In optics, a ray is an idealized geometrical model of light or other electromagnetic radiation, obtained by choosing a curve that is perpendicular to the wavefronts of the actual light, and that points in the direction of energy flow.

Light Rays are nothing but a model explaining the movements of Light from one point to another. A group of Light Rays or a Light Beam, coming out from a source of Light is known as a point source. Beams of Light can be of 3 types. They are parallel, convergent and divergent.

2025年2月3日 · Light - Reflection, Refraction, Diffraction: The basic element in geometrical optics is the light ray, a hypothetical construct that indicates the direction of the propagation of light at any point in space. The origin of this concept dates back to …

Refraction is responsible for a tremendous range of optical phenomena, from the action of lenses to voice transmission through optical fibers. The changing of a light ray’s direction (loosely called bending) when it passes through variations in matter is called refraction.

In all of these cases, light is modeled as traveling in straight lines called rays. Light may change direction when it encounters objects (such as a mirror) or in passing from one material to another (such as in passing from air to glass), but it then continues in a straight line or as a ray.

Imagining light as a ray makes it easy to describe, with great accuracy, three well-known phenomena: reflection, refraction and scattering. Let's take a second to discuss each one. In reflection, a light ray strikes a smooth surface, such as a mirror, and bounces off.

For example, when light encounters anything we can observe with unaided eyes, such as a mirror, it acts like a ray, with only subtle wave characteristics. We will concentrate on the ray characteristics in this chapter.