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  2. 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.

  3. Electromagnetic absorption by water - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_absorption...

    Water vapor concentration for this gas mixture is 0.4%. Water vapor is a greenhouse gas in the Earth's atmosphere, responsible for 70% of the known absorption of incoming sunlight, particularly in the infrared region, and about 60% of the atmospheric absorption of thermal radiation by the Earth known as the greenhouse effect. [25]

  4. Refraction - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refraction

    Water waves are almost parallel to the beach when they hit it because they gradually refract towards land as the water gets shallower. Water waves travel slower in shallower water. This can be used to demonstrate refraction in ripple tanks and also explains why waves on a shoreline tend to strike the shore close to a perpendicular angle. As the ...

  5. Absorption (electromagnetic radiation) - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absorption_(electromagnetic...

    By recording the attenuation of light for various wavelengths, an absorption spectrum can be obtained. In physics , absorption of electromagnetic radiation is how matter (typically electrons bound in atoms ) takes up a photon 's energy —and so transforms electromagnetic energy into internal energy of the absorber (for example, thermal energy ).

  6. Total internal reflection - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_internal_reflection

    Fig. 1: Underwater plants in a fish tank, and their inverted images (top) formed by total internal reflection in the water–air surface. In physics, total internal reflection (TIR) is the phenomenon in which waves arriving at the interface (boundary) from one medium to another (e.g., from water to air) are not refracted into the second ("external") medium, but completely reflected back into ...

  7. Albedo - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albedo

    Because light specularly reflected from water does not usually reach the viewer, water is usually considered to have a very low albedo in spite of its high reflectivity at high angles of incident light. Note that white caps on waves look white (and have high albedo) because the water is foamed up, so there are many superimposed bubble surfaces ...

  8. 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 ...

  9. Ocean optics - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_optics

    Where light reaches the bottom, the water is known as optically shallow, such as in this pool. The pattern of light on the bottom is caused by light refraction at the surface when ripples and small waves bend the water surface. The water at many tropical beaches, such as this beach on the Kure Atoll, is optically shallow. Light reflects off ...