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Physics vocabulary · Light and Optics

Reflection

Meaning in physics, with examples

/rɪˈflekʃən/nounCore term

In physics, reflection means: The bouncing back of light, sound or another wave when it hits a surface. For a flat mirror, the angle of reflection equals the angle of incidence.

In Turkish: yansıma

How it is used

Angles are measured from the normal, an imaginary line at right angles to the surface. Smooth surfaces give specular (mirror-like) reflection; rough surfaces give diffuse reflection. As a verb: light is reflected off or from a surface. An echo is a reflection of sound.

Example sentences

  1. The law of reflection says that the angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection.

  2. About a second later we heard the echo, a reflection of our voices from the cliff.

Common collocations

  • angle of reflection
  • law of reflection
  • diffuse reflection
  • reflection off a surface
  • plane mirror
  • refractionThe change in direction of a wave as it passes from one material into another, caused by a change in its speed. It is why a straw looks bent in a glass of water.
  • total internal reflectionThe complete reflection of light back into an optically denser material, such as glass or water, when it meets the boundary at an angle greater than the critical angle.
  • lensA curved piece of glass or plastic that bends light by refraction to form an image. A converging lens brings light rays together; a diverging lens spreads them out.
  • waveA disturbance that travels through a medium or through space and carries energy from one place to another without carrying matter with it.
  • focal lengthThe distance from the centre of a lens or mirror to its focal point, where parallel rays of light meet or appear to come from. It is usually given in centimetres or metres.

More terms: Light and Optics

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