Reflection Flashcards
When waves arrive at a boundary between two different materials, the waves are…
1) absorbed by the material the the wave is trying to cross into (transfers energy to the material’s energy stores)
2) transmitted- waves carry on travelling through the new material (often leads to refraction)
3) reflected
Law of reflections is…
Angle of incidence= angle of reflection
The angle of incidence is…
The angle between the incoming wave and the normal
The angle of reflection is…
The angle between the reflected wave and the normal
the normal is…
an imaginary line (usually shown as a dotted line) that’s perpendicular to the surface at the point of incidence
What is specular reflection?
a reflection that happens when a wave is reflected in a single direction by a smooth surface
Diffuse reflection?
When a wave of reflected by a rough surface and the reflected rays are scattered in lots of different directions
Why does this happen in a diffuse reflection?
Because the normal is different for each ray, meaning that the a.o.i is different for each ray. The rule (a.o.i = a.o.r) still applies, so when light is reflected by a rough surface, it appears matte and you don’t get a clear reflection
