at a
point when produced backwards but do not actually meet reflection from a mirror or
refraction through a lens.
A plane mirror and a convex mirror always form virtual images.
Lateral inversion: When an object is placed in front of a plane mirror, then the right side of
the object appears to become the left side of image; and the left side of the object appears
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to become the right side of image.
This change of sides of an object and its mirror image is called lateral inversion.
Characteristics of an image formed by a plane mirror:
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1. The image formed in a plane mirror is virtual. It cannot be received on a screen.
2. The image formed in a plane mirror is erect. It is the same side up as the object.
3. The image in a plane mirror is of the same size as the object.
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4. The image formed by a plane mirror is at the same distance behind the mirror as the
object is in front of the mirror.
5. The image formed in a plane mirror is laterally inverted.
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Reflection of light from curved surfaces: Spherical Mirrors:
A spherical mirror is that mirror whose reflecting surface is the part of a hollow sphere of
glass. The spherical Mirrors are of two types: Concave Mirrors, and convex mirror.
a) Concave mirror: A concave mirror that is spherical mirror in which the reflection of light
takes place at the concave surface or bent in surface.
b) Convex mirror: A convex mirror is that spherical mirror in which the reflection of light
takes place at the convex surface or bulging out surface.
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Centre of curvature: Centre of curvature of a spherical mirror is the centre of the hollow
sphere of glass of which the mirror is a part.
Radius of curvature: The radius of curvature of a spherical mirror is the radius of the hollow
sphere of glass of which the mirror is a part.
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Pole of a spherical mirror: The centre of a spherical mirror is called its pole.
Principal axis of a spherical mirror: The straight line passing through the centre of curvature
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and pole of a spherical mirror is called its principal axis.
Aperture of the mirror: That portion of a mirror from which reflection of light actually takes
place is called the aperture of the mirror.
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The aperture of a mirror represents the size of the mirror.
Principal focus and focal length of a concave mirror: The principal focus of a concave mirror
is a point on it's a principal Axis to which all the light rays which are parallel and close to the
axis converge after reflection from the concave mirror.
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Since all the reflected light rays actually pass through the focus (F) of a concave mirror,
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therefore a concave mirror has a real focus.
The focus of a concave mirror is in front of the mirror.
The focal length of a concave mirror is the distance between its pole and principal focus.
Principal focus and focal length of a convex mirror: The principal focus of a convex mirror is
a point on its principal axis from which a beam of light rays, initially parallel to the axis,
appears to diverge after being reflected from the convex mirror.
The reflected rays do not actually pass through the focus (F) of a convex mirror; therefore,
a convex mirror has virtual focus.
The focus of a convex mirror is situated behind the mirror.
The focal length of a convex mirror is the distance from the pole P to its principal focus F.
Note: A plane mirror neither converge parallel rays of light nor diverges them. The focal
length of a plane mirror can be considered to be infinite or infinity.
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Relation between radius of curvature and focal length of a spherical mirror: The focal
length of a spherical mirror is equal to half of its radius of curvature.
If 𝑓𝑓 is the focal length of a spherical mirror and 𝑅𝑅 is its radius of curvature, then 𝒇𝒇 = 𝑹𝑹/𝟐𝟐
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Rules for obtaining images formed by concave mirrors:
Rule 1: A Ray of light which is parallel to the principal
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axis of a concave mirror passes through its focus after
reflection from the mirror.
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Rule 2: A ray of light passing through the centre of
curvature concave mirror is reflected back along the
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same path.
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Rule 3: A Ray of light passing through the focus of a
concave mirror becomes parallel to the principal Axis
after reflection.
Rule 4: A Ray of light which is incident at the pole of
a concave mirror is reflected back making the same
angle with the principal axis.
Formation of different types of images by a concave mirror:
Case 1: When an object is placed between the pole (P)
and focus (F) of a concave mirror, the image formed is:
(i) Behind the mirror,
(ii) Virtual and erect,
(iii) Larger than the object (or magnified)
Case 2: When an object is placed at the focus (F) of a
concave mirror, the image formed is;
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(i) At infinity,
(ii) Real and inverted,
(iii) Highly magnified.
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Case 3: When the object is placed between the focus (F),
and the centre of curvature(C), of a concave mirror, the
image formed is:
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(i) Beyond the centre of curvature,
(ii) Real and inverted,
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(iii) Larger than the object (or magnified)
Case 4: When an object is placed at the centre of
curvature(C) of a concave mirror, the image formed is;
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(i) At the centre of curvature(C),
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(ii) Real and inverted,
(iii) Same size as the object.
