law of reflection
Americannoun
Usage
What is the law of reflection? While it may sound like a form of meditation, the law of reflection is a principle about what light does when it hits a perfectly smooth surface, like a mirror. The law states that light will bounce off such a surface at the exact same angle it hit that surface at.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
By relying on the law of reflection and the idea that reflective surfaces can be used to form images, telescopes can be constructed using mirrors to distort the path of light.
From Textbooks ● Aug. 12, 2015
The law of reflection is illustrated in Figure 25.3, which also shows how the angles are measured relative to the perpendicular to the surface at the point where the light ray strikes.
From Textbooks ● Aug. 12, 2015
Figure 27.6 shows how a mirror reflects an incoming wave at an angle equal to the incident angle, verifying the law of reflection.
From Textbooks ● Aug. 12, 2015
Rays of light that strike the surface follow the law of reflection.
From Textbooks ● Aug. 12, 2015
One law of reflection is that, when a ray of light falls on a plane or spherical surface, it goes off at the same angle to the surface as it fell.
From Meteorology or Weather Explained by M'Pherson, J. G.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
