Reflection of Light

Reflection is the change in the direction of propagation of a wave that strikes a boundary between
different media through which it cannot pass.
When a wave strikes such a boundary it bounces back, or is reflected. The angle of incidence is the angle
between the path of the wave and a line perpendicular to the boundary (normal). The angle of
reflection is the angle between the normal and the path of the reflected wave. All reflected waves obey
the law of reflection, which states that the angle of reflection is equal to the angle of incidence.

Laws of Reflection
1. The angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection i.e. (Angle i = Angle r) <i = <r. The
angles are always measured from the ray to the normal line. The normal line is a line at right
angles to the mirror.
2. The incident ray, the reflected ray and the normal all lie in the same plane.

Regular reflection

When a beam pass of parallel light rays is incident on a smooth and plane surface, the
reflected rays will also be parallel. This type of reflection is called Regular Reflection.

Irregular reflection
When a beam of parallel light rays is scattered in all directions. Therefore the parallel rays
incident on the surface will reflect in different directions. This type of reflection is called
"Irregular or Diffuse Reflection".

Formation of an image by a plane mirror

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To locate an image rays are drawn from the same point of an object to the mirror. The reflected rays are
projected backwards as dotted lines and the point of intersection is the position of the image.

Characteristic of the Image formed by a Plane Mirror

1. All images are virtual. That is, they cannot be projected on to a screen.
2. The image produced in a mirror is as far behind the mirror as the object is in front.

object distance = image distance

3. The image is the same size as the object.

4. A line joining a point on the image to a corresponding point on the object is perpendicular to the
mirror.
5. Laterally inverted (left becomes right and right becomes left), which is why writing is back to front in a
mirror.

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Uses of curved and plane mirrors

● Used in car headlights. The bulb of the head light is placed at the focal point. The reflected light
is parallel and gives more visibility to the driver at night.
● Used in solar powered gadgets. The parallel rays of the sun meet at the focal point F. The solar
energy concentrated at F is used for further applications such as heating, etc.
● optical testing

● A convex mirror has a wider field of vision than a plane mirror. Therefore it is used as a
surveillance mirror and a blind corner mirror which is placed at a sharp bend on a road.
● Periscopes

● A convex mirror is used as a side mirror of a car because it gives an upright image and a wider
field of vision than a plane mirror
● Concave mirror with long focal lengths can be used as makeup mirror, shaving mirror or a
dentist's mirror as they form magnified and upright image.

Refraction of light
Refraction is the bending of light rays when they pass at an angle in or out of materials such as glass and
water.
Refraction of light is the change in direction (bending of light rays) when it passes from one optically
transparent medium to another.

Terms used in refraction:

● Refracted ray is the bent ray as a result of passing from one optical medium to another.

● Normal is an imaginary line perpendicular to the interface of media where the refraction occurs.

● Angle of incidence is the angle between incident ray and the normal.

● Angle of refraction is the angle between refracted ray and the normal.

Laws of Refraction

First law of refraction states that the incident ray, the refracted ray and the normal to the interface all
lie in the same plane.

Second law of refraction states that for two given media, the ratio sini/sinr=constant, where i is the
angle of incidence and r is the angle of refraction.

In summary, light travelling from:

● denser medium to less dense medium – Bend away from normal

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● less dense medium to denser medium – Bend towards normal

● However, if the light ray enters another medium perpendicularly to the boundary, there is no
deviation of the ray even when there is change in speed of light.

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Law of Refraction - The Snell's Law

1. The incident and refracted rays are on opposite sides of the normal at the point of incidence,
and all three lie in the same plane.
2. The value of (sin i)/ (sin r) is constant for light passing from one given medium into another. This
is known as Snell's law.

Refractive Index
Refractive index (n) of a medium is given by n=sini/sinr
The greater the value of the refractive index of a medium, the greater is the “bending” effect of light
when it passes from air into that medium.
A material with a larger value of n is an optically denser medium.

Definition of refractive index

Refractive index of a medium can be defined as the ratio of the speed of refracted light in vacuum to its
speed in the medium.

Consequence of refraction of light: Apparent Depth

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A pool of water looks shallower than it really is. A straight object placed in water looks bent at the
surfaces.
Real Depth and Apparent Depth

The real depth of an object is the vertical distance of the object from the surface of the liquid.
The apparent depth of an object is the vertical distance of the image of the object from the surface of
the liquid.

Refractive index in terms of real depth and apparent depth:

Critical angle

Critical angle, c, is the angle of incidence in the optically denser medium for which the angle of
refraction in the less dense medium is 90⁰.

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Critical angle and Refractive Index

Total Internal Reflection

Total internal reflection is the reflection of light at the boundary of 2 media where the angle of incidence
exceeds the critical angle of the medium.

Two conditions for it to take place:

1. Light rays must travel from an optically denser medium to a less dense medium.
2. The angle of incidence in the optically denser medium must be greater than the critical angle.
i.e. i > c.

Mirage

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 1. On a very hot day (normally in a desert), the air near the ground is much hotter than the air at
higher altitude.
2. Cold air is (optically) denser than hot air.
3. When light ray travels from the upper part of the air to the lower part, it will be refracted away
form the normal, and consequently experiences total internal reflection.
4. As a result, water like image appears on the surface of the earth, which is known as mirage.

Applications of total internal reflection

1. Optical Fibre

1. An optical fibre is a long thin strand of glass surrounded by glass cladding with low refractive
index.
2. Rays of light entering one end of the fibre experience repeated total internal reflection until
they emerge at the other end.
Optical fibre has a number of advantages over copper wire:

i) Cheaper
ii) Can carry more information
iii) Immune to electrical interference
iv) Safer - no fire risk as with electric currents
v) Wire-tapping more difficult

2. Reflectors
The reflector is made up of many small perspex prisms arranged so that light undergoes total internal

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 reflection twice.
The overall result is that the light is returned in the direction from which it originally came.
The reflector will be seen to be lit up from the point of view of the light source for example the driver
of a car with its headlights on.

3. Prismatic periscope
Glass and perspex both have critical angles of about 42⁰.
In each prism the light strikes the glass-air interface at an incidence angle of 45⁰
Total internal reflection therefore occurs and the light ray is deviated by 90⁰ in each prism.

4. Endoscopes used by doctors to check the internal parts of a patient’s body.