0
Still curious? Ask our experts.
Chat with our AI personalities
Rafa
Blake
Coach
Add your answer:
Earn +20 pts
What happens when light is reflected off a smooth surface?
it reflicts back up
What happens when a ray of light hits a reflective surface like a mirror?
It'll undergo reflection and will get reflected back
What is the intersection point of light rays called?
The point of intersection of light rays which have been intentionally manipulated to come to a point of converge, as we do with a parabolic reflecting surface, is called the focus. The parabolic reflector will (by virtue of mathematical principles and the physics of light) redirect parallel incoming rays back off its surface to the focus of the parabola. Links are provided.
A diver shines light up to the surface of a smooth pond at a 10 degree angle some light passes into the air above and the part that reflects back into the water makes an angle of how many degrees?
10
Why does light reflect in a mirror?
A glass mirror is a piece of glass with a reflective coating on the back side. If a surface is extremely smooth and flat, it will reflect light waves without distorting them. Metal mirrors are less efficient, generally because the metal is difficult to polish to the same smoothness as glass. Water can be an effective mirror, if the surface of it is perfectly smooth. The question is Why? The answer is that light reflects off everything. It is normal for light to reflect. A photon hits an atom or molecule of substance and it bounces off it. That's how come we can see things. Because light bounces off them. So it is no mystery that light bounces off (reflects) mirrors. The only difference between mirrors and other things is they bounce nearly ALL the light wave lengths back and are smooth to not distort the reflection and we are accustomed to use them for looking at ourselves and come to think of them as different. If all the wavelengths were not reflected the mirror would have a colour. The colour of the reflected wavelengths of light. Absorption of a wavelength would be, I'd guess (I'm no scientist) the losing of some of the energy of those photons - lose all its energy and it'd be extinguished, I guess. Possibly the question really should be Why Can't We See A Mirror? because that's the funny thing: we see only the reflections and fail to see the reflective surface and that's because, again, 'seeing' means looking at reflected light. light bounces off the reflecting surface of the mirror. Note the reflecting surface of a mirror is commonly the metallic coating on the back of a sheet of glass. So if it's reflecting off metal why not make metal mirrors with no glass? Because this way is cheaper and easier. Depositing a fine layer of metal on a totally smooth piece of glass is a lot easier than taking a piece of metal and and polishing to a high finish - and then keep it that way.
