QAPhysics › What is the difference between reflection and refraction?
Q

What is the difference between reflection and refraction?

A

When light travels through a medium or from one medium to another, its direction is bound to change, and this change is what forms the basis for the difference between reflection and refraction.

Reflection occurs when the light returns back to its medium of origin after it strikes another medium, without any change in speed. Refraction, however, refers to when the speed and direction of light change when it travels from one medium to the next.

In reflection, light returns after hitting a shiny surface without passing through it, whereas refraction only takes place when light passes through a transparent medium.

3 years ago
250 Views