Why can't we see images reflected on a piece of paper?











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Why can't you see a reflected image on a piece of paper? Say you put a pen in front of the paper, even when light rays are coming from other sources, hitting the pen, reflecting back, and hitting the paper, there is no reflection.



What's wrong with the following "ray diagram" and why such even don't happen and the image of the pen don't form on the paper (right side is a paper)?



enter image description here



When then can you see the image of a torch when you shine it on the paper?



When you put a convex lens in front of the pen, why you can now see the image of the pen on the paper?










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  • In case your question is about the difference between the reflectiveness of paper and mirrors (diffuse and specular) you might want to have a look at the wikipedia page: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffuse_reflection.
    – craq
    23 hours ago












  • Some kinds of paper are actually pretty reflective (apart from the whiteness, which proves the reflectance already) - typically the not-so-environment-friendly-very-bleached kind of paper. If you take the pencil and lay it down on the paper, you may see it. A second effect that then becomes apparent is when you minimize the angle to the paper plane - it will become more mirrorly then (same effect as on a long, hot summer road).
    – phresnel
    19 hours ago










  • +1 for the drawing
    – alseether
    12 hours ago










  • Why paper and not mousepad, or bed sheets, or brick wall? What does a mirror, or a polished silver plate, or the surface of water have that those don't?
    – a concerned citizen
    11 hours ago















up vote
49
down vote

favorite
10












Why can't you see a reflected image on a piece of paper? Say you put a pen in front of the paper, even when light rays are coming from other sources, hitting the pen, reflecting back, and hitting the paper, there is no reflection.



What's wrong with the following "ray diagram" and why such even don't happen and the image of the pen don't form on the paper (right side is a paper)?



enter image description here



When then can you see the image of a torch when you shine it on the paper?



When you put a convex lens in front of the pen, why you can now see the image of the pen on the paper?










share|cite|improve this question
























  • In case your question is about the difference between the reflectiveness of paper and mirrors (diffuse and specular) you might want to have a look at the wikipedia page: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffuse_reflection.
    – craq
    23 hours ago












  • Some kinds of paper are actually pretty reflective (apart from the whiteness, which proves the reflectance already) - typically the not-so-environment-friendly-very-bleached kind of paper. If you take the pencil and lay it down on the paper, you may see it. A second effect that then becomes apparent is when you minimize the angle to the paper plane - it will become more mirrorly then (same effect as on a long, hot summer road).
    – phresnel
    19 hours ago










  • +1 for the drawing
    – alseether
    12 hours ago










  • Why paper and not mousepad, or bed sheets, or brick wall? What does a mirror, or a polished silver plate, or the surface of water have that those don't?
    – a concerned citizen
    11 hours ago













up vote
49
down vote

favorite
10









up vote
49
down vote

favorite
10






10





Why can't you see a reflected image on a piece of paper? Say you put a pen in front of the paper, even when light rays are coming from other sources, hitting the pen, reflecting back, and hitting the paper, there is no reflection.



What's wrong with the following "ray diagram" and why such even don't happen and the image of the pen don't form on the paper (right side is a paper)?



enter image description here



When then can you see the image of a torch when you shine it on the paper?



When you put a convex lens in front of the pen, why you can now see the image of the pen on the paper?










share|cite|improve this question















Why can't you see a reflected image on a piece of paper? Say you put a pen in front of the paper, even when light rays are coming from other sources, hitting the pen, reflecting back, and hitting the paper, there is no reflection.



What's wrong with the following "ray diagram" and why such even don't happen and the image of the pen don't form on the paper (right side is a paper)?



enter image description here



When then can you see the image of a torch when you shine it on the paper?



When you put a convex lens in front of the pen, why you can now see the image of the pen on the paper?







optics everyday-life reflection






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edited 2 days ago









DaveInCaz

1288




1288










asked 2 days ago









alxchen

479310




479310












  • In case your question is about the difference between the reflectiveness of paper and mirrors (diffuse and specular) you might want to have a look at the wikipedia page: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffuse_reflection.
    – craq
    23 hours ago












  • Some kinds of paper are actually pretty reflective (apart from the whiteness, which proves the reflectance already) - typically the not-so-environment-friendly-very-bleached kind of paper. If you take the pencil and lay it down on the paper, you may see it. A second effect that then becomes apparent is when you minimize the angle to the paper plane - it will become more mirrorly then (same effect as on a long, hot summer road).
    – phresnel
    19 hours ago










  • +1 for the drawing
    – alseether
    12 hours ago










  • Why paper and not mousepad, or bed sheets, or brick wall? What does a mirror, or a polished silver plate, or the surface of water have that those don't?
    – a concerned citizen
    11 hours ago


















  • In case your question is about the difference between the reflectiveness of paper and mirrors (diffuse and specular) you might want to have a look at the wikipedia page: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffuse_reflection.
    – craq
    23 hours ago












  • Some kinds of paper are actually pretty reflective (apart from the whiteness, which proves the reflectance already) - typically the not-so-environment-friendly-very-bleached kind of paper. If you take the pencil and lay it down on the paper, you may see it. A second effect that then becomes apparent is when you minimize the angle to the paper plane - it will become more mirrorly then (same effect as on a long, hot summer road).
    – phresnel
    19 hours ago










  • +1 for the drawing
    – alseether
    12 hours ago










  • Why paper and not mousepad, or bed sheets, or brick wall? What does a mirror, or a polished silver plate, or the surface of water have that those don't?
    – a concerned citizen
    11 hours ago
















In case your question is about the difference between the reflectiveness of paper and mirrors (diffuse and specular) you might want to have a look at the wikipedia page: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffuse_reflection.
– craq
23 hours ago






In case your question is about the difference between the reflectiveness of paper and mirrors (diffuse and specular) you might want to have a look at the wikipedia page: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffuse_reflection.
– craq
23 hours ago














Some kinds of paper are actually pretty reflective (apart from the whiteness, which proves the reflectance already) - typically the not-so-environment-friendly-very-bleached kind of paper. If you take the pencil and lay it down on the paper, you may see it. A second effect that then becomes apparent is when you minimize the angle to the paper plane - it will become more mirrorly then (same effect as on a long, hot summer road).
– phresnel
19 hours ago




Some kinds of paper are actually pretty reflective (apart from the whiteness, which proves the reflectance already) - typically the not-so-environment-friendly-very-bleached kind of paper. If you take the pencil and lay it down on the paper, you may see it. A second effect that then becomes apparent is when you minimize the angle to the paper plane - it will become more mirrorly then (same effect as on a long, hot summer road).
– phresnel
19 hours ago












+1 for the drawing
– alseether
12 hours ago




+1 for the drawing
– alseether
12 hours ago












Why paper and not mousepad, or bed sheets, or brick wall? What does a mirror, or a polished silver plate, or the surface of water have that those don't?
– a concerned citizen
11 hours ago




Why paper and not mousepad, or bed sheets, or brick wall? What does a mirror, or a polished silver plate, or the surface of water have that those don't?
– a concerned citizen
11 hours ago










6 Answers
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126
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Because the real situation looks a lot more like this:



Diagram of diffuse light scattering from a pen onto nearby paper



Your pen is (presumably) not made of mirror-like polished metal, but rather of something like wood or plastic that reflects light diffusely. This means that the light from each part of the pen is scattered all over the paper (and, of course, in other directions too), so it won't project a clear image onto the paper.



(And since the paper itself is also a diffuse reflector, all the light that hits it gets scattered in all directions again, and some of it ends up hitting your eye. If you replaced the paper with a mirror, then only those rays that were coming from just the right direction would have a chance of getting reflected towards your eye, and so you'd see a sharp reflected image.)





OK, so why won't the pen at least form a blurred image on the paper, then? Well, actually it does.



Here's a photo I just took with my cellphone. Sorry that it's a bit dark, I wanted to make sure I didn't burn out any highlights.



Photo of yellow pencil and red ballpoint pen on white paper



If you look closely and carefully, you can see just the slightest hint of yellowish color on the paper near the pencil, and a hint of red near the pen. Those faint colors are caused by light reflecting off the pen and the pencil onto the paper. But they're not very bright, because most of the light hitting the paper is still coming from other directions (primarily, from the lamp illuminating the scene), and not very distinct, because the light that does reflect off the pen and the pencil gets spread in all directions.



