Animation: Law of reflection

This interactive animation on the “law of reflection” illustrates the geometric relationships between the angle of incidence and the angle of reflection.

Tip: You can use the mouse to move the spotlight. You can change the shape of the medium or mirror using the gray circles.

The animation shows a spotlight illuminating a surface. The shape of the surface, the position of the beam and the orientation of the ray can be modified. Depending on the angle of incidence, the light beam (in accordance with the low of “angle of incidence = angle of refection”) is reflected in a different way.

To clarify the law of reflection, the labels of the angels can be clicked and displayed. In this case the angle of incidence, the angle of reflection and a perpendicular line are depicted. Just in case a partially transparent medium is used, a fractured light beam is also shown.

You can change the shape of the surface interactively with your mouse. In addition to a flat surface, different curved and wavy surfaces can also be formed. The light source is represented by a light-ray. The position of the light source and the target point of the light beams can be moved interactively with the mouse. To do this, simply click on the corresponding points.

Overview and download

Title	Law of reflection
Target audience	Teachers and lecturers
platforms	Microsoft® Windows® Apple® Macintosh®
Features	Full screen mode lossless magnification Large screens supported
License	Freeware (for non-commercial use)
Download	Microsoft® Windows® Apple® Macintosh®

Sources

Authoring tool: Adobe Animate