The angle that the reflected light makes with a line perpendicular to to the mirror is always equal to the angle of the incident ray for a plane (2-dimensional) surface.
We’re going to play with how light reflects off surfaces. At what angle does the light get reflected? This experiment will show you how to measure it.
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Materials:
- laser
- mirror
- protractor
- pencil
- paper
These downloads are provided by Laser Classroom. Check out their website for more free downloads and really cool lasers!
Click here for the chapter in optics for advanced students.
Did you notice a pattern? When the laser beam hits the mirror at a 30o angle, it comes off the mirror at 60o, which means that the angle on both sides of a line perpendicular to the mirror are equal. That’s the law of reflection on a plane surface.
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