Just in case you can't see it clearly on your screen, here's the same photo with the color levels adjusted for maximum contrast:



Photo of yellow pencil and red ballpoint pen on white paper, colors adjusted



There, I bet you can see it now. It almost looks as if the pen and the pencil were glowing... which, of course, technically they are. Not with their own light, of course, but with light reflected from the lamp that illuminates them, just like e.g. the moon glows with reflected sunlight.



As a bonus, if you look carefully, you can also see some brighter spots on the paper near the pencil. Those are specular reflections from the glossy print on the pencil. So we actually have both diffuse and specular reflection demonstrated in the same picture.






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  • 1




    I mean technically, the pens are glowing with their own light. It's just that the light is well outside of the perceptible range of wavelength and intensity.
    – JMac
    2 days ago






  • 12




    This effect is also a very important one in the world of 3d rendering. One of the things the very popular Cornell Box test demonstrates is that light reflected off of a colored wall does indeed affect the apparent color of nearby objects because the whole wall acts as a light source. Doing this in 3d rendering typically involves Photon Mapping, which is a technique that basically models all the scattered photons you showed in your first picture.
    – Cort Ammon
    2 days ago






  • 6




    @alxchen for the same reason that we also see the light reflected from the pen on the paper (see the second photo in this answer). It's just more apparent because it's more intense, since the flashlight is a source of the light (and a bright one!), while the pen only reflects the light which hits it, usually having come from a faraway source of light, thus considerably attenuated.
    – Ruslan
    yesterday








  • 4




    @alxchen: You can totally see the light from a glow stick reflecting off a wall, at least if it's dark enough and you bring the glow stick close enough to the wall. But it won't be very bright, because glow sticks usually aren't that bright, and it'll be quite fuzzy because, unlike a flashlight, the glow stick is emitting light in all directions. Actually, just putting your hand between the glow stick and the wall might make it easier to see, since the shadow of your hand would provide some contrast. Or roll some paper into a tube, put the glow stick inside and point the tube at the wall.
    – Ilmari Karonen
    yesterday






  • 2




    Your modified image shows the rays scattering the wrong way. Replace the paper with a mirror and it doesn't matter that light scatters off the pen: you'll see a clear reflection. The light hitting the paper scatters in many directions, making it unable to form a clear image that way a mirror does. Your rays should scatter from the paper, not the pen.
    – CJ Dennis
    yesterday


















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11
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You will not see a real image of the pen forming on the paper, nor will you see a virtual image from the reflection of the pen from the paper.



The reason you will not see a real image forming on the paper is that the light scattering from the pen is diverging, and in order to see an image all rays from a single point on the pen must converge onto a single point on the paper. That's why placing a converging lens at the right place will form an image.



The reason you will not see a virtual image from reflection is that the reflection from the paper is diffusive and not specular, i.e. the incident rays are scattered randomly instead 'angle of incident equals to the angle of reflection'.






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  • Although, to our eyes, the surface of the paper appears flat and static, at the atomic level the atoms in the surface of any material are in rapid motion: the individual particles (protons, neutrons, electrons) are spinning, and are also rotating about each other. This motion is occuring at the quantum level. Motion of individual atoms is typically not co-ordinated with neighbouring atoms. Incoming light from an object (here, a pen or pencil) is absorbed, then re-emitted, but the probability of it being re-emitted in vastly different directions by adjacent atoms ("scattering") is very great.
    – Ed999
    yesterday










  • Why we can see the light from a flashlight in the paper then ?
    – alxchen
    yesterday






  • 2




    @alxchen Because the light from a flashlight is directed to a specific area of the paper. It illuminates that part of a paper more than other parts. Note that this is not like a mirrror, the bright part in the paper doesn't move when you move your head around.
    – JiK
    yesterday










  • @alxchen See this image. The light from the flashlight goes mostly to the few centimeter wide part in center of the paper, and some of the light goes to a wider area. From that part, the light then scatters diffusively around in all directions as explained in this answer. Now if you look at the paper from any POV, you see the light scattered from the same center part.
    – JiK
    yesterday










  • @alxchen Or to put it another way: There's two parts of this answer: (1) the light from the pen is not directed but goes in all directions, (2) the reflection from the paper is not specular but diffusive, i.e., paper is not a mirror but scatters light everywhere. In the flashlight&paper case, condition 1 changes, but 2 still remains there.
    – JiK
    yesterday


















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A real image forms when multiple rays from the same point meet at again at another point. Without optical element, the rays just go in their own different directions and don't meet again. So there is no image.




When you put a convex lens in front of the pen, why you can now see the image of the pen on the paper?




Because a convex lens bends the rays so that the diverging rays originating from any given point on the pen—as long as it is further than the focal point—start to converge on the other side. The basic rules say that a ray passing through the centre of the lens passes straight and a ray passing parallel to the optical axis on one side passes through the focal point.



These rules allow you to trace three different rays through the lens and where they intersect on the other side, there is the real image (which you can see iff it coincides with a piece of paper). You could trace the other rays too, but that requires more advanced analytical geometry.




When then can you see the image of a torch when you shine it on the paper?




I you are talking about a real torch—as in a stick with a piece of burning rag wound around one end—you won't. You'll only see a more brightly illuminated spot where the paper is closer to the torch.



If you are talking about the electric kind, most of them are reflectors, that is they have a parabolic mirror mounted behind the light emitting element.



The mirror should be mounted so that the light emitting element is closer to the mirror than the focal point, in which case there is no real image, but a virtual image behind the mirror. Virtual image can be seen directly if the light is not too bright to look directly into it.



However sometimes the mirror is mounted too far from the light element—or can be positioned there in the variable focus lights—and then there is a real image ahead of the light you can project on a paper.






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  • Can you elaborate a bit on why we can see the flashlight's light on a sheet of paper ? That part is eluding me.
    – alxchen
    yesterday






  • 2




    @alxchen, for the same reason you see the paper, the pencil, or anything else that is not emitting its own light at all in the first place – due to ambient reflection. The object reflects light falling on it, scattered in all directions, so you don't see image of the source, just the object reflecting it. Near the light source the light is more intense, because it didn't yet get stretched over so much surface, so also the ambient reflection is stronger.
    – Jan Hudec
    yesterday




















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1
down vote













The light scatters off the pen in all possible directions with similar intensity, so one point of the paper is illuminated with scattered light from all points of the pen and one gets a very blurry image. Better image can be got only if somehow the point on paper gets light only from some point or only a small area on the pen, such as when using a lens or a camera obscura: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camera_obscura






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    A reflective or polished surface respects and preserves the angular proximity of incoming beams on its points. The less the angular proximity of incoming intensity is preserved in the outgoing intensity profile, the more diffuse and "matte" looks the surface






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      up vote
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      In a mirror light is highly likely to reflect only in one angle according to the "law of reflection" ( I have no idea of why that is though ). On a paper it is likely to also reflect in all other directions. Therefore, on the paper, the image of the pencil is drowned out from the light hitting it from all other points in the environment. The light from each point on the pen will hit each point on the paper, and thus contribute to diffuse the image of itself.



      With a lens, you will only be able to see the image of the pen on the paper, if the only light that hits the paper is coming through the lens, or at least other light is sufficiently dim. Also the lens must be at the correct distance so it will focus all light coming from one point on the pen to one point on the paper. The reason you see a picture in that case, is because for each point on the paper, there is only one point on the pen (or whatever else is out there) as seen from the point of the lens, that will hit each point on the paper. This means that all light reflected from that point on the paper is coming only from one point on the pen.



      A torch will send directed light, thus light from one point on the torch only hits one part of the paper. Since the light is a lot brighter than the light coming from the environment, the light that hits your eye, will come from only the one point on the torch, thus recreating the round circle of the torch.



      Here are som drawings to illustrate. Blue are the rays that hits the eye, while red misses the eye.



