Reflection Definition and 915 Threads

My first (successful) post, hope this isn't silly/trivial. Also hope this is the appropriate area for optics-related questions. While debugging some code that applies the Fresnel equations to transmission of light through multiple layers of planar media, I encountered an interesting feature...

Suppose you have the plane given by \bold n \cdot (\bold r-\bold r_0)=0 where \bold n is the normal vector to the plane which passes through the point \bold r_0. What is the reflection x' of a point x across this plane?

A mixture of red and violet light is incident on a glass-air interface. The indices of refraction for red and violet light in glass are n(red)=1.52 and n(violet)=1.538. What color of light enters the air? http://www.webassign.net/cj8/q_10.gif attempt to solve: I found that the critical angle...

What is the explanation for the phase change of pie that occurs when a light ray gets reflected from an optically denser medium? This fact was demonstrated by the Llyod's mirror experiment, but what is the theoretical explanation for it? Thanks

I just want to make sure I understand this clearly. Light travels at 186 000 miles/second right? So if something was 10 light years away would that mean that it would take 10 years going at the speed of light to get there? Wouldnt it be possible to make a probe go even half that speed? I don't...

I'm wondering if anybody could suggest some techniques that might be brought to bear on the following problem: Suppose a finite sequence M_1,M_2,\dots,M_k of 4\times 4 orthogonal reflection matrices is given. I'm interested in determining conditions on these matrices that will guarantee that...

Homework Statement A laser beam is incident on the left mirror in the figure below, in which α = 85°. Its initial direction is parallel to a line that bisects the mirrors. What is the angle ϕ of the reflected laser beam? http://www.webassign.net/knight/p23-40.gif" Homework Equations...

Question 1 1. Homework Statement The drawing shows a snapshot of a transverse wave traveling along a string at 9.6 m/s. The equation for the wave is y(x, t) = A cos(ωt + kx). At what times could this snapshot have been taken? (Give the three smallest nonnegative possibilities.)The Attempt at a...

Verify that M(theta) is orthogonal, and find a unit vector n such that the line fixed by the reflection is given by the equation n . x = c, for a suitable constant c, which should also be determined. --------------- I did the verficiation part, by multiplying m(theta) by its...

If I have a long coaxial wire with open end and apply a short voltage pulse, that pulse begins propagating through it until it reaches the end. Then, it reflects back to where it came from. I understand that it behaves like a normal wave, maintaining its energy and bouncing when it reaches a...

I have searched topics like reflection forum and I always seem to get different answers. I'm hoping to reconcile all of this, I've read FAQs, threads, wikipedia... To explain reflection I've heard these 3 explanations: 1) Light is absorbed by an atom, then re-emitted at a later time randomly...

What is the QED explanation for specular reflection of light ? I mean, if photons interact with electrons, and a photon is re-emitted, I assume it can be emitted in any direction whatsoever. So this might work great for diffuse reflections. But what about specular reflections? How are they...

A laser beam traveling in air strikes the mid- point of one end of a slab of material with index of refraction 1.45 as shown in the figure below. Dimensions of Block 46mm (L) and 3.4mm (W) Initial ray of light enters the slab from the left side at an angle of incidence of 39 degrees...

Homework Statement A plane wave is incident at 70˚ to surface normal traveling within a medium with relative permittivity = 4, striking the boundary with air. Where is the nearest magnetic field max. to the boundary in the initial medium? Find the 1/e penetration depth of the evanescent...

Homework Statement What is the maximum value of θ1 that would cause total internal reflection to occur? N1 = 1.3, n2 = 1.6 (picture attached) Homework Equations Critical angle = sin^-1(n1/n2) The Attempt at a Solution I figured the critical angle to be 54.3. That means that...

Hi, I have been looking for a better explanation of the following question in different threads, but although there are some related question, I haven't found one that answers my question. I have read in Atkins-Physical chemistry book the following (summarized) explanation about why metal...

