PHYS 117 Chapter Notes - Chapter 22: Total Internal Reflection, Specular Reflection, Diffuse Reflection
Document Summary
Physics 117 chapter 22 reflection and refraction of light. In some experiments light acts as a wave and in others it acts as a particle. Reflection: part of the light encountering the second medium bounces off that medium. Refraction: the light passing into the second medium bends through an angle with respect to the normal to the boundary. Light travels in a straight-line path in a homogeneous medium, until it encounters a boundary between two different materials. Specular reflection is the reflection of light from a smooth surface. Diffuse reflection is the reflection of light from a rough surface. When a ray of light travelling through a transparent medium encounters a boundary leading into another transparent medium, part of the ray is reflected and part enters the second medium. The path of a light ray through a refracting surface is reversible. As light travels from one medium to another, its frequency doesn"t change.