      Pen to paper: (light from one point is illuminating all parts of the paper)
      enter image description here



      Pen to mirror: (light from one point is reflected in only one direction for each incidence angle)
      enter image description here



      Pen through lens: (the lens bends the incoming light so that for a given distance ratio between the pen and paper, each point illuminates only one point on the paper)
      enter image description here



      Torch: (directional light illuminates only one point on the paper for each point on the torch)
      enter image description here






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        6 Answers
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        6 Answers
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        up vote
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        down vote













        Because the real situation looks a lot more like this:



        Diagram of diffuse light scattering from a pen onto nearby paper



        Your pen is (presumably) not made of mirror-like polished metal, but rather of something like wood or plastic that reflects light diffusely. This means that the light from each part of the pen is scattered all over the paper (and, of course, in other directions too), so it won't project a clear image onto the paper.



        (And since the paper itself is also a diffuse reflector, all the light that hits it gets scattered in all directions again, and some of it ends up hitting your eye. If you replaced the paper with a mirror, then only those rays that were coming from just the right direction would have a chance of getting reflected towards your eye, and so you'd see a sharp reflected image.)





        OK, so why won't the pen at least form a blurred image on the paper, then? Well, actually it does.



        Here's a photo I just took with my cellphone. Sorry that it's a bit dark, I wanted to make sure I didn't burn out any highlights.



        Photo of yellow pencil and red ballpoint pen on white paper



        If you look closely and carefully, you can see just the slightest hint of yellowish color on the paper near the pencil, and a hint of red near the pen. Those faint colors are caused by light reflecting off the pen and the pencil onto the paper. But they're not very bright, because most of the light hitting the paper is still coming from other directions (primarily, from the lamp illuminating the scene), and not very distinct, because the light that does reflect off the pen and the pencil gets spread in all directions.



        Just in case you can't see it clearly on your screen, here's the same photo with the color levels adjusted for maximum contrast:



        Photo of yellow pencil and red ballpoint pen on white paper, colors adjusted



        There, I bet you can see it now. It almost looks as if the pen and the pencil were glowing... which, of course, technically they are. Not with their own light, of course, but with light reflected from the lamp that illuminates them, just like e.g. the moon glows with reflected sunlight.



        As a bonus, if you look carefully, you can also see some brighter spots on the paper near the pencil. Those are specular reflections from the glossy print on the pencil. So we actually have both diffuse and specular reflection demonstrated in the same picture.






        share|cite|improve this answer



















        • 1




          I mean technically, the pens are glowing with their own light. It's just that the light is well outside of the perceptible range of wavelength and intensity.
          – JMac
          2 days ago






        • 12




          This effect is also a very important one in the world of 3d rendering. One of the things the very popular Cornell Box test demonstrates is that light reflected off of a colored wall does indeed affect the apparent color of nearby objects because the whole wall acts as a light source. Doing this in 3d rendering typically involves Photon Mapping, which is a technique that basically models all the scattered photons you showed in your first picture.
          – Cort Ammon
          2 days ago






        • 6




          @alxchen for the same reason that we also see the light reflected from the pen on the paper (see the second photo in this answer). It's just more apparent because it's more intense, since the flashlight is a source of the light (and a bright one!), while the pen only reflects the light which hits it, usually having come from a faraway source of light, thus considerably attenuated.
          – Ruslan
          yesterday








        • 4




          @alxchen: You can totally see the light from a glow stick reflecting off a wall, at least if it's dark enough and you bring the glow stick close enough to the wall. But it won't be very bright, because glow sticks usually aren't that bright, and it'll be quite fuzzy because, unlike a flashlight, the glow stick is emitting light in all directions. Actually, just putting your hand between the glow stick and the wall might make it easier to see, since the shadow of your hand would provide some contrast. Or roll some paper into a tube, put the glow stick inside and point the tube at the wall.
          – Ilmari Karonen
          yesterday






        • 2




          Your modified image shows the rays scattering the wrong way. Replace the paper with a mirror and it doesn't matter that light scatters off the pen: you'll see a clear reflection. The light hitting the paper scatters in many directions, making it unable to form a clear image that way a mirror does. Your rays should scatter from the paper, not the pen.
          – CJ Dennis
          yesterday















        up vote
        126
        down vote













        Because the real situation looks a lot more like this:



        Diagram of diffuse light scattering from a pen onto nearby paper



        Your pen is (presumably) not made of mirror-like polished metal, but rather of something like wood or plastic that reflects light diffusely. This means that the light from each part of the pen is scattered all over the paper (and, of course, in other directions too), so it won't project a clear image onto the paper.



        (And since the paper itself is also a diffuse reflector, all the light that hits it gets scattered in all directions again, and some of it ends up hitting your eye. If you replaced the paper with a mirror, then only those rays that were coming from just the right direction would have a chance of getting reflected towards your eye, and so you'd see a sharp reflected image.)





        OK, so why won't the pen at least form a blurred image on the paper, then? Well, actually it does.



        Here's a photo I just took with my cellphone. Sorry that it's a bit dark, I wanted to make sure I didn't burn out any highlights.



        Photo of yellow pencil and red ballpoint pen on white paper



        If you look closely and carefully, you can see just the slightest hint of yellowish color on the paper near the pencil, and a hint of red near the pen. Those faint colors are caused by light reflecting off the pen and the pencil onto the paper. But they're not very bright, because most of the light hitting the paper is still coming from other directions (primarily, from the lamp illuminating the scene), and not very distinct, because the light that does reflect off the pen and the pencil gets spread in all directions.



        Just in case you can't see it clearly on your screen, here's the same photo with the color levels adjusted for maximum contrast:



        Photo of yellow pencil and red ballpoint pen on white paper, colors adjusted



        There, I bet you can see it now. It almost looks as if the pen and the pencil were glowing... which, of course, technically they are. Not with their own light, of course, but with light reflected from the lamp that illuminates them, just like e.g. the moon glows with reflected sunlight.



        As a bonus, if you look carefully, you can also see some brighter spots on the paper near the pencil. Those are specular reflections from the glossy print on the pencil. So we actually have both diffuse and specular reflection demonstrated in the same picture.






        share|cite|improve this answer



















        • 1




          I mean technically, the pens are glowing with their own light. It's just that the light is well outside of the perceptible range of wavelength and intensity.
          – JMac
          2 days ago






        • 12




          This effect is also a very important one in the world of 3d rendering. One of the things the very popular Cornell Box test demonstrates is that light reflected off of a colored wall does indeed affect the apparent color of nearby objects because the whole wall acts as a light source. Doing this in 3d rendering typically involves Photon Mapping, which is a technique that basically models all the scattered photons you showed in your first picture.
          – Cort Ammon
          2 days ago






        • 6




          @alxchen for the same reason that we also see the light reflected from the pen on the paper (see the second photo in this answer). It's just more apparent because it's more intense, since the flashlight is a source of the light (and a bright one!), while the pen only reflects the light which hits it, usually having come from a faraway source of light, thus considerably attenuated.
          – Ruslan
          yesterday








        • 4




          @alxchen: You can totally see the light from a glow stick reflecting off a wall, at least if it's dark enough and you bring the glow stick close enough to the wall. But it won't be very bright, because glow sticks usually aren't that bright, and it'll be quite fuzzy because, unlike a flashlight, the glow stick is emitting light in all directions. Actually, just putting your hand between the glow stick and the wall might make it easier to see, since the shadow of your hand would provide some contrast. Or roll some paper into a tube, put the glow stick inside and point the tube at the wall.
          – Ilmari Karonen
          yesterday






        • 2




          Your modified image shows the rays scattering the wrong way. Replace the paper with a mirror and it doesn't matter that light scatters off the pen: you'll see a clear reflection. The light hitting the paper scatters in many directions, making it unable to form a clear image that way a mirror does. Your rays should scatter from the paper, not the pen.
          – CJ Dennis
          yesterday













        up vote
        126
        down vote










        up vote
        126
        down vote









        Because the real situation looks a lot more like this:



        Diagram of diffuse light scattering from a pen onto nearby paper



        Your pen is (presumably) not made of mirror-like polished metal, but rather of something like wood or plastic that reflects light diffusely. This means that the light from each part of the pen is scattered all over the paper (and, of course, in other directions too), so it won't project a clear image onto the paper.



