
The nature of the image formed by a plane mirror is mentioned below: Normal: It is an imaginary line perpendicular to the mirror's surface at the point of incidence.Īngle of Incidence: The angle made within the incident ray & the normal at the point of incidence is called the angle of incidence.Īngle of Reflection: The angle made within the reflected ray and the normal at the point of incidence is called the angle of reflection. Ray: The light ray that is sent back by the mirror after striking the surface of the mirror is called the reflected ray. Point of Incidence: The incident ray that comes in touch with the surface of the mirror. Incident Ray: The light ray that falls on the surface of a mirror is called the incident ray of light.

Here you will find a brief understanding of certain crucial terms, these are: The normal is said to be an imaginary line that is perpendicular to the surface. The angle that occupies within the incident ray & the normal is called the angle of incidence. The reflected angle is always equal to the incident angle for all the light rays, which strike the plane mirror. Moreover, this ray of light will be reflected back on the same path.Ī mirror with a flat or planar reflective surface is called a plane mirror. Here, you can find detailed information regarding the images formed by the plane mirror.First law of reflection: It states that the incident ray, reflected ray, and the normal (perpendicular to the surface of the object) at the point of incidence, lie in the same plane.Second law of reflection: As per this law, the angle of reflection is always equal to the angle of incidence.īesides, one must bear in mind that when a ray of light normally falls (creating an angle of 90° with the surface) on the surface of a mirror, then both the angle of incidence and reflection will be zero. The laws of reflection of light can be applied both in the case of a plane mirror & the spherical mirror. No image is formed by this type of reflection. This is because the angle of incidence and the angle of reflection are different. In this reflection, the rays of light hit an irregular object with a rough surface and are reflected back from the object and scattered in all directions.In this case, the incident ray and the reflected ray don't make the same angles with the normal. The formation of an image is due to regular reflection.ĭiffused/Irregular reflection is a non-mirror type of reflection of light. Here, the incident ray & reflected ray makes the same angle with the normal. In this case, the light rays are reflected from a smooth, shiny, or polished surface like that of a mirror, and are reflected by a definite angle. It is the mirror-like reflection of light rays. There are basically two types of reflection: This silver coating is protected by red paint. For this reason, a thin layer of silver metal is deposited on one side of the glass plate while making a plane mirror. The objects having smooth, shiny, or polished surfaces reflect more light as compared to objects having unpolished or rough surfaces.

The process by which light waves falling on a surface is sent by the surface is called reflection. Light has two important properties, viz: reflection, and refraction. The reflection of an object over a plane mirror forms images at many different places. The process of sending back the light waves after falling on the surface of an object is called a reflection of light. The path of light is always a straight line, and this single beam of light is called a ray of light. Light is a form of energy that brings forth the sensation of sight in our eyes.
