![]() The incident ray intersects the mirror at the same location where your line of sight intersects the mirror. This ray of light is known as the incident ray - the light ray approaching the mirror. ![]() When viewing the image of the object in a plane mirror, one of these rays of light originates at the object location and first travels along a line towards the mirror (as represented by the blue ray in the diagram below). The object is being illuminated by light in the room a countless number of rays of light are reflecting off the object in a variety of directions. Two important ideas are gleaned from such a lab: one pertains to how light travels from the object to the eye and one pertains to the location of the image of an object.Īs you sight at the image of an object in the mirror (whether it be a stoppered pencil or any object), light travels along your line of sight towards your eye. The precise image location of the object is the location where all lines of sight intersect regardless of where the eye is located. Then the eye location is repositioned to the other side of the object pencil and the process is repeated. When placed along the line of sight, the portion of the image pencil that extends above the mirror will be aligned with the image that is seen in the mirror. As a student sights along a line (the line of sight) at the image of the pencil, the second pencil is placed behind the mirror along the same line of sight this is called the image pencil. Then the student sights at the image of the object pencil in the mirror. The object pencil is placed in front of a plane mirror. Two pencils are inserted into rubber stoppers one stoppered pencil serves as the object and the other serves to assist the student in locating the image. ![]() First, the method of parallax is used to locate the image of the object. In the process of determining the image location, the manner in which light from the object travels to your eye is investigated. While simple, this concept of the line of sight is also profound! This very principle of the line of sight will assist us in understanding the formation of images in both this unit (reflection) and the next unit (refraction).Ī common Physics lab involves the determination of the image location of a pencil (or some object) as formed by a plane mirror. Regardless of the eye location, you will still need to sight along a line in a specific direction in order to view the object. If your eye were located at a different location, then you would see a different cone of rays. Although this light diverges from the object in a variety of directions, your eye only sees the very small diverging cone of rays that is coming towards it. It is a rather simple principle: In order to view an object, you must sight along a line at that object and when you do light will come from that object to your eye along the line of sight.Ī luminous object emits light in a variety of directions and an illuminated object reflects light in a variety of directions. This directing of our sight in a specific direction is sometimes referred to as the line of sight. And if you wish to view the image of Mary in a mirror, then you must direct your sight along a line towards the location of Mary's image. ![]() If you wish to view Mary's feet, then you direct your sight along a line towards Mary's feet. If you wish to view the top of Mary's head, then you direct your sight along a line towards the top of her head. In the process of viewing Mary, you are directing your sight along a line in the direction of Mary. As you look at Mary in class, you are able to see Mary because she is illuminated with light and that light reflects off of her and travels to your eye. Whether it be a luminous object (that generates light of its own) or an illuminated object (that reflects the light that is incident upon it), you can only view the object when light from that object travels to your eye. In the first section of Lesson 1, it was stated, "without light, there would be no sight." Everything that can be seen is seen only when light from that object travels to our eyes.
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