Related papers: The Ptolemy-Alhazen problem and spherical mirror r…
We discuss the problem of the reflection of light on spherical and quadric surface mirrors. In the case of spherical mirrors, this problem is known as the Alhazen problem. For the spherical mirror problem, we focus on the reflection…
We study the well-known Ptolemy-Alhazen problem on reflection of light at the surface of a spherical mirror in the case when the source of light is very far from the mirror.
Given a light source, a spherical reflector, and an observer, where on the surface of the sphere will the light be directly reflected to the observer, i.e. where is the the specular point? This is known as the Alhazen-Ptolemy problem, and…
We describe light-reflection properties of spherically curved mirrors, like balls in the Christmas tree. In particular, we study the position of the image which is formed somewhere beyond the surface of a spherical mirror, when an eye…
We address the phenomenon of reflection in concave spherical mirror in two contrasting approaches to optics. In his Optics (ca.165) Ptolemy applied the cathetus principle as a regulative means for explaining qualitatively effects related to…
The problem of the reflectance of a photon by a metallic mirror whose position is treated quantum mechanically is considered. The interaction between the metallic surface and the light is treated classically. It is shown that the…
This work develops new numerical methods for the solution of the tomography problem in domains with reflecting obstacles. We compare the solution's performance for Lambertian reflection, for classical tomography with ubroken rays and for…
In this paper, we discuss how the concepts of Hamiltonian optics are internally connected to the scalar wave theory of light rays. It is shown that the solutions of the reduced wave equation are similar to Huygen's wavelets, and they can be…
We present new, simple analytical formulas to accurately describe light rays in spherically symmetric static spacetimes. These formulas extend those introduced by Beloborodov and refined by Poutanen for the Schwarzschild metric. Our…
We consider the inverse refractor and the inverse reflector problem. The task is to design a free-form lens or a free-form mirror that, when illuminated by a point light source, produces a given illumination pattern on a target. Both…
We design freeform lenses refracting an arbitrarily given incident field into a given fixed direction. In the near field case, we study the existence of lenses refracting a given bright object into a predefined image. We also analyze the…
This work develops new numerical methods for the solution of the tomography problem in domains with reflecting obstacles. We compare the solution's performance for Lambertian reflection, for classical tomography with unbroken rays and for…
Retroreflectors are optical devices that reverse the direction of incident beams of light. Here we present a collection of billiard type retroreflectors consisting of four objects; three of them are asymptotically perfect retroreflectors,…
We study the problem of arithmetic billiards from a new perspective. We first raise a similar problem about reflecting lights inside grids. For the solution to this problem, we will give three proofs. Next, we consider a similar problem in…
In this work, I have derived the equation of the curve obtained on reflection of a point object in an arbitrary curved mirror if the object and the mirror are placed on the 2D Cartesian plane. I have used only the basic laws of reflection…
Reflection equation for the scattering of lines moving in half-plane is obtained. The corresponding geometric picture is related with configurations of half-planes touching the boundary plane in 2+1 dimensions. This equation can be obtained…
The Illumination Problem may be phrased as the problem of covering a convex body in Euclidean $n$-space by a minimum number of translates of its interior. By a probabilistic argument, we show that, arbitrarily close to the Euclidean ball,…
In this paper, we revisit Radlow's highly original attempt at a double Wiener-Hopf solution to the canonical problem of wave diffraction by a quarter-plane. Using a constructive approach, we reduce the problem to two equations, one…
A problem that is simple to state in the context of spherical geometry, and that seems rather interesting, appears to have been unexamined to date in the mathematical literature. The problem can also be recast as a problem in the real…
Suppose we are given an environment consisting of axis-parallel and diagonal line segments with integer endpoints, each of which may be reflective or non-reflective, with integer endpoints, and an initial position for a light ray passing…