reflection and surfaces

• when we look into a flat mirror, we see an image of the real object
• however if we place a screen behind the plane mirror, no image is projected on it. hence it is called virtual image as no image is formed on the screen
• we can see clear images on other smooth surface such as a sheet of glass or a calm pond
• the plane mirror reflects the rays coming from an object in the same direction as each other and we see a clear image. this is called regular image
• if the surface is rough, you would not see your image at all because the light is scattered from the surface. this is called diffuse reflection