        (And since the paper itself is also a diffuse reflector, all the light that hits it gets scattered in all directions again, and some of it ends up hitting your eye. If you replaced the paper with a mirror, then only those rays that were coming from just the right direction would have a chance of getting reflected towards your eye, and so you'd see a sharp reflected image.)





        OK, so why won't the pen at least form a blurred image on the paper, then? Well, actually it does.



        Here's a photo I just took with my cellphone. Sorry that it's a bit dark, I wanted to make sure I didn't burn out any highlights.



        Photo of yellow pencil and red ballpoint pen on white paper



        If you look closely and carefully, you can see just the slightest hint of yellowish color on the paper near the pencil, and a hint of red near the pen. Those faint colors are caused by light reflecting off the pen and the pencil onto the paper. But they're not very bright, because most of the light hitting the paper is still coming from other directions (primarily, from the lamp illuminating the scene), and not very distinct, because the light that does reflect off the pen and the pencil gets spread in all directions.



        Just in case you can't see it clearly on your screen, here's the same photo with the color levels adjusted for maximum contrast:



        Photo of yellow pencil and red ballpoint pen on white paper, colors adjusted



        There, I bet you can see it now. It almost looks as if the pen and the pencil were glowing... which, of course, technically they are. Not with their own light, of course, but with light reflected from the lamp that illuminates them, just like e.g. the moon glows with reflected sunlight.



        As a bonus, if you look carefully, you can also see some brighter spots on the paper near the pencil. Those are specular reflections from the glossy print on the pencil. So we actually have both diffuse and specular reflection demonstrated in the same picture.






        share|cite|improve this answer














        Because the real situation looks a lot more like this:



        Diagram of diffuse light scattering from a pen onto nearby paper



        Your pen is (presumably) not made of mirror-like polished metal, but rather of something like wood or plastic that reflects light diffusely. This means that the light from each part of the pen is scattered all over the paper (and, of course, in other directions too), so it won't project a clear image onto the paper.



        (And since the paper itself is also a diffuse reflector, all the light that hits it gets scattered in all directions again, and some of it ends up hitting your eye. If you replaced the paper with a mirror, then only those rays that were coming from just the right direction would have a chance of getting reflected towards your eye, and so you'd see a sharp reflected image.)





        OK, so why won't the pen at least form a blurred image on the paper, then? Well, actually it does.



        Here's a photo I just took with my cellphone. Sorry that it's a bit dark, I wanted to make sure I didn't burn out any highlights.



        Photo of yellow pencil and red ballpoint pen on white paper



        If you look closely and carefully, you can see just the slightest hint of yellowish color on the paper near the pencil, and a hint of red near the pen. Those faint colors are caused by light reflecting off the pen and the pencil onto the paper. But they're not very bright, because most of the light hitting the paper is still coming from other directions (primarily, from the lamp illuminating the scene), and not very distinct, because the light that does reflect off the pen and the pencil gets spread in all directions.



        Just in case you can't see it clearly on your screen, here's the same photo with the color levels adjusted for maximum contrast:



        Photo of yellow pencil and red ballpoint pen on white paper, colors adjusted



        There, I bet you can see it now. It almost looks as if the pen and the pencil were glowing... which, of course, technically they are. Not with their own light, of course, but with light reflected from the lamp that illuminates them, just like e.g. the moon glows with reflected sunlight.



        As a bonus, if you look carefully, you can also see some brighter spots on the paper near the pencil. Those are specular reflections from the glossy print on the pencil. So we actually have both diffuse and specular reflection demonstrated in the same picture.







        share|cite|improve this answer














        share|cite|improve this answer



        share|cite|improve this answer








        edited 2 days ago

























        answered 2 days ago









        Ilmari Karonen

        10k32633




        10k32633








        • 1




          I mean technically, the pens are glowing with their own light. It's just that the light is well outside of the perceptible range of wavelength and intensity.
          – JMac
          2 days ago






        • 12




          This effect is also a very important one in the world of 3d rendering. One of the things the very popular Cornell Box test demonstrates is that light reflected off of a colored wall does indeed affect the apparent color of nearby objects because the whole wall acts as a light source. Doing this in 3d rendering typically involves Photon Mapping, which is a technique that basically models all the scattered photons you showed in your first picture.
          – Cort Ammon
          2 days ago






        • 6




          @alxchen for the same reason that we also see the light reflected from the pen on the paper (see the second photo in this answer). It's just more apparent because it's more intense, since the flashlight is a source of the light (and a bright one!), while the pen only reflects the light which hits it, usually having come from a faraway source of light, thus considerably attenuated.
          – Ruslan
          yesterday








        • 4




          @alxchen: You can totally see the light from a glow stick reflecting off a wall, at least if it's dark enough and you bring the glow stick close enough to the wall. But it won't be very bright, because glow sticks usually aren't that bright, and it'll be quite fuzzy because, unlike a flashlight, the glow stick is emitting light in all directions. Actually, just putting your hand between the glow stick and the wall might make it easier to see, since the shadow of your hand would provide some contrast. Or roll some paper into a tube, put the glow stick inside and point the tube at the wall.
          – Ilmari Karonen
          yesterday






        • 2




          Your modified image shows the rays scattering the wrong way. Replace the paper with a mirror and it doesn't matter that light scatters off the pen: you'll see a clear reflection. The light hitting the paper scatters in many directions, making it unable to form a clear image that way a mirror does. Your rays should scatter from the paper, not the pen.
          – CJ Dennis
          yesterday














        • 1




          I mean technically, the pens are glowing with their own light. It's just that the light is well outside of the perceptible range of wavelength and intensity.
          – JMac
          2 days ago






        • 12




          This effect is also a very important one in the world of 3d rendering. One of the things the very popular Cornell Box test demonstrates is that light reflected off of a colored wall does indeed affect the apparent color of nearby objects because the whole wall acts as a light source. Doing this in 3d rendering typically involves Photon Mapping, which is a technique that basically models all the scattered photons you showed in your first picture.
          – Cort Ammon
          2 days ago






        • 6




          @alxchen for the same reason that we also see the light reflected from the pen on the paper (see the second photo in this answer). It's just more apparent because it's more intense, since the flashlight is a source of the light (and a bright one!), while the pen only reflects the light which hits it, usually having come from a faraway source of light, thus considerably attenuated.
          – Ruslan
          yesterday








        • 4




          @alxchen: You can totally see the light from a glow stick reflecting off a wall, at least if it's dark enough and you bring the glow stick close enough to the wall. But it won't be very bright, because glow sticks usually aren't that bright, and it'll be quite fuzzy because, unlike a flashlight, the glow stick is emitting light in all directions. Actually, just putting your hand between the glow stick and the wall might make it easier to see, since the shadow of your hand would provide some contrast. Or roll some paper into a tube, put the glow stick inside and point the tube at the wall.
          – Ilmari Karonen
          yesterday






        • 2




          Your modified image shows the rays scattering the wrong way. Replace the paper with a mirror and it doesn't matter that light scatters off the pen: you'll see a clear reflection. The light hitting the paper scatters in many directions, making it unable to form a clear image that way a mirror does. Your rays should scatter from the paper, not the pen.
          – CJ Dennis
          yesterday








        1




        1




        I mean technically, the pens are glowing with their own light. It's just that the light is well outside of the perceptible range of wavelength and intensity.
        – JMac
        2 days ago




        I mean technically, the pens are glowing with their own light. It's just that the light is well outside of the perceptible range of wavelength and intensity.
        – JMac
        2 days ago




        12




        12




        This effect is also a very important one in the world of 3d rendering. One of the things the very popular Cornell Box test demonstrates is that light reflected off of a colored wall does indeed affect the apparent color of nearby objects because the whole wall acts as a light source. Doing this in 3d rendering typically involves Photon Mapping, which is a technique that basically models all the scattered photons you showed in your first picture.
        – Cort Ammon
        2 days ago




        This effect is also a very important one in the world of 3d rendering. One of the things the very popular Cornell Box test demonstrates is that light reflected off of a colored wall does indeed affect the apparent color of nearby objects because the whole wall acts as a light source. Doing this in 3d rendering typically involves Photon Mapping, which is a technique that basically models all the scattered photons you showed in your first picture.
        – Cort Ammon
        2 days ago




