[CrazyStat]

How does absorption and reemission preserve phase information?

What about total internal reflection? Why does the light travel through the entire body of a glass prism without issue and then suddenly get absorbed and reemitted at the surface? Glass (and water) are transparent specifically because they don't absorb photons in the visible spectrum, so how is it that they absorb and reemit?

[kurthr]

Because the electro-magnetic field polarization is preserved in many cases (specular). That doesn't mean there isn't a plasmon generated in between or that the sign of the electric field is maintained. What is interesting is that in the case of metalic (from low to high index of refraction) there is an inversion of the electric field. This does not happen at the reflection from a high index to low index (e.g. under water looking up to see total internal reflection the polarization remains the same). You can see this same effect bouncing water waves off of a concrete wall.

[maskedinvader]

IANAP but from my limited understanding (mostly reading Richard Feynman) light beam = stream of photons, they don't travel through entire body of glass prism without issue, they get absorbed and re emmitted along the way too (Which is what explains the different speed of light in different mediums)

[CrazyStat]

I'm not convinced but even if we accept that explanation, why do all the atoms along the way emit the light in the direction it was travelling and then the ones at the surface suddenly emit it in a different direction?

[georgeburdell]

I can recommend Hecht’s Optics textbook for this. I found it at my local library. I have had a number of electromagnetics courses over my life and none explained the unifying scattering principles of reflection, transmission, and refraction concept so clearly as that book

[dhimes]

Hecht is an amazing author IMHO. Even his intro physics book is remarkable for introducing Emmy Noether at the outset of dynamics.

[lonelappde]

They don't! That's why the thickness of th glass of affects it's reflectivity, and not the simple way you might guess. Read Feynman's QED book or watch the YouTube vidoes for a lay intro.

[hn3333]

Probably it's just how the math works out. The atoms emit in all directions, however the waves traveling in all the other non-correct (according to reflections and refraction laws) directions cancel each other out, and only the ones with the new correct direction are still there / visible.

[wizzwizz4]

WikiBooks really does have everything: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/A-level_Physics_%28Advancing_P...

This example is wrong, but useful, and it's (probably) less wrong than what you've been talking about so far. At the very least, it's more useful.

[hn3333]

Thanks for correcting me and thanks for the link. But what have I been talking about so far? I don't understand. Also I just watched this video I'd recommend that explains the idea: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NumSE2LvSmQ

[wizzwizz4]

Sorry, by “you” I meant the people way up thread.

[JoBrad]

This video addresses that, as part of a longer discussion.

https://youtu.be/CiHN0ZWE5bk

Also this one:

https://youtu.be/YW8KuMtVpug