reflection & ray diagrams Flashcards
What is a medium?
any substance in which light travels through
ray?
to show direction where ligt travels
reflection?
one of Properties of the lights. that change directions when a ray hits a surface (bounce)
fermats principal
light will follow the path that will take the least amount of time when crossing into a different medium
(changes pathway in glass to get the quickest way)
2 laws of reflection
- the incident ray, the reflected ray and the normal always lie on the same plane
- the angle of reflection is equal to the angle of incidence
Incident ray?
a ray of light that travels from a light source towards a surface
reflection ray?
a ray that begins at the point where the incident ray and the normal meet
normal?
a line that is perpendicular to the mirror
angle of incedence
angle between incidence ray and normal
angle of reflection
angle between reflected ray and normal
3 classifications of matter
(how light behaves when it strikes)
transparent, translucent, opaque
transparent?
light passes straight through, so objects on the other side are clearly visible.
translucent?
allows some light to pass and the rest is scattered (objects on the other side are not clear)
opaque?
light cant passes through.
types of reflection
specular: reflections of a smooth shiny surface (rays are parallel and the image is clear)
Diffuse: reflection of an irregular or dull surface (rays are scattered and image is fuzzy)
(lake example)
Object vs Image?
the object that is placed in front of a mirror is called an object (solid rays in the diagram)
the reflection of the object behind the mirror is called the image (rays in dashed lines)
(virtual image)
Describing an image acronym?
LOST
L: ocation
O: rientation
S: ize
T: ype
Lateral inversion?
in a plane mirror, the image undergoes lateral inversion: 180 rotation along a vertical axis
