Abstract
Find a place where the moon is reflected in a smooth surface of water. Compare the angle between the moon and the horizon with that between the reflection and the horizon: within the tolerances of Observation, the angles are equal. If the moon is not too high in the sky, you may guess at the angles with the aid of a stick: holding the stick with a straight arm, make the tip just ‘touch’ the lower edge of the lunar disk and make the tip of your thumb ‘touch’ the horizon. Then, using your arm as the axis, turn the stick upside down, hold your thumb so that it continues to touch the horizon, and check whether the tip of the stick touches the edge of the reflected disk. Similar measurements, carried out by the author on clearly visible constellations, give the most practical confirmation of the laws of reflection.
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Minnaert, M. (1993). Reflection of Light. In: Light and Color in the Outdoors. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-2722-9_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-2722-9_2
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