Does every light ray travels in all directions?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the behavior of light rays, specifically whether every light ray travels in all directions and how this relates to visibility of objects from different angles. The scope includes conceptual understanding of light reflection and interaction.

Discussion Character

  • Conceptual clarification
  • Exploratory

Main Points Raised

  • One participant questions if light from every part of an object reflects in all directions, allowing visibility from various angles.
  • Another participant confirms that in normal lighting, numerous photons reflect off surfaces and travel in many directions, enabling visibility from different positions.
  • It is noted that light does not interact with itself, allowing photons to pass through each other without colliding.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the behavior of light in terms of reflection and non-collision of photons, but the initial question about the nature of light rays remains exploratory without deeper technical analysis.

Contextual Notes

The discussion does not delve into the complexities of light behavior under different conditions or the underlying physics principles, leaving some assumptions unexamined.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be of interest to individuals curious about the nature of light, its behavior in reflection, and basic optical principles.

HamedMousavi
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Hi. I hope this is the right place to ask this and I hope it's not that much stupid.

In school we have been told that the reason we see objects is rays of light reflected from that object received by our eyes. Now if I look at a specific part of a building from above, below or exactly the front, I am still able to see a target point in that building. Does this mean that from every pixel(I mean smallest possible visible part) of the building light is reflected to every possible direction so no matter where I'm standing (Up until I am in direct path of rays) I can still see that part?

If so, how come these rays don't collide?!

I am not a physics student, just curious, so I hope this question is not too boring. Link to a fool-proof article would be helpful too! :-P

Thanks a million in advanced.
 
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HamedMousavi said:
Hi. I hope this is the right place to ask this and I hope it's not that much stupid.

In school we have been told that the reason we see objects is rays of light reflected from that object received by our eyes. Now if I look at a specific part of a building from above, below or exactly the front, I am still able to see a target point in that building. Does this mean that from every pixel(I mean smallest possible visible part) of the building light is reflected to every possible direction so no matter where I'm standing (Up until I am in direct path of rays) I can still see that part?

Yes. In normal lighting there are huge numbers of photons reflecting off the building and traveling in a huge number of directions, so no matter where you are standing, many of them make it to your eyes.

If so, how come these rays don't collide?!
Light does not interact with itself, so light rays (photons) pass through each other without colliding.
 
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phyzguy said:
Yes. In normal lighting there are huge numbers of photons reflecting off the building and traveling in a huge number of directions, so no matter where you are standing, many of them make it to your eyes.

Light does not interact with itself, so light rays (photons) pass through each other without colliding.

WOW! Amazing!
THANK YOU SO MUCH. :-)
 
HamedMousavi said:
WOW! Amazing!
THANK YOU SO MUCH. :-)

You're welcome. Don't hesitate to use the "Thanks" button! :)
 
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phyzguy said:
You're welcome. Don't hesitate to use the "Thanks" button! :)

[UPDATE]
It worked this time I guess.
Thanks website owners!I tried. It says I have 0 Thank points!

I mean come on website owners! I just want to thank this kind guy who helped me finally sleep relaxed tonight without a puzzle in my mind! :-D
 
HamedMousavi said:
It says I have 0 Thank points!

You don't get points for giving thanks. You get points for receiving them. :wink:
 
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