        6




        6




        @alxchen for the same reason that we also see the light reflected from the pen on the paper (see the second photo in this answer). It's just more apparent because it's more intense, since the flashlight is a source of the light (and a bright one!), while the pen only reflects the light which hits it, usually having come from a faraway source of light, thus considerably attenuated.
        – Ruslan
        yesterday






        @alxchen for the same reason that we also see the light reflected from the pen on the paper (see the second photo in this answer). It's just more apparent because it's more intense, since the flashlight is a source of the light (and a bright one!), while the pen only reflects the light which hits it, usually having come from a faraway source of light, thus considerably attenuated.
        – Ruslan
        yesterday






        4




        4




        @alxchen: You can totally see the light from a glow stick reflecting off a wall, at least if it's dark enough and you bring the glow stick close enough to the wall. But it won't be very bright, because glow sticks usually aren't that bright, and it'll be quite fuzzy because, unlike a flashlight, the glow stick is emitting light in all directions. Actually, just putting your hand between the glow stick and the wall might make it easier to see, since the shadow of your hand would provide some contrast. Or roll some paper into a tube, put the glow stick inside and point the tube at the wall.
        – Ilmari Karonen
        yesterday




        @alxchen: You can totally see the light from a glow stick reflecting off a wall, at least if it's dark enough and you bring the glow stick close enough to the wall. But it won't be very bright, because glow sticks usually aren't that bright, and it'll be quite fuzzy because, unlike a flashlight, the glow stick is emitting light in all directions. Actually, just putting your hand between the glow stick and the wall might make it easier to see, since the shadow of your hand would provide some contrast. Or roll some paper into a tube, put the glow stick inside and point the tube at the wall.
        – Ilmari Karonen
        yesterday




        2




        2




        Your modified image shows the rays scattering the wrong way. Replace the paper with a mirror and it doesn't matter that light scatters off the pen: you'll see a clear reflection. The light hitting the paper scatters in many directions, making it unable to form a clear image that way a mirror does. Your rays should scatter from the paper, not the pen.
        – CJ Dennis
        yesterday




        Your modified image shows the rays scattering the wrong way. Replace the paper with a mirror and it doesn't matter that light scatters off the pen: you'll see a clear reflection. The light hitting the paper scatters in many directions, making it unable to form a clear image that way a mirror does. Your rays should scatter from the paper, not the pen.
        – CJ Dennis
        yesterday










        up vote
        11
        down vote













        You will not see a real image of the pen forming on the paper, nor will you see a virtual image from the reflection of the pen from the paper.



        The reason you will not see a real image forming on the paper is that the light scattering from the pen is diverging, and in order to see an image all rays from a single point on the pen must converge onto a single point on the paper. That's why placing a converging lens at the right place will form an image.



        The reason you will not see a virtual image from reflection is that the reflection from the paper is diffusive and not specular, i.e. the incident rays are scattered randomly instead 'angle of incident equals to the angle of reflection'.






        share|cite|improve this answer























        • Although, to our eyes, the surface of the paper appears flat and static, at the atomic level the atoms in the surface of any material are in rapid motion: the individual particles (protons, neutrons, electrons) are spinning, and are also rotating about each other. This motion is occuring at the quantum level. Motion of individual atoms is typically not co-ordinated with neighbouring atoms. Incoming light from an object (here, a pen or pencil) is absorbed, then re-emitted, but the probability of it being re-emitted in vastly different directions by adjacent atoms ("scattering") is very great.
          – Ed999
          yesterday










        • Why we can see the light from a flashlight in the paper then ?
          – alxchen
          yesterday






        • 2




          @alxchen Because the light from a flashlight is directed to a specific area of the paper. It illuminates that part of a paper more than other parts. Note that this is not like a mirrror, the bright part in the paper doesn't move when you move your head around.
          – JiK
          yesterday










        • @alxchen See this image. The light from the flashlight goes mostly to the few centimeter wide part in center of the paper, and some of the light goes to a wider area. From that part, the light then scatters diffusively around in all directions as explained in this answer. Now if you look at the paper from any POV, you see the light scattered from the same center part.
          – JiK
          yesterday










        • @alxchen Or to put it another way: There's two parts of this answer: (1) the light from the pen is not directed but goes in all directions, (2) the reflection from the paper is not specular but diffusive, i.e., paper is not a mirror but scatters light everywhere. In the flashlight&paper case, condition 1 changes, but 2 still remains there.
          – JiK
          yesterday















        up vote
        11
        down vote













        You will not see a real image of the pen forming on the paper, nor will you see a virtual image from the reflection of the pen from the paper.



        The reason you will not see a real image forming on the paper is that the light scattering from the pen is diverging, and in order to see an image all rays from a single point on the pen must converge onto a single point on the paper. That's why placing a converging lens at the right place will form an image.



        The reason you will not see a virtual image from reflection is that the reflection from the paper is diffusive and not specular, i.e. the incident rays are scattered randomly instead 'angle of incident equals to the angle of reflection'.






        share|cite|improve this answer























        • Although, to our eyes, the surface of the paper appears flat and static, at the atomic level the atoms in the surface of any material are in rapid motion: the individual particles (protons, neutrons, electrons) are spinning, and are also rotating about each other. This motion is occuring at the quantum level. Motion of individual atoms is typically not co-ordinated with neighbouring atoms. Incoming light from an object (here, a pen or pencil) is absorbed, then re-emitted, but the probability of it being re-emitted in vastly different directions by adjacent atoms ("scattering") is very great.
          – Ed999
          yesterday










        • Why we can see the light from a flashlight in the paper then ?
          – alxchen
          yesterday






        • 2




          @alxchen Because the light from a flashlight is directed to a specific area of the paper. It illuminates that part of a paper more than other parts. Note that this is not like a mirrror, the bright part in the paper doesn't move when you move your head around.
          – JiK
          yesterday










        • @alxchen See this image. The light from the flashlight goes mostly to the few centimeter wide part in center of the paper, and some of the light goes to a wider area. From that part, the light then scatters diffusively around in all directions as explained in this answer. Now if you look at the paper from any POV, you see the light scattered from the same center part.
          – JiK
          yesterday










        • @alxchen Or to put it another way: There's two parts of this answer: (1) the light from the pen is not directed but goes in all directions, (2) the reflection from the paper is not specular but diffusive, i.e., paper is not a mirror but scatters light everywhere. In the flashlight&paper case, condition 1 changes, but 2 still remains there.
          – JiK
          yesterday













        up vote
        11
        down vote










        up vote
        11
        down vote









        You will not see a real image of the pen forming on the paper, nor will you see a virtual image from the reflection of the pen from the paper.



        The reason you will not see a real image forming on the paper is that the light scattering from the pen is diverging, and in order to see an image all rays from a single point on the pen must converge onto a single point on the paper. That's why placing a converging lens at the right place will form an image.



        The reason you will not see a virtual image from reflection is that the reflection from the paper is diffusive and not specular, i.e. the incident rays are scattered randomly instead 'angle of incident equals to the angle of reflection'.






        share|cite|improve this answer














        You will not see a real image of the pen forming on the paper, nor will you see a virtual image from the reflection of the pen from the paper.



        The reason you will not see a real image forming on the paper is that the light scattering from the pen is diverging, and in order to see an image all rays from a single point on the pen must converge onto a single point on the paper. That's why placing a converging lens at the right place will form an image.