Homework Statement Find the reflection coefficient for electrons traveling toward a potential change from V to V_0 with a total energy E > V_0. The potential diagram is just a unit step function. It goes from V = 0 to V = V_0 at x=0. In piecewise notation: \begin{displaymath} V(x) =...

Homework Statement A light ray strikes the surface between two transparent materials as shown. Each angle is labeled with a letter. Give the letters for the angle of incidence, angle of refraction and angle of reflection, in that order Homework Equations...

Homework Statement A beam of light in air strikes a piece of glass (n=1.51) and is partially reflected and partially refracted. Find the angle of incidence if the angle of reflection is twice the angle of refraction. Homework Equations n1sintheta1 = n2sintheta2 The Attempt at a...

Homework Statement A bus is moving at 37.00m/s towards a wall. The sound from the bus has an original wavelength of 0.1500m. The sound from the bus reflects off the wall. What frequency sound does an observer on the moving bus hear from the reflection?? Homework Equations Moving Observer: fo...

I am not a physicist but I do have a non-mathematical science background and I am a serious physics appreciator. I am new to this site and have a pressing question I would like to ask a physicist. High school and even college level physics texts desribe the reflection and refraction of light...

Homework Statement A ray of light enters a light fibre so that it hits the side at an angle of 16° with the long axis of the fiber, . Calculate the distance the light ray travels between successive reflections off the side of the fibre. Assume that the fibre is 1.03x10-4 m in diameter...

Homework Statement Consider the step function potential: V(x) = \{ \begin{array}{*{20}c} {0,(x \le 0)} \\ {V_0 ,(x > 0)} \\ \end{array},Caculate the reflection coefficient,for the case E<V0,and comment on the answer Homework Equations - \frac{{\hbar ^2 }}{{2m}}\frac{{d^2 \psi...

Hello all I work at a BC Ski-hill... what I need is a method to quickly but accurately measure the depth of dense snow (man-made snow, some might call it ice). Traditional method of mechainically boring through to ground is slow, inaccurate & messy. New GPS based methods require detailed gps...

Homework Statement 1. If you looked at the spectrum of a reflection nebula, would you see absorption lines, emission lines, or no lines? Explain your answer. As part of your explanation, describe how the spectrum demonstrates that the light was reflected from nearby stars. Homework...

I've noticed the the reflection of a 2-d shape about some line is the same as rotating it by 180 degrees about that line, where it rotates through the third dimension. Does this generalise to higher dimensions? I hope it's clear what I mean here.

Does anyone Know a program that can simulate light reflection in a 3d environment, to help me in my project "Solar Heliostat". I want the program to determine the angle of reflection and the size of the beam of light on the desired target.

I'm surprised to have reached this far in a forum. My earlier record was 200 in a Diablo 3 gaming forum, and I have a strong passion for that game. I guess knowledge is a virtue that I just can't let go, so this is why I'm still here today after about one and a half years. I have really...

Homework Statement find the matrices representing linear map T:R3 -> R3 with respect to the standard basis Homework Equations T reflects each point in the (x,z)-plane The Attempt at a Solution I can't figure out how does x,z plane looks like...

why reflection coefficient R=1 in step potential though there happens transmission also as a negative exponential when E<V0

A small source of light at the bottom face of a rectangular glass slab 2.25 cm thick is viewed from above. Rays of light totally internally reflected at the top of the surface outline a circle of 7.6cm in diameter in the bottom surface. Determine the refraction index of the glass. This is...

You know when people say they have a craft out in space and use the sun light to move it by bouncing it off mirrors . so I take it you would never be able to get the craft back to where you launched it using light from the sun. Or would this work to get it back rotate the mirrors with an...

Hi guys, i need some help on this topic. Basically, i need to calculate the angle of reflection of a oblique shock on a solid boundary. Here is the description of the question i have: an incident supersonic flow reaches a compression corner, with a deflection angle of 15 degrees...

Could someone explain to me what ionospheric heaters (like the one at EISCAT) do...in lay-mans terms? And what exactly is ionospheric reflection...again, in lay-mans terms. Thanks.

