Reflection of Light on Mirrors: Why & How?

[nhmllr]

I understand why a ball's velocity vector is reflected across the line normal to the wall when it hits the wall. Why does this happen with light and a mirror? What is happening atomically for an atom to take in a photon and spit it out across the normal line?

 

[asdofindia]

I just swallowed corpuscular theory.

This might be due to electrons being excited only in a certain plane or line or so. I don't know.
see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflection_(physics)#Mechanisms_of_reflection"

 

[nhmllr]

(I did post this in the Classical Physics section a few days ago, but I got no helpful replies and figured this would be a better forum.)

I understand why a ball's velocity vector is reflected across the line normal to the wall when it hits the wall. Why does this happen with light and a mirror? Intuitively it makes sense, but what is happening atomically for an atom to take in a photon and spit it out across the normal line?

 

[Drakkith]

Ohh...I remember something talking about this but I'll have to do some searching...I don't remember if it was in a book I have or on the internet somewhere. I'll see if I can get back to you.

 

[Bill_K]

Remember that an optical photon has a wavelength of hundreds of nanometers, while an atom is much smaller than this. The photon excites a region of the solid, not just an individual atom.

Specular reflection, in which Snell's law is obeyed, takes place in metals, where some of the electrons pass freely from one atom to another in what is known as the conduction band. The incoming photon excites a collective oscillation of these electrons. The effect of their motion is very similar to the usual simplified picture, of electrons acting as little dipole antennas all in phase.