        The reason you will not see a virtual image from reflection is that the reflection from the paper is diffusive and not specular, i.e. the incident rays are scattered randomly instead 'angle of incident equals to the angle of reflection'.







        share|cite|improve this answer














        share|cite|improve this answer



        share|cite|improve this answer








        edited 2 days ago

























        answered 2 days ago









        Yuval Weissler

        1,115513




        1,115513












        • Although, to our eyes, the surface of the paper appears flat and static, at the atomic level the atoms in the surface of any material are in rapid motion: the individual particles (protons, neutrons, electrons) are spinning, and are also rotating about each other. This motion is occuring at the quantum level. Motion of individual atoms is typically not co-ordinated with neighbouring atoms. Incoming light from an object (here, a pen or pencil) is absorbed, then re-emitted, but the probability of it being re-emitted in vastly different directions by adjacent atoms ("scattering") is very great.
          – Ed999
          yesterday










        • Why we can see the light from a flashlight in the paper then ?
          – alxchen
          yesterday






        • 2




          @alxchen Because the light from a flashlight is directed to a specific area of the paper. It illuminates that part of a paper more than other parts. Note that this is not like a mirrror, the bright part in the paper doesn't move when you move your head around.
          – JiK
          yesterday










        • @alxchen See this image. The light from the flashlight goes mostly to the few centimeter wide part in center of the paper, and some of the light goes to a wider area. From that part, the light then scatters diffusively around in all directions as explained in this answer. Now if you look at the paper from any POV, you see the light scattered from the same center part.
          – JiK
          yesterday










        • @alxchen Or to put it another way: There's two parts of this answer: (1) the light from the pen is not directed but goes in all directions, (2) the reflection from the paper is not specular but diffusive, i.e., paper is not a mirror but scatters light everywhere. In the flashlight&paper case, condition 1 changes, but 2 still remains there.
          – JiK
          yesterday


















        • Although, to our eyes, the surface of the paper appears flat and static, at the atomic level the atoms in the surface of any material are in rapid motion: the individual particles (protons, neutrons, electrons) are spinning, and are also rotating about each other. This motion is occuring at the quantum level. Motion of individual atoms is typically not co-ordinated with neighbouring atoms. Incoming light from an object (here, a pen or pencil) is absorbed, then re-emitted, but the probability of it being re-emitted in vastly different directions by adjacent atoms ("scattering") is very great.
          – Ed999
          yesterday










        • Why we can see the light from a flashlight in the paper then ?
          – alxchen
          yesterday






        • 2




          @alxchen Because the light from a flashlight is directed to a specific area of the paper. It illuminates that part of a paper more than other parts. Note that this is not like a mirrror, the bright part in the paper doesn't move when you move your head around.
          – JiK
          yesterday










        • @alxchen See this image. The light from the flashlight goes mostly to the few centimeter wide part in center of the paper, and some of the light goes to a wider area. From that part, the light then scatters diffusively around in all directions as explained in this answer. Now if you look at the paper from any POV, you see the light scattered from the same center part.
          – JiK
          yesterday










        • @alxchen Or to put it another way: There's two parts of this answer: (1) the light from the pen is not directed but goes in all directions, (2) the reflection from the paper is not specular but diffusive, i.e., paper is not a mirror but scatters light everywhere. In the flashlight&paper case, condition 1 changes, but 2 still remains there.
          – JiK
          yesterday
















        Although, to our eyes, the surface of the paper appears flat and static, at the atomic level the atoms in the surface of any material are in rapid motion: the individual particles (protons, neutrons, electrons) are spinning, and are also rotating about each other. This motion is occuring at the quantum level. Motion of individual atoms is typically not co-ordinated with neighbouring atoms. Incoming light from an object (here, a pen or pencil) is absorbed, then re-emitted, but the probability of it being re-emitted in vastly different directions by adjacent atoms ("scattering") is very great.
        – Ed999
        yesterday




        Although, to our eyes, the surface of the paper appears flat and static, at the atomic level the atoms in the surface of any material are in rapid motion: the individual particles (protons, neutrons, electrons) are spinning, and are also rotating about each other. This motion is occuring at the quantum level. Motion of individual atoms is typically not co-ordinated with neighbouring atoms. Incoming light from an object (here, a pen or pencil) is absorbed, then re-emitted, but the probability of it being re-emitted in vastly different directions by adjacent atoms ("scattering") is very great.
        – Ed999
        yesterday












        Why we can see the light from a flashlight in the paper then ?
        – alxchen
        yesterday




        Why we can see the light from a flashlight in the paper then ?
        – alxchen
        yesterday




        2




        2




        @alxchen Because the light from a flashlight is directed to a specific area of the paper. It illuminates that part of a paper more than other parts. Note that this is not like a mirrror, the bright part in the paper doesn't move when you move your head around.
        – JiK
        yesterday




        @alxchen Because the light from a flashlight is directed to a specific area of the paper. It illuminates that part of a paper more than other parts. Note that this is not like a mirrror, the bright part in the paper doesn't move when you move your head around.
        – JiK
        yesterday












        @alxchen See this image. The light from the flashlight goes mostly to the few centimeter wide part in center of the paper, and some of the light goes to a wider area. From that part, the light then scatters diffusively around in all directions as explained in this answer. Now if you look at the paper from any POV, you see the light scattered from the same center part.
        – JiK
        yesterday




        @alxchen See this image. The light from the flashlight goes mostly to the few centimeter wide part in center of the paper, and some of the light goes to a wider area. From that part, the light then scatters diffusively around in all directions as explained in this answer. Now if you look at the paper from any POV, you see the light scattered from the same center part.
        – JiK
        yesterday












        @alxchen Or to put it another way: There's two parts of this answer: (1) the light from the pen is not directed but goes in all directions, (2) the reflection from the paper is not specular but diffusive, i.e., paper is not a mirror but scatters light everywhere. In the flashlight&paper case, condition 1 changes, but 2 still remains there.
        – JiK
        yesterday




        @alxchen Or to put it another way: There's two parts of this answer: (1) the light from the pen is not directed but goes in all directions, (2) the reflection from the paper is not specular but diffusive, i.e., paper is not a mirror but scatters light everywhere. In the flashlight&paper case, condition 1 changes, but 2 still remains there.
        – JiK
        yesterday










        up vote
        4
        down vote













        A real image forms when multiple rays from the same point meet at again at another point. Without optical element, the rays just go in their own different directions and don't meet again. So there is no image.




        When you put a convex lens in front of the pen, why you can now see the image of the pen on the paper?




        Because a convex lens bends the rays so that the diverging rays originating from any given point on the pen—as long as it is further than the focal point—start to converge on the other side. The basic rules say that a ray passing through the centre of the lens passes straight and a ray passing parallel to the optical axis on one side passes through the focal point.



        These rules allow you to trace three different rays through the lens and where they intersect on the other side, there is the real image (which you can see iff it coincides with a piece of paper). You could trace the other rays too, but that requires more advanced analytical geometry.




        When then can you see the image of a torch when you shine it on the paper?




        I you are talking about a real torch—as in a stick with a piece of burning rag wound around one end—you won't. You'll only see a more brightly illuminated spot where the paper is closer to the torch.



        If you are talking about the electric kind, most of them are reflectors, that is they have a parabolic mirror mounted behind the light emitting element.



        The mirror should be mounted so that the light emitting element is closer to the mirror than the focal point, in which case there is no real image, but a virtual image behind the mirror. Virtual image can be seen directly if the light is not too bright to look directly into it.



        However sometimes the mirror is mounted too far from the light element—or can be positioned there in the variable focus lights—and then there is a real image ahead of the light you can project on a paper.






        share|cite|improve this answer





















        • Can you elaborate a bit on why we can see the flashlight's light on a sheet of paper ? That part is eluding me.
          – alxchen
          yesterday






        • 2




          @alxchen, for the same reason you see the paper, the pencil, or anything else that is not emitting its own light at all in the first place – due to ambient reflection. The object reflects light falling on it, scattered in all directions, so you don't see image of the source, just the object reflecting it. Near the light source the light is more intense, because it didn't yet get stretched over so much surface, so also the ambient reflection is stronger.
          – Jan Hudec
          yesterday

















        up vote
        4
        down vote













        A real image forms when multiple rays from the same point meet at again at another point. Without optical element, the rays just go in their own different directions and don't meet again. So there is no image.




        When you put a convex lens in front of the pen, why you can now see the image of the pen on the paper?




        Because a convex lens bends the rays so that the diverging rays originating from any given point on the pen—as long as it is further than the focal point—start to converge on the other side. The basic rules say that a ray passing through the centre of the lens passes straight and a ray passing parallel to the optical axis on one side passes through the focal point.



