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reflection
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reflection Two diagrams compare light reflection: the top shows blue incident and reflected rays bouncing off a smooth surface, with equal angles from the normal; the bottom shows rays scattering from a rough surface, with normals and angles marked at various points. Figure 7: The refraction and reflection of light. (Left) When light strikes the boundary between glass and air at less than the critical angle (θc), it is refracted and partially reflected; (centre) when it meets the boundary at the critical angle, it is refracted parallel to the boundary; (right) when it meets the boundary at more than the critical angle, it is reflected totally. Diagram showing several light rays striking a rough surface at different angles, with the reflected rays scattering in multiple directions, illustrating diffuse reflection. holography Figure 5: Malus' experiment. Successive reflections at two unsilvered mirror surfaces, G1 and G2 (see text). Diagram showing light from a bee reflecting off a vertical plane mirror into an observer's eye; equal angles of incidence and reflection produce a virtual bee image behind the mirror.
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Italian physicist Guglielmo Marconi at work in the wireless room of his yacht Electra, c. 1920.
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reflection: References & Edit History

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  • The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
    Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.

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Article History

Type Description Contributor Date
Modified link of Web site: Physics LibreTexts - Reflection. Oct 10, 2026
Add new Web site: College of DuPage Digital Press - Conceptual Physics - Reflection and refraction. Sep 06, 2025
Add new Web site: Mustansiriyah University - Reflection and Refraction (PDF). Jul 30, 2025
Add new Web site: Academia - Reflections on a new physics (PDF). May 01, 2025
Add new Web site: OpenStax - Physics - Reflection. Feb 18, 2025
Add new Web site: Cambridge University - International Education - Reflection (PDF). Dec 31, 2024
Add new Web site: The University of Utah - Department of Mathematics - Quaternions and Reflections. Nov 11, 2024
Add new Web site: International Journal in Physical and Applied Sciences - Dynamics of Reflection of Light on Convex Surface With Special Reference to Optical Speccifications. Oct 19, 2024
Add new Web site: Digital Commons at University of Nebraska - Lincoln - Reflection and Refraction (PDF). Sep 04, 2024
Add new Web site: Scholars at Harvard - Refraction and Reflection. Apr 22, 2024
Add new Web site: University of Iowa Pressbooks - The Law of Reflection. Mar 22, 2024
Add new Web site: The Physics Classroom - Reflection and the Ray Model of Light. Sep 05, 2023
Add new Web site: Khan Academy - Reflecting points. Apr 17, 2023
Add new Web site: Physics LibreTexts - Reflection. Jan 23, 2023
Corrected display issue. Mar 04, 2020
Add new Web site: Optic4Kids - The Reflection of Light. Apr 08, 2016
Added diagram depicting reflection of a wave. Mar 08, 2012
Media added. Aug 07, 2009
Added new Web site: ThinkQuest - Refraction. Jul 23, 2008
Added new Web site: Eastern Illinois University - Reflection and Refraction. Jul 23, 2008
Added new Web site: Computer Animations of Physical Processes - Reflection and Refraction of Light. Jul 23, 2008
Added new Web site: Circles of Light - The Mathematics of Rainbows. Jun 13, 2006
Added new Web site: Circles of Light - The Mathematics of Rainbows. Jun 13, 2006
Article added to new online database. Jul 20, 1998
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