Reflection of light upon ourselves

Click For Summary
SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the nature of light reflection and its implications for understanding appearances, particularly regarding dark objects. Participants explore whether humans and objects are merely reflections of light, questioning the concept of "true nature" in relation to how light interacts with mass. The dialogue emphasizes that when light reflects off an object, it creates an image that may not represent the object's inherent qualities, especially in the case of dark objects that absorb rather than emit light.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of basic optics principles, including reflection and refraction.
  • Familiarity with the concept of light as a wave and particle (wave-particle duality).
  • Knowledge of how human perception interprets light and images.
  • Basic definitions of color theory, particularly regarding light absorption and reflection.
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the physics of light reflection and its mathematical principles.
  • Explore the concept of wave-particle duality in quantum mechanics.
  • Study human visual perception and how the brain interprets reflected light.
  • Investigate color theory, focusing on how different materials absorb and reflect light.
USEFUL FOR

Philosophers, physicists, artists, and anyone interested in the interplay between light, perception, and reality will benefit from this discussion.

Nexus555
Messages
58
Reaction score
0
I was thinking... When you shine a light in a mirror, the surface is reflective enough to produce a smooth image. Are we reflections of light, or does light simply shine on us to light us up? It would seem like when light hits mass, it is reflected, which produces the images that we see. And if we are reflections of light, would a reflection of a person in a mirror actually present the true nature of dark objects, since it's backwards?
 
Science news on Phys.org
Generally when light hits an object like a person, it bounces off in all directions, and if that light hits someones eyes, then they see it.

What exactly is your question? What do you mean by the "true nature" of dark objects?
 
Indeed, what do you mean by "dark objects"!
 
Well what I'm saying is, if our appearance is merely a reflection of light (since the protons bounce off what it hits) then that would mean that when you look into a mirror, it's showing a reflection of a reflection, therefore making it the "true" appearance of dark objects. What I mean about dark objects is; without light reflecting off of dark objects, they are in their true appearance, although dark. When light hits them, it makes a reflection... Is this correct?
 
I fail to see why a second reflection of photons makes something "true"er. Also, why do you call objects that light is re-emitted from "dark" ? I would define a dark object to be an object that does not re-emit any incident light.
 

Similar threads

  • · Replies 11 ·
Replies
11
Views
2K
  • · Replies 12 ·
Replies
12
Views
3K
  • · Replies 10 ·
Replies
10
Views
3K
  • · Replies 64 ·
3
Replies
64
Views
5K
  • · Replies 26 ·
Replies
26
Views
6K
  • · Replies 10 ·
Replies
10
Views
5K
  • · Replies 15 ·
Replies
15
Views
4K
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
2K
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
2K
  • · Replies 40 ·
2
Replies
40
Views
4K