        These rules allow you to trace three different rays through the lens and where they intersect on the other side, there is the real image (which you can see iff it coincides with a piece of paper). You could trace the other rays too, but that requires more advanced analytical geometry.




        When then can you see the image of a torch when you shine it on the paper?




        I you are talking about a real torch—as in a stick with a piece of burning rag wound around one end—you won't. You'll only see a more brightly illuminated spot where the paper is closer to the torch.



        If you are talking about the electric kind, most of them are reflectors, that is they have a parabolic mirror mounted behind the light emitting element.



        The mirror should be mounted so that the light emitting element is closer to the mirror than the focal point, in which case there is no real image, but a virtual image behind the mirror. Virtual image can be seen directly if the light is not too bright to look directly into it.



        However sometimes the mirror is mounted too far from the light element—or can be positioned there in the variable focus lights—and then there is a real image ahead of the light you can project on a paper.






        share|cite|improve this answer





















        • Can you elaborate a bit on why we can see the flashlight's light on a sheet of paper ? That part is eluding me.
          – alxchen
          yesterday






        • 2




          @alxchen, for the same reason you see the paper, the pencil, or anything else that is not emitting its own light at all in the first place – due to ambient reflection. The object reflects light falling on it, scattered in all directions, so you don't see image of the source, just the object reflecting it. Near the light source the light is more intense, because it didn't yet get stretched over so much surface, so also the ambient reflection is stronger.
          – Jan Hudec
          yesterday















        up vote
        4
        down vote










        up vote
        4
        down vote









        A real image forms when multiple rays from the same point meet at again at another point. Without optical element, the rays just go in their own different directions and don't meet again. So there is no image.




        When you put a convex lens in front of the pen, why you can now see the image of the pen on the paper?




        Because a convex lens bends the rays so that the diverging rays originating from any given point on the pen—as long as it is further than the focal point—start to converge on the other side. The basic rules say that a ray passing through the centre of the lens passes straight and a ray passing parallel to the optical axis on one side passes through the focal point.



        These rules allow you to trace three different rays through the lens and where they intersect on the other side, there is the real image (which you can see iff it coincides with a piece of paper). You could trace the other rays too, but that requires more advanced analytical geometry.




        When then can you see the image of a torch when you shine it on the paper?




        I you are talking about a real torch—as in a stick with a piece of burning rag wound around one end—you won't. You'll only see a more brightly illuminated spot where the paper is closer to the torch.



        If you are talking about the electric kind, most of them are reflectors, that is they have a parabolic mirror mounted behind the light emitting element.



        The mirror should be mounted so that the light emitting element is closer to the mirror than the focal point, in which case there is no real image, but a virtual image behind the mirror. Virtual image can be seen directly if the light is not too bright to look directly into it.



        However sometimes the mirror is mounted too far from the light element—or can be positioned there in the variable focus lights—and then there is a real image ahead of the light you can project on a paper.






        share|cite|improve this answer












        A real image forms when multiple rays from the same point meet at again at another point. Without optical element, the rays just go in their own different directions and don't meet again. So there is no image.




        When you put a convex lens in front of the pen, why you can now see the image of the pen on the paper?




        Because a convex lens bends the rays so that the diverging rays originating from any given point on the pen—as long as it is further than the focal point—start to converge on the other side. The basic rules say that a ray passing through the centre of the lens passes straight and a ray passing parallel to the optical axis on one side passes through the focal point.



        These rules allow you to trace three different rays through the lens and where they intersect on the other side, there is the real image (which you can see iff it coincides with a piece of paper). You could trace the other rays too, but that requires more advanced analytical geometry.




        When then can you see the image of a torch when you shine it on the paper?




        I you are talking about a real torch—as in a stick with a piece of burning rag wound around one end—you won't. You'll only see a more brightly illuminated spot where the paper is closer to the torch.



        If you are talking about the electric kind, most of them are reflectors, that is they have a parabolic mirror mounted behind the light emitting element.



        The mirror should be mounted so that the light emitting element is closer to the mirror than the focal point, in which case there is no real image, but a virtual image behind the mirror. Virtual image can be seen directly if the light is not too bright to look directly into it.



        However sometimes the mirror is mounted too far from the light element—or can be positioned there in the variable focus lights—and then there is a real image ahead of the light you can project on a paper.







        share|cite|improve this answer












        share|cite|improve this answer



        share|cite|improve this answer










        answered 2 days ago









        Jan Hudec

        1,37411014




        1,37411014












        • Can you elaborate a bit on why we can see the flashlight's light on a sheet of paper ? That part is eluding me.
          – alxchen
          yesterday






        • 2




          @alxchen, for the same reason you see the paper, the pencil, or anything else that is not emitting its own light at all in the first place – due to ambient reflection. The object reflects light falling on it, scattered in all directions, so you don't see image of the source, just the object reflecting it. Near the light source the light is more intense, because it didn't yet get stretched over so much surface, so also the ambient reflection is stronger.
          – Jan Hudec
          yesterday




















        • Can you elaborate a bit on why we can see the flashlight's light on a sheet of paper ? That part is eluding me.
          – alxchen
          yesterday






        • 2




          @alxchen, for the same reason you see the paper, the pencil, or anything else that is not emitting its own light at all in the first place – due to ambient reflection. The object reflects light falling on it, scattered in all directions, so you don't see image of the source, just the object reflecting it. Near the light source the light is more intense, because it didn't yet get stretched over so much surface, so also the ambient reflection is stronger.
          – Jan Hudec
          yesterday


















        Can you elaborate a bit on why we can see the flashlight's light on a sheet of paper ? That part is eluding me.
        – alxchen
        yesterday




        Can you elaborate a bit on why we can see the flashlight's light on a sheet of paper ? That part is eluding me.
        – alxchen
        yesterday




        2




        2




        @alxchen, for the same reason you see the paper, the pencil, or anything else that is not emitting its own light at all in the first place – due to ambient reflection. The object reflects light falling on it, scattered in all directions, so you don't see image of the source, just the object reflecting it. Near the light source the light is more intense, because it didn't yet get stretched over so much surface, so also the ambient reflection is stronger.
        – Jan Hudec
        yesterday






        @alxchen, for the same reason you see the paper, the pencil, or anything else that is not emitting its own light at all in the first place – due to ambient reflection. The object reflects light falling on it, scattered in all directions, so you don't see image of the source, just the object reflecting it. Near the light source the light is more intense, because it didn't yet get stretched over so much surface, so also the ambient reflection is stronger.
        – Jan Hudec
        yesterday












        up vote
        1
        down vote













        The light scatters off the pen in all possible directions with similar intensity, so one point of the paper is illuminated with scattered light from all points of the pen and one gets a very blurry image. Better image can be got only if somehow the point on paper gets light only from some point or only a small area on the pen, such as when using a lens or a camera obscura: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camera_obscura






        share|cite|improve this answer

























          up vote
          1
          down vote













          The light scatters off the pen in all possible directions with similar intensity, so one point of the paper is illuminated with scattered light from all points of the pen and one gets a very blurry image. Better image can be got only if somehow the point on paper gets light only from some point or only a small area on the pen, such as when using a lens or a camera obscura: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camera_obscura






          share|cite|improve this answer























            up vote
            1
            down vote










            up vote
            1
            down vote









            The light scatters off the pen in all possible directions with similar intensity, so one point of the paper is illuminated with scattered light from all points of the pen and one gets a very blurry image. Better image can be got only if somehow the point on paper gets light only from some point or only a small area on the pen, such as when using a lens or a camera obscura: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camera_obscura






            share|cite|improve this answer












            The light scatters off the pen in all possible directions with similar intensity, so one point of the paper is illuminated with scattered light from all points of the pen and one gets a very blurry image. Better image can be got only if somehow the point on paper gets light only from some point or only a small area on the pen, such as when using a lens or a camera obscura: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camera_obscura







            share|cite|improve this answer












            share|cite|improve this answer



            share|cite|improve this answer










            answered 2 days ago









            Ján Lalinský

            13.9k1334




            13.9k1334






















                up vote
                0
                down vote













                A reflective or polished surface respects and preserves the angular proximity of incoming beams on its points. The less the angular proximity of incoming intensity is preserved in the outgoing intensity profile, the more diffuse and "matte" looks the surface






