Physics seminar
on
Reflection, Refraction and Diffraction of light
Done by
Name: Saipriya. S
Class:XII- ‘B’
Rolll no : 715
Session::2024-2025
Reflection
When a ray of light approaches a smooth polished surface and the light ray
bounces back, it is called the reflection of light.
The incident light ray that land on the surface is reflected off the surface.
The ray that bounces back is called the reflected ray.
if a perpendicular were drawn on a reflecting surface, it would be called
normal.
Laws of reflection
The laws of reflection determine the reflection of incident light rays on reflecting surfaces, like
mirrors, smooth metal surfaces and clear water. Let’s consider a plane mirror as shown in the
figure above. The law of reflection states that
• The incident ray, the reflected ray and the normal all lie in the same plane
• The angle of incidence = Angle of reflection
Types of reflection
Different types of reflection of light are briefly discussed below:
•Regular reflection is also known as specular reflection: Specular Reflection refers to a clear
and sharp reflection, like the ones you get in a mirror. A mirror is made of glass coated with a
uniform layer of a highly reflective material such as powder. This reflective surface reflects
almost all the light incident on it uniformly. There is not much variation in the angles of
reflections between various points. This means that the haziness and the blurring are almost
entirely eliminated.
•Diffused reflection: Reflective surfaces other than mirrors, in general, have a very rough
finish. This may be due to wear and tear such as scratches and dents or dirt on the surface.
Sometimes even the material of which the surface is made of matters. All this leads to a loss
of both the brightness and the quality of the reflection. In the case of such rough surfaces,
the angle of reflection when compared between points is completely haphazard. For rough
surfaces, the rays incident at slightly different points on the surface is reflected in completely
different directions. This type of reflection is called diffused reflection and is what enables us
to see non-shiny objects.
Refraction
Refraction is the bending of a wave when it passes from one
medium to another.
The bending is caused due to the differences in density between
the two substances.
Refraction of light is one of the most commonly observed
phenomena, but other waves like sound waves and water waves
also experience refraction.
Refraction makes it possible for us to have optical instruments such
as magnifying glasses, lenses and prisms.
It is also because of the refraction of light that we are able to focus
light on our retina.
Causes of Refraction
Change of Speed Results in Change in Direction:
•A light ray refracts whenever it travels at an angle into a medium of
different refractive indices.
•This change in speed results in a change in direction.
•As an example, consider air travelling into water.
•The speed of light decreases as it continues to travel at a different
angle.
•When light travels from air into glass, the light slows down and changes
direction slightly.
• When light travels from a less dense substance to a denser substance,
the refracted light bends more towards the normal line.
• If the light wave approaches the boundary in a perpendicular
direction, the light ray doesn’t refract despite the change in speed
Laws of refraction
Laws of refraction state that:
•The incident ray refracted ray, and the normal to the
interface of two media at the point of incidence all lie on
the same plane.
•The ratio of the sine of the angle of incidence to the sine
of the angle of refraction is constant. This is also known as
Snell’s law of refraction .
Refractive index
The refractive Index is dimensionless. For a given material, the refractive index is the ratio
between the speed of light in a vacuum (c) and the speed of light in the medium (v). If
the refractive index for a medium is represented by
Based on the refractive index of the medium, the light ray changes its direction, or it bends
at the junction separating the two media. If the light ray travels from one medium to
another of a higher refractive index, it bends towards the normal, else it bends away from
the normal.
Diffraction of light
Diffraction of light is defined as the bending of light around corners such that it spreads out
and illuminates areas where a shadow is expected. In general, it is hard to separate
diffraction from interference since both occur simultaneously. The silver lining which we
witness in the sky is caused due to diffraction of light. When the sunlight passes through or
encounters the cloud, a silver lining is seen in the sky.When the double-slit in Young’s
experiment is replaced by a single narrow slit, a broad pattern with a bright region at the
centre is seen. On both sides of the centre, there are alternating dark and bright regions. The
intensity becomes weaker away from the centre.
Single slit diffraction
In the single-slit diffraction experiment, we can observe the bending phenomenon of light or
diffraction that causes light from a coherent source to interfere with itself and produce a
distinctive pattern on the screen called the diffraction pattern. Diffraction is evident when the
sources are small enough that they are relatively the size of the wavelength of light. You can
see this effect in the diagram below. For large slits, the spreading out is small and generally
unnoticeable.
