How can a surface be polished for some waves and not others?

zachcumer · Mar 10, 2008

[SOLVED] How can a surface be polished for some waves and not others?

The question is above...
Thanks

mgb_phys · Mar 10, 2008

A surface is always smoother (more polished) for a longer wavelength.
So a piece of wood is pretty smooth to 3cm microwaves but is not really lambda/20 for visible light!

zachcumer · Mar 10, 2008

thanks so much...I was thinking about writing just that but wasn't too sure.

thanks

How can a surface be polished for some waves and not others?

Discussion

Similar threads

How can the surface tension of a spherical balloon affect its radius over time?

Graduate Can a surface-dwelling creature measure the metric only up to a scaling factor?

How can the surface area of a sphere be derived using integration of circles?

Undergrad How can a surface integral equal a line integral if they have different dimensions?

Why can some waves pass through materials but others can't

Can the Surface Area of a Sphere be Derived by Integrating Circumferences?

Undergrad What Are Surface Waves and How Can We Demonstrate Their Existence?

How Large Can the Surface Area of Pulmonary Capillaries Get?

Graduate Can the Surface Integral of a Zero Divergence Electric Field Be Non-Zero?

Studying How can I prepare for the IPhO/APhO and collaborate with others?