Simple Nature - Light and Matter
- Now position yourself with your head under a light fixture and directly over a shiny surface,
such as a glossy tabletop. You’ll see the lamp’s reflection, and the light coming from the lamp
to your eye will have undergone a reflection through roughly a 180-degree angle (i.e., it very
nearly reversed its direction). Observe this reflection through the polaroid, and try rotating it.
Finally, position yourself so that you are seeing glancing reflections, and try the same thing.
Summarize what happens to light with properties X and Y when it is reflected. (This is the
principle behind polarizing sunglasses.)
Exercises 761
