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Laws of Reflection in Optics

The text on a t-shirt worn in front of a mirror would be reflected. Light travels in straight lines and reflects off surfaces at the same angle it hits them. A mirror has a front protective glass and a back reflective silver layer. Light hitting a smooth mirror surface is reflected specularly at the same angle, while rough surfaces cause diffuse reflection in many directions.

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angeladel484
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19 views11 pages

Laws of Reflection in Optics

The text on a t-shirt worn in front of a mirror would be reflected. Light travels in straight lines and reflects off surfaces at the same angle it hits them. A mirror has a front protective glass and a back reflective silver layer. Light hitting a smooth mirror surface is reflected specularly at the same angle, while rough surfaces cause diffuse reflection in many directions.

Uploaded by

angeladel484
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

The Laws of

Reflection
Grade 10 Optics
SNC2D
What would happen to the text on the t-shirt if you were wearing this
shirt and stood in front of the mirror?
The Ray Model of Light
• Light travels in a straight line only
• Light ray – a line and arrow representing the direction and
straight-line path of light
• Beam – many light rays travelling together; parallel to each
other
Types of Beams
• Converging Beam – a beam of light whose rays move closer
together as the beam propagates through a medium

• Diverging Beam – a beam of light whose rays move farther


apart as the beam propagates through a medium

• Parallel Beam – a beam of light whose rays remain parallel to


each other as the beam propagates through a medium
Terminology - 1
• Transparent – allows light to pass through (i.e., glass)

• Translucent – allows some light to pass through (i.e., frosted


glass)

• Opaque – allows no light to pass through (i.e., a book cover)


• All incident light is either absorbed or reflected
Flat Mirrors/Plane Mirrors
• Image – a reproduction of an original object that is produced
through the use of light

• Mirror – any polished surface that exhibits reflection

• Reflection – bouncing back of light from any surface


• Mirrors have 2 parts:
• 1) front part – a sheet of glass (protects the thin film)
• 2) back part – a thin layer of reflective silver or aluminum
Reflection Terminology
• Incident ray – the incoming ray that strikes a surface
• Reflected ray – the ray that bounces off a reflective surface
• Normal – the perpendicular line to a mirror surface
• Drawn at the point where the incident ray strikes the surface of the
mirror
• Angle of incidence – the angle between the incident ray and
the normal
• Angle of reflection – the angle between the reflected ray and
the normal
Reflection Terminology
Laws of Reflection

•1) The angle of incidence equals the


angle of reflection
•2) The incident ray, the reflected ray,
and the normal all lie in the same plane
Specular Reflection
• Reflection of light off a smooth surface (i.e., a plane mirror, still
water, aluminum foil)
• All the light traveling in one direction and reflecting from the
mirror is reflected in one direction
• The angle of incidence for the rays are identical, and therefore,
the angle of reflection for the rays will be identical
• Reflected rays are all parallel to each other DRAW
Diffuse Reflection
• Results from the reflection of light off an irregular or dull surface
(i.e., a sheet of paper, water surface with waves, crumpled
piece of aluminum foil)
• Light is reflected in all directions
• Incident rays, and therefore reflected rays, all have different
angles of incidence

DRAW

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