Plane of incidence

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
The plane of incidence is defined by the incoming radiation's propagation vector and the normal vector of the surface.

In describing

incoming radiation.[1] (In wave optics, the latter is the k-vector
, or wavevector, of the incoming wave.)

When reflection is

co-planarity among incident ray, surface normal, and reflected ray (refracted ray) is known as the first law of reflection (first law of refraction, respectively).[2]

Polarizations

Main article: s and p polarizations

The orientation of the incident light's polarization with respect to the plane of incidence has an important effect on the strength of the reflection. P-polarized light is incident linearly polarized light with polarization direction lying in the plane of incidence. S-polarized light has polarization perpendicular to the plane of incidence. The s in s-polarized comes from the German word senkrecht, meaning perpendicular. The strength of reflection from a surface is determined by the Fresnel equations, which are different for s- and p-polarized light.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Brewster's law". Britannica. Retrieved 2019-06-04.
  2. ISBN 978-1-57958-129-9
    . Retrieved 2020-08-10.
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