Case 5: When an object is placed beyond the centre of
curvature(C) of a concave mirror, the image formed is:
(i) Between the focus and the centre of curvature
(ii) Real and inverted
(iii) Smaller than the object (diminished)
Case 6: When an object is at infinity from a concave mirror,
image formed is;
(i) At the focus (F),
(ii) Real and inverted,
(iii) Much smaller than the object (highly diminished)
Uses of concave mirror:
i) Concave mirrors are used as shaving Mirrors to see a large image of the face.
ii) Concave Mirrors are used by dentists to see the large images of the teeth of patients.
iii) Concave Mirrors are used as reflectors in torches, vehicle headlights and search lights to
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get powerful beams of light.
iv) Concave dishes are used in TV Dish antenna to receive TV signals from the distant
communication satellites.
v) Large concave Mirrors are used in the field of solar energy to focus sun's rays for heating
solar furnaces.
Sign convention for spherical Mirrors:
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i) All the distances are measured from pole of the mirror as origin.
ii) Distance is measured in the same direction as that of incident light are taken as positive.
iii) Distances measured against the direction of incident light are taken as negative.
iv) Distances measured upward and perpendicular to the principal Axis are taken as positive.
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v) Distances measured upward and perpendicular to the principal Axes are taken as
negative.
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Note: Since the incident light always goes from left to right, all the distances measured from
the pole (P) of mirror to the right side will be considered positive and all the distances
measured from pole (P) of mirror to the left side will be negative.
Since an object is always placed to the left side of a mirror, therefore, the object distance
(u) is always negative.
If an image is formed behind concave mirror (to the right side), the image distance (v) is
positive but if the image is formed in front of the mirror (on the left side), then the image
distance will be negative.
In a convex mirror, the image is always formed on the right hand side (behind the
mirror), so the image distance (v) for a convex mirror will be always positive.
An object is always placed above the principal axis in the upward direction, so the height
of an object is always considered positive.
If an image is formed above the principal axis, its height is taken as positive and if an
image is formed below the principal axis, then its height is taken as negative.
The height of all the virtual and erect images is considered positive.
All the real images are inverted and they are formed below the principal axis so the
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height of all the real and inverted images is taken as negative.
Mirror formula:
A formula which gives the relationship between image distance (v), object distance (u) and
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focal length (f) of a spherical mirror is known as the mirror formula.
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=
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𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙ℎ
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𝟏𝟏 𝟏𝟏 𝟏𝟏
+ =
𝒗𝒗 𝒖𝒖 𝒇𝒇
Where 𝑣𝑣 = distance of image from mirror
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𝑢𝑢 = distance of object from mirror
𝑓𝑓 = focal length of the mirror
Linear magnification produced by Mirrors: The ratio of the height of image to the height of
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object is known as linear magnification.
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ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒ℎ𝑡𝑡 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖
𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀 =
ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒ℎ𝑡𝑡 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜
ℎ2
𝑚𝑚 =
ℎ1
Where 𝑚𝑚 = magnification, ℎ2 = height of image, ℎ1 = height of object
If the magnification has a plus sign, then the image is virtual and erect.
If the magnification has a minus sign then the image is real and inverted.
The linear magnification produced by a mirror is equal to the ratio of the image distance to
the object distance, with a minus sign.
𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀 = −
𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
𝒗𝒗
𝒎𝒎 = −
𝒖𝒖
Where 𝑚𝑚 = magnification, 𝑣𝑣 = image distance, 𝑢𝑢 = object distance
Rules for obtaining images formed by convex mirror:
Rule 1 A Ray of light which is parallel to the principal axis
of a convex mirror, is to be coming from its focus after
reflection from the mirror.
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Rule 2 A Ray of light going toward the centre of
curvature of a convex mirror is reflected back along
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Rule 3 A Ray of light going towards the focus of
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a convex mirror becomes parallel to the principal
axis after reflection.
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Rule 4 A Ray of light which is incident at the pole of
a convex mirror is reflected back making
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the same angle with the principal axis.
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Note: Whatever be the position of object in front of a convex mirror, the image formed by a
convex mirror is always behind the mirror, it is virtual, and smaller than the object (or
diminished)
Formation of image by a convex mirror:
Case 1: When an object is placed anywhere between pole (P) infinity in front of a convex
mirror, the image formed is:
(i) Behind the mirror between pole (P)
and focus (F),
(ii) Virtual and erect,
(iii) Smaller than object (diminished)
Case 2: When an object is at infinity from a convex mirror, the image formed is
(i) Behind the mirror at focus (F),
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(ii) Virtual and erect,
(iii) Much smaller than the object
(highly diminished).
Uses of convex mirrors:
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(i) Convex mirror are used as rear view Mirrors in vehicles (like cars trucks and buses) to see
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the traffic at the rear side (backside)
(ii) Big convex mirror are used as 'shop security Mirrors'.
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