Previous in Forum: someone help me with my microcontroller!   Next in Forum: How Much Lithium is in a Lithium-Ion Battery?
Close

Comments Format:






Change Mode
Close

Subscribe to Discussion:

CR4 allows you to "subscribe" to a discussion
so that you can be notified of new comments to
the discussion via email.

Close

Rating Vote:







Add Vote
3 comments
Rate Comments: Nested
Anonymous Poster

what happens to any light that falls on a mirror

10/26/2008 4:25 PM

Hi-I'm eager to know what happens to light when it falls on a mirror,when the reflecting photons meet the coming photons?
Reply
Interested in this topic? By joining CR4 you can "subscribe" to
this discussion and receive notification when new comments are added.
TVP45
Guru

Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 4448
Good Answers: 143
#1

Re: what happens to any light that falls on a mirror

10/26/2008 7:34 PM

I'm assuming you're talking classic optics (visible light, dimensions of several cm, etc), in which case you should consider light to be a wave. When the reflected wave hits the incident wave, you'll get both constructive and destructive interference.

Here's a link with some wave tank pictures that should help.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ripple_tank

__________________
 "Well, I've wrestled with reality for 35 years, Doctor, and I'm happy to state I finally won out over it." Elwood P. Dowd
Reply
Milo
Guru

Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: "Dancing over the abyss."
Posts: 4884
Good Answers: 243
#2

Re: what happens to any light that falls on a mirror

10/26/2008 9:22 PM

Be careful with this line of thought; When someone that knows their stuff posts that the "photon" doesn't bounce off but is instead "re emitted" you'll wish you were drinking something stronger than whatever is currently in hand.

And Thats without getting into wave issues...

milo

__________________
 People say between two opposed opinions the truth lies in the middle. Not at all! Between them lies the problem, what is unseeable,eternally active life, contemplated in repose. Goethe
Reply
Bricktop
Guru
United States - Member - Charter Member Engineering Fields - Instrumentation Engineering - Charter Member

Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: The People's Republic of Massachusetts
Posts: 1946
Good Answers: 73
#3

Re: what happens to any light that falls on a mirror

10/27/2008 12:03 PM

Your post suggests that you believe light is a particle. However, light can be proven to be both a particle, and a wave.

Wave–particle duality of light:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wave%E2%80%93particle_duality

__________________
 I go into every human encounter expecting to be framed for a crime I didn't commit. Dilbert, 2013
Reply
Reply to Forum Thread
Have a Different Question?
3 comments
Copy to Clipboard

Users who posted comments:

Bricktop (1); Milo (1); TVP45 (1)

Previous in Forum: someone help me with my microcontroller!   Next in Forum: How Much Lithium is in a Lithium-Ion Battery?
You might be interested in: Mirror Mounts, Light Emitting Diodes (LED)

Advertisement

Got Something to Say?
Ask a Question
Start a Discussion

Search this Forum
General Discussion:
Go

CR4 Sections
Aerospace
BioMech & BioMed
Chemical & Material Science
Civil Engineering
Communications & Electronics
Education and Engineering Careers
Electrical Engineering
General Discussion
Instrumentation
Manufacturing
Mechanical Engineering
New Technologies & Research
Software & Programming
Sustainable Engineering
Transportation

Site Directories
Forum Directory
Blog Directory
User Group Directory
RSS Feeds

CR4 Rules of Conduct
CR4 FAQ
Site Glossary

Who's Online (44 right now)
Show Members
Advertisement