![]() Second law of reflection: The angle of incidence (i) is equal to the angle of reflection (i′).Īngles of incidence and reflection are always measured relative to the ‘normal’ of the surface, with the normal being the hypothetical line that exists perpendicular to the surface at the point where light meets the surface. This means that the reflected ray exists along the same line (and on the same side of the reflecting surface) as the incident (approaching) ray. In simple terms, there are two laws of reflection to remember, and they apply to both plane and curved surfaces:įirst law of reflection: The incident light ray and the reflected light ray lie in one plane. ![]() In some instances, light encounters a material that will reflect the rays back, which, at its core, is the key principle of how we see objects in the real world, as all of our vision depends on light reflecting off objects to reach our eyes (see chapter 1 ).ĭiagram showing tennis ball behaving like a reflected light ray when bounced at a wall. This is the same as the principle of reflection in optics. The principle itself can be likened to bouncing a ball at a wall (providing we pretend gravity isn’t a factor) – the ball cannot travel through the wall, so instead it will bounce back as a specified angle depending on the angle it approached the wall ( Fig. When we say something is ‘reflected’, we mean that it is returned in the plane it originally came from. This chapter will focus on reflection at plane (flat) and curved surfaces. ![]() Indeed, light can also be reflected by surfaces, and this is an important principle of optical systems. Understand how the equations for spherical mirrors differ from those of refractive surfaces and lensesĭetermine linear magnification of an image formed by reflectionīy this point we’ve covered the basics of refraction, but this is only half the story. Understand image formation at a plane mirror After working through this chapter, you should be able to: ![]()
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