Science Common Sense

1157 - Why does light travel in a straight line and reflect in a specific direction?

That's a great question. Light travels in a straight line because it's a kind of energy that keeps moving forward without changing direction, unless something gets in its way. This is called a 'straight path' or a 'straight line'.

When light hits something, like a mirror, it can bounce back, or 'reflect'. The reason it reflects in a specific direction is because of the way the light hits the surface. Imagine the light is a ball, and when it hits the mirror, it follows a rule called the 'law of reflection'. This rule says that:

• The light hits the surface at an angle (called the 'angle of incidence')
• The light bounces back at the same angle (called the 'angle of reflection')
• The light bounces back in a direction that's like a mirror image of the way it came in.

So, when light hits a surface and reflects, it follows these rules and that's why it goes in a specific direction.