Reflection Definition and 915 Threads

black surfaces apparently absorbs all light, that's why it appears black, but does it ever reflect light off its surface? what if its a polished black suface..we could actually see our own reflection on these surfaces.. so is there light being reflected at all? is there any difference from the...

A piece of wood lying in the sun absorbs more heat than a piece of shiny metal. Yet the wood fells less hot than the metal when you pick it up. Why?

If anyone could provide some insight into how I might go about solving this problem it would be greatly appreciated. Q: A ray enters the flat end of a long rectanglular block of glass that has refractive index n_2 as shown in the following figure. Show that all the entering rays can be...

In basic science class, when talking about light and the colors of objects, people will say that the pigments absorb some light, but the light that represents the color you see is reflected. Is light actually reflected (the same photons/waves still exist and are now traveling in a different...

The drawing shows an optical fiber that consists of a core made of flint glass (nflint = 1.667) surrounded by a cladding made of crown glass (ncrown = 1.523). A beam of light enters the fiber from air at an angle q 1 with respect to the normal. What is q 1 if the light strikes the core-cladding...

One thing that has allways disturbed my mind is the correct understanding of lightinteractions in nature. When we're talking about light reflection (light that is reflected in an arbitrary direction, not like mirrors) is it really reflections or is it new light created by the incoming light...

When light is incident on a surface of water, for example, some of the light is reflected and some is transmitted and refracted. As I recall, the percentage of light that gets reflected will be determined by the quantum probability that light will reflect at that interface. First...

Hi all. I just have a few questions regarding light refraction and reflection. At sunset, the sun seems to be higher in the sky than it really is- correct? What causes this? Which color of light is refracted least by a glass prism? How do each of the colors separate through a prism to...

I have a simple question to which, I assume, the answer will be quite complicated. I asked my physics teacher this question and all he would say was, "It is known." So without beating me to death with physics can anyone tell me why waves diffract? For instance, electron diffraction around a...

So what is it? This is not a homework question. But I anticipate a good discussion.

Hope this is the right forum. Rather daunting task to pick the right forum when you don't understand what differentiates each topic... Anyhow, I've been reading Feynman "QED The Strange Theory of Light and Matter" (lectures). Actually, I've read it about 3 times, cover to cover. I get some of...

A convex mirror and a plane mirror are placed facing each other and 28cm apart. Midway between them and on the principal axis of the convex mirror a small luminous object is placed. If the distance between the two images observed on looking into the plane mirror is 24 cm, calculate the radius of...

Let's say a sound wave is propagating through air. At some point it hits a rock wall, some of the wave continues on through the wall and some reflects back. What factors determine how much reflects back and how much is absorbed?

I tried to work out the transmission coefficient and the reflection coefficient for a case similar to the one referred by this website: http://www.chembio.uoguelph.ca/educmat/chm386/rudiment/models/barrier/barsola.htm but instead this time, I reverse the situation and now, that particle...

"War is always the same. It is young men dying in the fullness of their promise. It is trying to kill a man that you do not even know well enough to hate. It is a crime against mankind. So much courage. So much will. So many dreams that must be flung on the fires of war and death. We therefore...