What is reflection?

Question

What is reflection?

Answer 1

all materials reflect light to some degree. things that don't reflect, things that absorb light, are black. what color a material has depends on how much the material reflects and absorbs light. materials that reflect much light are white. white objects reflect light essentially into random directions, that's why they don't reflect an image, like mirrors do.

Answer 2

Well, You are asking in the physics section...so maybe you don't want an answer like "its what a mirror shows you".  

A reflection in terms of waves is a re-emittance of an incident wave from an object.  (In terms of light the EM wave) The atoms of the material will absorb the light , and then re-emit different light of the same frequency.    The EM wave emitted will have an electric field that is 90 degrees out of phase with the original wave and a magnetic field that  is in phase with the original field.   In turns out that since there is an absorption and emission process it takes  the light a small amount of time to be re-emitted back to you.

Sound waves do not cause the atoms to absorb energy in the same fashion.  The atoms in the object that the wave strikes will be compressed and recoil in a way that will cause the medium in which the waves travels to vibrate with a simular frequency (not sure if its exact, there may be some energy lose).    Therefore its as if the object where the source of the sound.  

Okay, if you made it to the end thanks for not falling asleep

Answer 3

see a mirror ,your image is a reflection

Answer 4

a reflection is a mirror image of an object.so basically when you have an object on papaer and put a mirror facing it vertically you wioll see its reflection

Answer 5

an image of yourself...

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/r...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflection

Answer 6

It's what you make others see.

Answer 7

Reflection is the change in direction of a wave front at an interface between two different media so that the wave front returns into the medium from which it originated. Common examples include the reflection of light, sound and water waves

Answer 8

it is a MIRROR image ....

what appears on one side of the "axis of symmetry" appears on the other side in the same location....