Light Reflecting off Atoms
Most recent answer: 01/01/2011
Q:
can an atom reflect a light wave? if not , then why does light reflect after falling on an object? i mean it is also made up of atoms
- dhananjay yadav
india
- dhananjay yadav
india
A:
Sure, light can reflect off an atom. For visible light, the reflection off a single atom is very weak, so it takes a lot of atoms to be very visible. Since an atom is very small compared to the wavelength of visible light, the wave equation requires that the light bounce off with a very broad spread of directions, not at all like reflection from a surface.
For high frequency light (gamma rays) the reflection can be stronger. The famous Compton scattering essentially consists of light bouncing off one electron at a time.
Mike W.
For high frequency light (gamma rays) the reflection can be stronger. The famous Compton scattering essentially consists of light bouncing off one electron at a time.
Mike W.
(published on 01/01/2011)