Specular reflection

Specular reflection, or regular reflection, is the mirror-like reflection of waves, such as light, from a surface. The law of reflection states that a reflected ray of light emerges from the reflecting surface at the same angle to the surface normal as the incident ray, but on the opposing side of the surface normal. The incident and reflected rays lie in a plane known as the plane of incidence. The angles of the two rays to the normal are known as the angle of incidence and angle of reflection. The earliest known description of this behavior was recorded by Hero of Alexandria (AD c. 10–70). Later, Alhazen gave a complete statement of the law of reflection. He was first to state that the incident ray, the reflected ray, and the normal to the surface all lie in a same plane perpendicular to reflecting plane. Specular reflection may be contrasted with diffuse reflection, in which light is scattered away from the surface in a range of directions.