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  2. Snell's law - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snell's_law

    Snell's law (also known as the Snell–Descartes law, the ibn-Sahl law, [1] and the law of refraction) is a formula used to describe the relationship between the angles of incidence and refraction, when referring to light or other waves passing through a boundary between two different isotropic media, such as water, glass, or air.

  3. Reflection (physics) - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflection_(physics)

    Reflection of light is either specular (mirror-like) or diffuse (retaining the energy, but losing the image) depending on the nature of the interface.In specular reflection the phase of the reflected waves depends on the choice of the origin of coordinates, but the relative phase between s and p (TE and TM) polarizations is fixed by the properties of the media and of the interface between them.

  4. Specular reflection - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Specular_reflection

    Specular reflection, or regular reflection, is the mirror-like reflection of waves, such as light, from a surface. [ 1 ] The law of reflection states that a reflected ray of light emerges from the reflecting surface at the same angle to the surface normal as the incident ray, but on the opposing side of the surface normal in the plane formed by ...

  5. Refraction - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refraction

    For light, refraction follows Snell's law, which states that, for a given pair of media, the ratio of the sines of the angle of incidence and angle of refraction is equal to the ratio of phase velocities in the two media, or equivalently, to the refractive indices of the two media: [2]

  6. Fermat's principle - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fermat's_principle

    Mr. Laplace seems to be unacquainted with this most essential principle of one of the two theories which he compares; for he says, that "it is remarkable" that the Huygenian law of extraordinary refraction agrees with the principle of Fermat; which he would scarcely have observed, if he had been aware that the law was an immediate consequence ...

  7. Fresnel equations - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresnel_equations

    The relationship between these angles is given by the law of reflection: =, and Snell's law: ⁡ = ⁡. The behavior of light striking the interface is explained by considering the electric and magnetic fields that constitute an electromagnetic wave , and the laws of electromagnetism , as shown below .

  8. Geometrical optics - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geometrical_optics

    For flat mirrors, the law of reflection implies that images of objects are upright and the same distance behind the mirror as the objects are in front of the mirror. The image size is the same as the object size. (The magnification of a flat mirror is equal to one.) The law also implies that mirror images are parity inverted, which is perceived ...

  9. Optics - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optics

    For flat mirrors, the law of reflection implies that images of objects are upright and the same distance behind the mirror as the objects are in front of the mirror. The image size is the same as the object size. The law also implies that mirror images are parity inverted, which we perceive as a left-right inversion. Images formed from ...