                share|cite|improve this answer

























                  up vote
                  0
                  down vote













                  A reflective or polished surface respects and preserves the angular proximity of incoming beams on its points. The less the angular proximity of incoming intensity is preserved in the outgoing intensity profile, the more diffuse and "matte" looks the surface






                  share|cite|improve this answer























                    up vote
                    0
                    down vote










                    up vote
                    0
                    down vote









                    A reflective or polished surface respects and preserves the angular proximity of incoming beams on its points. The less the angular proximity of incoming intensity is preserved in the outgoing intensity profile, the more diffuse and "matte" looks the surface






                    share|cite|improve this answer












                    A reflective or polished surface respects and preserves the angular proximity of incoming beams on its points. The less the angular proximity of incoming intensity is preserved in the outgoing intensity profile, the more diffuse and "matte" looks the surface







                    share|cite|improve this answer












                    share|cite|improve this answer



                    share|cite|improve this answer










                    answered 2 days ago









                    lurscher

                    7,80622686




                    7,80622686






















                        up vote
                        0
                        down vote













                        In a mirror light is highly likely to reflect only in one angle according to the "law of reflection" ( I have no idea of why that is though ). On a paper it is likely to also reflect in all other directions. Therefore, on the paper, the image of the pencil is drowned out from the light hitting it from all other points in the environment. The light from each point on the pen will hit each point on the paper, and thus contribute to diffuse the image of itself.



                        With a lens, you will only be able to see the image of the pen on the paper, if the only light that hits the paper is coming through the lens, or at least other light is sufficiently dim. Also the lens must be at the correct distance so it will focus all light coming from one point on the pen to one point on the paper. The reason you see a picture in that case, is because for each point on the paper, there is only one point on the pen (or whatever else is out there) as seen from the point of the lens, that will hit each point on the paper. This means that all light reflected from that point on the paper is coming only from one point on the pen.



                        A torch will send directed light, thus light from one point on the torch only hits one part of the paper. Since the light is a lot brighter than the light coming from the environment, the light that hits your eye, will come from only the one point on the torch, thus recreating the round circle of the torch.



                        Here are som drawings to illustrate. Blue are the rays that hits the eye, while red misses the eye.



                        Pen to paper: (light from one point is illuminating all parts of the paper)
                        enter image description here



                        Pen to mirror: (light from one point is reflected in only one direction for each incidence angle)
                        enter image description here



                        Pen through lens: (the lens bends the incoming light so that for a given distance ratio between the pen and paper, each point illuminates only one point on the paper)
                        enter image description here



                        Torch: (directional light illuminates only one point on the paper for each point on the torch)
                        enter image description here






                        share|cite|improve this answer










                        New contributor




                        morten is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                        Check out our Code of Conduct.






















                          up vote
                          0
                          down vote













                          In a mirror light is highly likely to reflect only in one angle according to the "law of reflection" ( I have no idea of why that is though ). On a paper it is likely to also reflect in all other directions. Therefore, on the paper, the image of the pencil is drowned out from the light hitting it from all other points in the environment. The light from each point on the pen will hit each point on the paper, and thus contribute to diffuse the image of itself.



                          With a lens, you will only be able to see the image of the pen on the paper, if the only light that hits the paper is coming through the lens, or at least other light is sufficiently dim. Also the lens must be at the correct distance so it will focus all light coming from one point on the pen to one point on the paper. The reason you see a picture in that case, is because for each point on the paper, there is only one point on the pen (or whatever else is out there) as seen from the point of the lens, that will hit each point on the paper. This means that all light reflected from that point on the paper is coming only from one point on the pen.



                          A torch will send directed light, thus light from one point on the torch only hits one part of the paper. Since the light is a lot brighter than the light coming from the environment, the light that hits your eye, will come from only the one point on the torch, thus recreating the round circle of the torch.



                          Here are som drawings to illustrate. Blue are the rays that hits the eye, while red misses the eye.



                          Pen to paper: (light from one point is illuminating all parts of the paper)
                          enter image description here



                          Pen to mirror: (light from one point is reflected in only one direction for each incidence angle)
                          enter image description here



                          Pen through lens: (the lens bends the incoming light so that for a given distance ratio between the pen and paper, each point illuminates only one point on the paper)
                          enter image description here



                          Torch: (directional light illuminates only one point on the paper for each point on the torch)
                          enter image description here






                          share|cite|improve this answer










                          New contributor




                          morten is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                          Check out our Code of Conduct.




















                            up vote
                            0
                            down vote










                            up vote
                            0
                            down vote









                            In a mirror light is highly likely to reflect only in one angle according to the "law of reflection" ( I have no idea of why that is though ). On a paper it is likely to also reflect in all other directions. Therefore, on the paper, the image of the pencil is drowned out from the light hitting it from all other points in the environment. The light from each point on the pen will hit each point on the paper, and thus contribute to diffuse the image of itself.



                            With a lens, you will only be able to see the image of the pen on the paper, if the only light that hits the paper is coming through the lens, or at least other light is sufficiently dim. Also the lens must be at the correct distance so it will focus all light coming from one point on the pen to one point on the paper. The reason you see a picture in that case, is because for each point on the paper, there is only one point on the pen (or whatever else is out there) as seen from the point of the lens, that will hit each point on the paper. This means that all light reflected from that point on the paper is coming only from one point on the pen.



                            A torch will send directed light, thus light from one point on the torch only hits one part of the paper. Since the light is a lot brighter than the light coming from the environment, the light that hits your eye, will come from only the one point on the torch, thus recreating the round circle of the torch.



                            Here are som drawings to illustrate. Blue are the rays that hits the eye, while red misses the eye.



                            Pen to paper: (light from one point is illuminating all parts of the paper)
                            enter image description here



                            Pen to mirror: (light from one point is reflected in only one direction for each incidence angle)
                            enter image description here



                            Pen through lens: (the lens bends the incoming light so that for a given distance ratio between the pen and paper, each point illuminates only one point on the paper)
                            enter image description here



                            Torch: (directional light illuminates only one point on the paper for each point on the torch)
                            enter image description here






                            share|cite|improve this answer










                            New contributor




                            morten is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                            Check out our Code of Conduct.









                            In a mirror light is highly likely to reflect only in one angle according to the "law of reflection" ( I have no idea of why that is though ). On a paper it is likely to also reflect in all other directions. Therefore, on the paper, the image of the pencil is drowned out from the light hitting it from all other points in the environment. The light from each point on the pen will hit each point on the paper, and thus contribute to diffuse the image of itself.



                            With a lens, you will only be able to see the image of the pen on the paper, if the only light that hits the paper is coming through the lens, or at least other light is sufficiently dim. Also the lens must be at the correct distance so it will focus all light coming from one point on the pen to one point on the paper. The reason you see a picture in that case, is because for each point on the paper, there is only one point on the pen (or whatever else is out there) as seen from the point of the lens, that will hit each point on the paper. This means that all light reflected from that point on the paper is coming only from one point on the pen.



                            A torch will send directed light, thus light from one point on the torch only hits one part of the paper. Since the light is a lot brighter than the light coming from the environment, the light that hits your eye, will come from only the one point on the torch, thus recreating the round circle of the torch.



                            Here are som drawings to illustrate. Blue are the rays that hits the eye, while red misses the eye.



                            Pen to paper: (light from one point is illuminating all parts of the paper)
                            enter image description here



                            Pen to mirror: (light from one point is reflected in only one direction for each incidence angle)
                            enter image description here



                            Pen through lens: (the lens bends the incoming light so that for a given distance ratio between the pen and paper, each point illuminates only one point on the paper)
                            enter image description here



                            Torch: (directional light illuminates only one point on the paper for each point on the torch)
                            enter image description here







                            share|cite|improve this answer










                            New contributor




                            morten is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                            Check out our Code of Conduct.









                            share|cite|improve this answer



                            share|cite|improve this answer








                            edited 13 hours ago





















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                            answered 14 hours ago









                            morten

                            1011




                            1011




                            New contributor




                            morten is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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                            New contributor





                            morten is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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                            morten is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                            Check out our Code of Conduct.






























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