Plane of incidence on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
In describing
In describing reflection Reflection or reflexion may refer to:
Science and technology
* Reflection (physics), a common wave phenomenon
** Specular reflection, reflection from a smooth surface
*** Mirror image, a reflection in a mirror or in water
** Signal reflection, in ...
and refraction
In physics, refraction is the redirection of a wave as it passes from one medium to another. The redirection can be caused by the wave's change in speed or by a change in the medium. Refraction of light is the most commonly observed phenomen ...
in optics
Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behaviour of visible, ultrav ...
, the plane of incidence (also called the incidence plane or the meridional plane) is the plane which contains the surface normal
In geometry, a normal is an object such as a line, ray, or vector that is perpendicular to a given object. For example, the normal line to a plane curve at a given point is the (infinite) line perpendicular to the tangent line to the curve ...
and the propagation vector
In physics, a wave vector (or wavevector) is a vector used in describing a wave, with a typical unit being cycle per metre. It has a magnitude and direction. Its magnitude is the wavenumber of the wave (inversely proportional to the wavelength), ...
of the incoming radiation. (In wave optics, the latter is the k-vector, or wavevector, of the incoming wave.)
When reflection is specular, as it is for a mirror or other shiny surface, the reflected ray also lies in the plane of incidence; when refraction
In physics, refraction is the redirection of a wave as it passes from one medium to another. The redirection can be caused by the wave's change in speed or by a change in the medium. Refraction of light is the most commonly observed phenomen ...
also occurs, the refracted ray lies in the same plane. The condition of co-planarity among incident ray, surface normal, and reflected ray (refracted ray) is known as the first law of reflection (first law of refraction, respectively).
Polarizations
{{main, Polarization (waves)#s and p{{!''s'' and ''p'' polarizations The orientation of the incident light's polarization with respect to the plane of incidence has an important effect on the strength of the reflection. ''P-polarized'' light is incident linearly polarized light with polarization direction lying in the plane of incidence. ''S-polarized'' light has polarization perpendicular to the plane of incidence. The ''s'' in s-polarized comes from the German word ''senkrecht'', meaning perpendicular. The strength of reflection from a surface is determined by theFresnel equations
The Fresnel equations (or Fresnel coefficients) describe the reflection and transmission of light (or electromagnetic radiation in general) when incident on an interface between different optical media. They were deduced by Augustin-Jean Fres ...
, which are different for s- and p-polarized light.
See also
*Angle of incidence (optics) The angle of incidence, in geometric optics, is the angle between a ray incident on a surface and the line perpendicular (at 90 degree angle) to the surface at the point of incidence, called the normal. The ray can be formed by any waves, such as ...
* Plane of polarization
* Vertical plane
In astronomy, geography, and related sciences and contexts, a '' direction'' or ''plane'' passing by a given point is said to be vertical if it contains the local gravity direction at that point.
Conversely, a direction or plane is said to be hor ...
References