Sectieoverzicht

    • You will remember from the previous course titled 'Propagation and transmission of light', that the reason you can see non-luminous objects is because light from a light source e.g. sun or a light bulb is reflected off the non-luminous object. 

      The reflection of light occurs when a light ray bounces off an object. A good example is when light rays strike a smooth, polished surface like a mirror. These rays are not transmitted or absorbed, they bounce back and a reflection occurs. These light rays are referred to as reflected light rays.

      The light rays that strike the surface are referred to as incident light rays.

      Image: MaxPixel (PD)

    • The image below clearly illustrates the difference between incident and reflection light rays. An interesting point to note is that the angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection - but more will be covered on this topic a little later!