angle of incidence
angle of incidence — noun
1. the angle between a ray of light hitting a surface and an imaginary straight lin
the angle between a ray of light hitting a surface and an imaginary straight line that stands upright from that surface where the ray lands
Felipe measured the angle of incidence as the laser beam struck the flat mirror.
the angle of incidence of [light hitting a surface]
When the angle of incidence grows larger, more sunlight bounces off the calm lake.
larger angle of incidence → more reflection
The teacher drew the upright line so students could see the angle of incidence.
Mei tilted the glass slowly and watched the angle of incidence change on the screen.
For a perfect mirror, the angle of incidence always equals the angle of reflection.
- incident angle
more technical wording, common in engineering and optics papers
- angle of reflection
the matching angle of the ray that bounces back off the surface
文法句型
the angle of incidence of [light/a ray]
用法筆記
Measured from the surface normal (the line standing upright to the surface), not from the surface itself. Almost always paired with 'angle of reflection' or 'angle of refraction' in optics.