Reflection of Light

Reflection of Light: The change in the direction of a wave when it hits a boundary between two different media and moves back into the same medium is called reflection. The reflection of light from various kinds of surfaces allows us to see our surroundings. The point at which the rays of light emanating from an object or optical source appear to meet after reflection from the mirror forms an image.

Based on the type of surface to which light hits, there are three types of reflections, i.e. regular reflection, diffused reflection, and multiple reflections. Reflections occur from various mediums, from convex mirrors and concave mirrors. In this article, we look at what is reflection, the reflection of light, the laws of reflection and much more. Read on to learn more.

What is Reflection?

When a ray of light approaches a smooth polished surface and the light ray bounces back, it is called the reflection of light. The incident light ray that land on the surface is reflected off the surface. The ray that bounces back is called the reflected ray. If a perpendicular were drawn on a reflecting surface, it would be called normal.

Laws of Reflection

Light reflects from any surface according to two rules. These rules are called laws of reflection. When light from any object reflects from polished surfaces, reflection is called regular reflection. Regular reflection gives images. Depending on the mirror (reflecting surface) and object position, we get two types of images: real and virtual.
Plane mirrors we use at home form our virtual image. Light rays falling on it get bounced back by the smooth surface, and we can see the object’s reflection in the mirror. For the image formed by a plane mirror, the image distance from the mirror will equal the object distance from the mirror.

Incident ray: The ray of light that hits the reflecting surface is the incident ray.
Reflected ray: It is the ray that bounces back from the surface.
Normal: It is the line that is perpendicular to a surface.
Point of incidence: It is the point where the incident ray touches the surface.

1. First Law

The primary law of reflection expresses that the reflection point is dependably comparable to the point of incidence. If the episode beam falls on the plane mirror along with the typical, for example, 90°, the reflected beam will go along a similar way.

2. Second Law

The reflected ray, incident ray, point of incidence, and reflection lie on the same surface or on the same plane.

Image

After interacting with an optical medium, the rays coming from a point (part of an object) either converge to a point or appear to diverge from a point. If they converge, the point to which they are converging is called a real image, and if they diverge, the point from which they appear to diverge is called a virtual image.

Real Image: Rays from the object after interacting with the optical medium like a mirror or lens converge to a point to form a real image. A real image can be taken on-screen if we place a screen at the place where rays are converging.

Virtual Image: Rays from the object, after interacting with the optical medium like a mirror or lens, appear to diverge from a point. The point from which they appear to diverge is called a virtual image. We cannot take a virtual image on the screen.

Types of Reflection

Based on the type of surface to which light hits, there are three types of reflections:
1. Regular reflection
2. Diffused reflection
3. Multiple reflections

Regular Reflection

Regular reflection is the reflection from a smooth surface such as a mirror, polished metal, or still water surface. Another name for this is Specular reflection. The image obtained is clear and sharp. If a parallel beam of light is incident on the surface, all the reflected rays are also parallel. Thus, a regular reflection forms an image.

The image formed in a flat, plane mirror is virtual, erect, and the same size as that of the object.
We can only see a virtual image but cannot project it on a screen.

2. Diffused Reflection

A diffused reflection is caused due to light falling on rough surfaces. A beam of light falling on such a surface gets reflected in all directions at various angles. When light falls on the objects in our room, it gets diffused in all directions based on the roughness of their surfaces.

Images are not formed in diffused reflection.

3. Multiple Reflections

Multiple reflections are like regular reflections, but with more than one mirror. When we place two mirrors at an angle, multiple reflections take place in such cases. The number of images seen depends on the angle between the two mirrors.

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