Laws of Reflection of Light, Formula and Examples

Laws of Reflection of Light: Do you ever reflect? If you drive a car, you probably use a mirror to check your appearance so you can drive securely. How is that even possible? Is a particular surface required, or will any surface work? You must also be aware of the fact that bright surfaces reflect your image. Why is that? This is all because of the laws of reflection of light.

Regular and irregular reflections of light are the two varieties that exist. Let’s discover in-depth knowledge about how light reflects and the various types of reflection in this article.

What is Reflection of Light?

It is referred to as light reflection when a light ray hits a polished, smooth surface and bounces back. The incident light rays strike the surface and are reflected off of it. The beam that returns is referred to as the reflected ray. On a reflecting surface, a perpendicular would be considered normal. The reflection of an incident beam on a flat mirror is depicted in the figure below:

Laws of Reflection of Light

The law of reflection states that

The incident ray, the reflected ray and the normal all lie in the same plane
The angle of incidence = Angle of reflection

Light is famous for its highly predictable behaviour. The behaviour of a ray of light as it reflects would follow a definable law known as the law of reflection if it could be seen approaching and reflecting off of a flat mirror. The law of reflection is shown in the diagram below:

The ray of light reaching the mirror in the figure is referred to as the incident ray (labelled I in the diagram). The light beam that emerges from the mirror is referred to as the reflected ray (labelled R in the diagram). A line that is perpendicular to the mirror’s surface can be drawn at the point of incidence where the ray hits the mirror. This line is known as a normal line (labelled N in the diagram).

The angle formed by the incident and reflected rays are split into two equal angles by the normal line. The angle of incidence is the angle formed by the incident beam and the normal. The angle of reflection is the angle created by the reflected beam and the normal. The Greek letter “theta” is used to denote these two angles, which are written as “theta-i” for the angle of incidence and “theta-r” for the angle of reflection. According to the law of reflection, theta-i is equal to the angle theta-r.

Also Read – Light: Reflection and Refraction

Law of Reflection of Light Formula

The following is the law of reflection of light formula:

θi = θr

Where,

θi is the angle of incidence
θr is the angle of reflection

Law of Reflection of Light in Mirrors

A “mirror” is a shiny surface. The surface of a plane mirror is flat and smooth. When light reflected by a flat mirror reaches our eyes, we see images in the mirror. To see our faces, we look into a flat mirror. We notice that:

An upright image (straight upward) is created by a plane mirror.
The object and the image are of the same size.
The image was being inverted laterally. In the image, it signifies that your right becomes left.
In the plane’s mirror, the image is virtual. It denotes that the image is lost.

Types of Reflection of Light

The following is a brief overview of the various types of light reflection:

Regular reflection is also known as specular reflection
Diffused reflection
Multiple reflection

Law of Reflection of Light Applications in Daily Life

The most common applications of light reflection that may be observed with the naked eye in daily life:

Shining of the stars.
Periscopes employ reflection to allow users to observe approaching enemies on the battlefield while staying safe.
Reflection enables optical communications and medical diagnosis.
For both sound and light, the law of reflection allows us to precisely calculate distances between objects.
Light reflection in a swimming pool.
Reflection of light on the polished surface.
Reflection allows us to view the colours of various objects.

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