Quote:
Originally Posted by Angakuk
Quote:
Originally Posted by peacegirl
Quote:
Originally Posted by LadyShea
Quote:
Originally Posted by peacegirl
Quote:
Originally Posted by LadyShea
Quote:
Originally Posted by peacegirl
Actually, objects only absorb light; they don't reflect it. There is no property in the object that is capable of reflecting light.
|
Then explain how I am reflecting light off a hand mirror (an object under any definition) onto the ceiling right this very second. |
The wavelength is on the ceiling instantly; it is not reflected in the sense of travel time. This is the distinction I'm trying to make so that you can understand why the eyes and film work the same way even 93 million miles away. |
How did it get to be on the ceiling if it was absorbed by, rather than reflected from, the mirror?
Is a mirror an object? |
Of course it's an object but the mirror does not absorb; it (P) reflects. That's why we get a mirror image on the ceiling. |
But in this example we don't get a mirror image on the ceiling. We get a spot of reflected light. Just light, nothing else. If objects don't reflect light and a mirror is an object then how do you account for that spot of light on the ceiling? |
Objects do reflect light (as Spacemonkey helped clarify), but they don't (N) reflect their own image beyond the range where the object can be seen. So if a light is striking a mirror, the mirror will reflect light on the ceiling. This reflection will be seen on the ceiling as long as the mirror is positioned where we can see the reflection. If we remove the mirror (the object that is doing the reflecting), we will not see a mirror image.
The law of reflection
Most visible objects are seen by reflected light. There are few natural sources of light, such as the sun, stars, and a flame; other sources are man-made, such as electric lights. For an object to be visible, light from a source is reflected off the object into our eyes (except in the special case of phosphors). In Figure 2 , the light is coming from the sun, parallel due to the distance of the source. The light reflects off the object and travels in straight lines to the viewer. Through experience, the viewer has learned to extend the reflected rays entering the eye back to locate the object.
http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_gui...eId-10441.html