Reflection of light in mirrors

• Light is given out by luminous objects such as the sun, light bulbs, and laser
• non-luminous objects are objects that borrow light from a source such as moon, planets
• Rays - light waves travel out from their source in a straight lines
• the light is scattered if the surface is irregular having pits, protrusions, and uneven
• the light is reflected if the surface is smooth like a mirror
• reflection is the turning back of light when it hits a barrier
• A mirror is a material with shiny, smooth surface which reflects light regularly
• the reflection of an object is called an image
• real image is inverted , actual ray, can be projected on the screen
• virtual image is upright , apparent rays, cannot be projected on the screen
• incident ray is the ray of light approaching the mirror
• reflected ray is the ray of light which leaves the mirror
• normal line is an imaginary line labeled N that can be drawn perpendicular to the surface of the mirror at the point of incidence where the ray strikes the mirror
• angle of incidence is the angle between incident ray and the normal line
• angle of reflection is the angle between the reflected ray and the normal line
• the angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection
• Parallel mirrors produce infinite images
• specular / regular reflection is a reflection of light on smooth surface
• diffused / irregular reflection is a reflection of light on rough surfaces