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Essmyer Ch.29 Vocab
Question | Answer |
---|---|
the bouncing back of a particle or wave that strikes the boundary between two media. | reflection |
a line perpendicular to a surface. | normal |
angle between an incident ray and the normal to a surface. | angle of incidence |
angle between a relected ray and the normal to a surface. | angle of reflection |
the angle of incidence for a wave that strikes a surface is equal to the angle of reflection. this is true for both partially and totally refected waves. | law of reflection |
an image formed through reflection or refraction that can be seen by an observer but cannot be projected on a screen because light from the object does not actually come to a focus. | virtual image |
the reflection of waves in many directions from a rough surface. | diffuse reflection |
persistence of a sound, as in an echo, due to multiple reflections. | reverberation |
the change in direction of a wave as it crosses the boundary between two media in which the wave travels at different speeds. | refraction |
the crest, trough, or any continuous portion of a two-dimensional or three-dimensional wave in which the vibrations are all the same way at the same time. | wave front |
a floating image that appears in the distance and is due to the refraction of light in Earth's atmosphere. | mirage |
the separation of light into colors arranged according to their frequency, by interaction with a prism or diffraction grating, for example. | dispersion |
the minimum mass of fissionable material in a nuclear reactor or nuclear bomb that will sustain a chain reaction. | critical angle |
the 100% reflection with no transmission of light that strikes the boundary between two media at an angle greater than the critical angle. | total internal reflection |
a transparent fiber, usuallyof glass or plastic, that can transmit light down its length by means of total internal reflection. | optical fiber |