I was just reading my book when it said that the fact that Newtons rings were always dark in the center where the lens touches the glass plate is proof that reflections are 180 degrees out of phase with the incident light, but after further thinking, I think that logic doesn't make complete...

Homework Statement The drawing shows a crystalline quartz slab with a rectangular cross-section. A ray of light strikes the slab at an incident angle of 1=34o, enters the quartz and travels to point Po (Figure2). This slab is surrounded by a fluid with a refractive index n...

I'm wanting to get another optics book. I'm interested in finding a book that gives insight into how light waves interact with surfaces such as in reflection and x-ray diffraction and things like that using sufficient diagrams of the wavefronts and particles and rayleigh scattering. I want to...

Homework Statement Consider a common mirage formed by superheated air just above a roadway. A truck driver whose eyes are 2.00 m above the road, where n=1.0003 looks forward. She has the illusion of seeing a patch of water ahead on the road, where her line of sight makes an angle of 1.20...

I've two questions here:- 1) Sound reflects it is said using laws of reflection of light.So,it means we hear max. sound when angle of incidence is equal to angle of reflection,right?& if not equal then what do we hear or not? I guess we hear lesser than max.sound when the angles are not equal...

Think of this one (you can test it) - it's a foggy night and you are approaching a sreet light under which is a puddle of water. Beacuse of the fog you see a diffuse image when looking directly at the light, however, when looking at the reflection, yoe see a clear, sharp image. Why? Can anyone...

Homework Statement What is the thinnest film of a coating with n = 1.43 on glass (n=1.52) for which destructive interference of the red component (660 nm) of an incident white light beam in air can take place by reflection? Homework Equations 2t = m*lambda? The Attempt at a...

Homework Statement A glass lens is coated on one side with a thin film of magnesium floride (MgF2) to reduce reflection from the lens surface. The index of refraction of MgF2 is 1.38; that of the glass is 1.50. Assume that the light is perpendicular to the lens surface and that the thickness...

Hi everyone A few weeks ago, I had worked out the relations between the angle of reflection and angle of incidence in case of reflection from a plane mirror, (1) moving toward the incident ray (2) moving normal to the incident ray (PS -- This is not homework.) The way I did it was...

Hi, I'm working through an Excercise in Sean Carrol's spacetime and geometry book. The question asks you to consider an inertial frame S with coordinates x^\mu=(t,x,y,z) and a frame S' with primed coordinates. Which is related to S by a boost v in the y direction. Imagine a wall( or mirror)...

Hello forum , i have a spindle motor from an HDD and i pasted to this motor 6 facets polygonal mirror, the problem is that the mirrors are not 100% alignment ( it's hand made) and the laser reflected from this mirrors is doing 6 lines ( where it should be one line if all mirrors are good...

Optics -- How long can I see an objects reflection Homework Statement The object is traveling at a constant velocity of 4 m/s. Initially, the observer can not see the object. At a certain point, the observer can see the reflection of the object in the mirror. For how many seconds is the...

Homework Statement Three objects P, Q, and R, are viewed through a plane mirror AB. When an obstacle is moved towards the mirror, which object "disappears" (i) first; (ii) last? Diagram. I will describe it in words. The mirror is horizontally placed. Q is placed 10 cm directly above edge...

I feel a bit dumb, but could someone help me see this: G(s):= \int_{-\infty}^{\infty}f(-x)e^{-2\pi isx}dx = \int_{-\infty}^{\infty}f(u)e^{-2\pi i(-s)u}du = F(-s)

Homework Statement A particle of energy E approaches a step barrier of height U0. What should be the ratio E/U0 so that the reflection coefficient is 0.43? Homework Equations R=(k1-k2)^2/(k1+k2)^2 <--------reflection coefficient The Attempt at a Solution I am completely stumped...

“mirage” is refraction phenomenon or total internal reflection phenomenon? “mirage” is refraction phenomenon or total internal reflection phenomenon?