How Many Types Of Reflection Are There Name Them Give a Difference?

How Many Types Of Reflection Are There Name Them Give a Difference?

Edited By Team Careers360 | Updated on Aug 03, 2023 12:07 PM IST

When a light beam strikes a flawless, polished surface and bounces back, it is said to be reflecting. In other words, light is reflected when a ray of light approaches any surface. Additionally, the light ray that strikes the surface is referred to as an Incident ray, but the light ray that is reflected back is known as a Reflected ray. Additionally, it is known as a Normal if a perpendicular is drawn between the two rays on the reflecting surface.

This Story also Contains
  1. Laws of reflection
  2. Types of reflection and their name
  3. Difference between reflections
  • The beam that strikes the surface is known as an incident ray.

  • Ray that is reflected from a surface is known as a "reflected ray."

  • Normal on the polished surface is perpendicular.

  • P is the point of reflection.

  • The angle of Incident = I

  • Angle of Reflection=r

Laws of reflection

After learning the meaning of reflection, we need to understand two laws of reflection. These rules can be used to calculate the way incident light rays are reflected by different materials such as plane mirrors, water and metal surfaces. The laws of reflection that apply to plane mirrors are:

We need a plane where the incident, normal and reflected rays are all contained.

The angle of reflection I = angle of incidence (r).

Types of reflection and their name

It's vital to go over the many types of reflection while looking at the fundamentals of light reflection. Every time we alter one of the fundamental components—or their form—involved in this occurrence, the outcome likewise changes.

The top three types of reflection are as follows:

  • Regular Reflection

  • Diffused Reflection

  • Multiple Reflection

Difference between reflections

Regular Reflection

By using a plane mirror, it is easy to comprehend regular reflection, also known as specular reflection. This mirror is not like the common mirrors we see around us; instead, it is made of glass that has been thickly coated with a homogeneous covering of a highly reflective substance, like a powder. Since it is coated, the surface completely reflects all of the light that strikes it; hence, there is little fluctuation in the two reflection angles at different sites. We can state that all of the haziness and blurriness are fully gone as a result of this slight variation.

Diffused Reflection

To explore the meaning of diffuse reflection, let's think about reflective surfaces other than mirrors. Typical surfaces that can be used to diffuse light are relatively rough and contain some marks, scratches, dust or dents because they are made of materials other than glass. All this affects the quality and brightness of the reflections. Therefore, the comparison of both reflection angles on such a rough surface is completely distorted. In diffuse reflection, the rays of light hit different points and are reflected in completely different directions, resulting in opaque objects.

Multiple Reflection

A single mirror is used to optically reflect and diffuse light, while the use of two mirrors causes the same light source to be reflected multiple times. This type of reflection is only possible if the intensity of the light is so weak that it cannot be seen. Every image is the result of another image, so an infinite number of reflections form an infinite number of images.

The number of images that are formed depends on the angle that is made between the two mirrors. Reducing the angle increases the number of images. If the angle between two mirrors is zero, i.e. parallel, the number of images will be infinite.

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