Reflected light

Reflected light is a concept used in various fields such as optics and mineralogy. In general, lightis reflected, refracted or absorbed.

Optics

In optics reflected light can be specular or diffuse Specular reflection is when a reflected ray is created from an incident ray.

Mineralogy

In mineralogy reflected light is used to recognise opaque minerals using a metallographic microscope. These differ from optical microscopes in that the samples are first polished then lit perpendicularly to the polished surface. The light beam is partially absorbed and partially reflected by the mineral at intensities varying according to the species.