2 Reflection, Refraction, Diffraction, and Scattering
2 Reflection, refraction, diffraction, and scattering In this chapter we will describe how radiation is reflected off a surface, transmitted into a medium at a different angle, how it is influenced by passing an edge or through an aperture, and how it is scattered and spread out by interactions with particles at various scales. We will focus on the propagation of light. In order to describe the direction in which light propagates, it is often convenient to represent a light wave by rays rather than by wave fronts. In fact, rays were used to describe the propagation of light long before its wave nature was established. Geometrically, the duality is easy to handle: Whenever we indicate the direction of propagation of light by a ray, the wave front is always locally perpendicular to the ray. 2.1 Reflection Figure 2-1. Spheres reflected in the floor and in each other. Reflection occurs when a wave hits the interface between two dissimilar media, so that all of or at least part of the wave front returns into the medium from which it originated. Common examples are reflection of light, as shown in figure 2-1, as well as reflection of surface waves that may be observed in a pool of water, or sound waves reflected as echo from a wall. Reflection of light may be specular or diffuse. The first occurs on a blank mirroring surface that retains the geometry of the beams of light. The second occurs on a rougher surface, not retaining the imaging geometry, only the energy. © Fritz Albregtsen 2008 2-2 Reflection, refraction, diffraction, and scattering 2.1.1 Reflectance Reflectance is the ratio of reflected power to incident power, generally expressed in decibels or percent.
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