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Vector representation of reflection and refraction of light at material interfaces

  • Vector representation of reflection at material interfaces

Each direction vector is defined as follows.

: Direction vector of incident light

: Direction vector of reflected light

: Normal vector of the reflecting surface

The absolute values of all these are defined as 1.

In this case, k can be expressed as follows, where k is a positive real number.

Transforming this into the formula,

Squaring both sides,

The absolute value of each directional vector is 1,

By substituting this into ①', we finally get the following equation.

  • Vector representation of refraction at material interfaces

Define a direction vector as shown in the following diagram.

: Direction vector of incident light

: Direction vector of transmitted light

: Normal vector of material interface

: A direction vector parallel to the material interface and in the same plane as the incident and transmitted light

The absolute values of all of these are set to 1.

In this case, the relationship between the vectors can be described as follows:

From ①,

Substituting ② and ③ into this,

Next, substitute ① and ③ into ⑤,

Substituting ④ into this,

By substituting ①' and ② into this, we finally obtain the following equation.

 

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