Let êᵢ and êᵣ be unit vectors along an incident and reflected ray, and n̂ be a unit normal to a stationary plane mirror. Which statements are correct?
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Question

Let êᵢ and êᵣ be unit vectors along an incident and reflected ray, and n̂ be a unit normal to a stationary plane mirror. Which statements are correct?

G1 Physics · Accepted Answer

Specular reflection preserves the tangential component and reverses the normal component. Vectorially, êᵣ=êᵢ−2(êᵢ·n̂)n̂, which also preserves the magnitude of the unit direction vector.