Diffuse Reflection - Importance For Vision

Importance For Vision

Looking at one's surrounding environment, the vast majority of visible objects are seen primarily by diffuse reflection from their surface. This holds with few exceptions, such as glass, reflective liquids, polished or smooth metals, glossy objects, and objects that themselves emit light: the Sun, lamps, and computer screens (which, however, emit diffuse light). Outdoors it is the same, with perhaps the exception of a transparent water stream or of the iridescent colors of a beetle. Additionally, Rayleigh scattering is responsible for the blue color of the sky, and Mie scattering for the white color of the water droplets of clouds.

Light scattered from the surfaces of objects is by far the primary light which humans visually observe.

Read more about this topic:  Diffuse Reflection

Famous quotes containing the words importance and/or vision:

    A toothache, or a violent passion, is not necessarily diminished by our knowledge of its causes, its character, its importance or insignificance.
    —T.S. (Thomas Stearns)

    With the supermarket as our temple and the singing commercial as our litany, are we likely to fire the world with an irresistible vision of America’s exalted purpose and inspiring way of life?
    Adlai Stevenson (1900–1965)