REFLECTION

Reflection of light

 There are some surfaces which have ability to send
the light back in the same medium when light strikes
it. This phenomena of sending the light back in the
same medium by a surface is called reflection of
light.
 Law of reflection

 i) The incident ray, the reflected ray and the normal
at the point of incidence, all lie in a same plane.
 (ii) The angle of incidence is always equal to the
angle of reflection, ∠i = ∠r.
 Image form in the plane
mirror

 In a plane mirror, the image of a real object is always
(i) virtual, (ii) erect (iii) of same size as the
object, (iv) as far behind the mirror as the object
is in front of the mirror. (v) laterally inverted.
 Spherical mirror

 There are two types of spherical mirrors- concave mirror and convex
mirror.
 Concave mirror: A spherical mirror whose reflecting surface faces
towards the center of the sphere i.e., curved inwards is known as
concave mirror.
 Convex mirror: A spherical mirror with reflecting surface curved
outwards is known as convex mirror.
Diagrams related to
spherical mirror

 Important terms of spherical
mirror


1) Centre of curvature:- The centre of curvature of a spherical mirror is the central point of the
hallow sphere of which the mirror is a part.

 2) Radius of curvature:- The radius of curvature of a spherical mirror is the radius of the hallow
sphere of which the mirror is a part, in other words, it is the distance between the centre of
curvature and pole of a mirror. It is represented by letter R.

 3) Pole:- The pole of spherical mirror is the centre or middle point of a spherical mirror. It is
represented by letter P.

 4) Principle axis:- Principle axis of a spherical mirror is the line passing through the centre of
curvature and its pole. In other words, it is the line joining the pole and centre of curvature of a
mirror.

 5) Secondary axis:- Any straight line other than the principal axis passing through the centre of a
spherical mirror is referred to as secondary axis. It is usually represented by letters SS’ .

 6) Aperture of a mirror:- Aperture of a mirror is the portion of a mirror from which reflection of
light takes place. In other words it is the maximum size of a mirror. It is usually represented by
letter M .
 Concave mirror

 Concave Mirror (Convergent mirror) :
 This type of spherical mirror has its surface of reflection curved inwards
towards the centre. It is also known as a converging mirror because it brings
incoming parallel rays together. It causes these rays to converge.
 concave mirrors are capable of forming both real and virtual images.
 Concave mirror
Principal focus (F)

A point on the principal axis to which all the light rays parallel to the
principal axis converge after reflection from the mirror in concave mirror
Focal length (f)
The distance between principal focus and the pole of a spherical mirror

The concave mirrors are used as shaving mirrors as they magnify objects
placed close to them.
 CONVEX MIRROR

 The term “diverging mirror” is based on this mirror’s behavior of
making rays diverge upon reflection. So when we direct a beam of
light on a convex mirror, the mirror will allow the parallel beam to
diverge after striking the reflective surface and appear to meet at a
point
 CONVEX MIRROR

 Principal focus (F)- principal focus of convex mirror
is a point at which parallel beam of light after
reflecting appears to meet at point.
 Focus of convex mirror is virtual because it lies
behind the mirror.
 Focal length-(F) –It is a distance between pole and
focus .
 Convex mirror

Convex mirrors always form a virtual, erect and diminished image of an
object and also has a wide field of view.
Images formed by these mirrors cannot be projected on a screen, since the
image is inside the mirror. The image is smaller than the object, but gets
larger as the object approaches the mirror.