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Law of Reflection, Definition

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Encyclopedia of Ophthalmology

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Synonyms

Reflection law

Definition

The law of reflection refers to the reflection of light-rays off smooth conducting surfaces, such as polished metal or metal-coated glass mirrors. Consider a light-ray incident on a plane mirror, the law of reflection states that the incident ray, the reflected ray, and the normal to the surface of the mirror all lie in the same plane. The angle of reflection is equal to the angle of incidence. Both angles are measured with respect to the normal to the mirror. The law of reflection also holds for nonplane mirrors or rough surfaces (diffuse reflection).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Experimental Ophthalmology, Saarland University, Kirrberger Str. 100, Bldg. 22, Homburg, D 66424, Germany

    Achim Langenbucher

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  1. Achim Langenbucher
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Correspondence to Achim Langenbucher .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept of Ophthal & Optometry,AKH, Medical University of Wien Dept of Ophthal & Optometry,AKH, Wien, Austria

    Ursula Schmidt-Erfurth

  2. Department of Ophthalmology, Goethe University of Frankfurt am Main Department of Ophthalmology, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

    Thomas Kohnen

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© 2015 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Langenbucher, A. (2015). Law of Reflection, Definition. In: Schmidt-Erfurth, U., Kohnen, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Ophthalmology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-35951-4_636-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-35951-4_636-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-35951-4

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