I’ve read, that essentially there exist three types of reflections in Physics:

  1. Metallic
  2. Non-Metallic
  3. Total Internal Reflection (See Below)

Metallic reflections (almost) tend to preserve the polarization of the light (except for what’s written below), while non-metallic reflections tend to polarize the light. The latter are also the basis for “polarizing mirrors”.

Beam-splitters are essentially polarizing mirrors:

  • When randomly-polarized light hits them, the deflected beam will be plane-polarized in one direction, while the transmitted beam will contain, what the deflected beam does not contain.
  • When circularly-polarized light hits them, nothing really prevents them from splitting the beam.
  • When plane-polarized light hits them, depending on the angle of polarization, the amplitude of one emerging beam can become much lower, than that of the other. This is probably also why, linear polarizers can interfere with the physical auto-focus of a DSLR-camera.

(Edit 02/25/2018 :

Even though the articles I gave above ‘seem complete’, only today I’ve learned that they need to be modified. Specifically, the deflected beam is only polarized perfectly, when the incident beam strikes a non-metallic mirror at Brewster’s Angle. And I have no reason to think, that this account is wrong. )

From what I read, reflection, according to the particle depiction, takes place, because photons couple with plasmons, to form surface-polaritons.

From what I read, refraction takes place, according to the particle depiction, because photons couple with excitons, to form photon-excition polaritons.

(Updated 02/27/2018 : )

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About The Disappearing Laser-Pulses, During Full-Moons

One fact which I’ve known about for some time, is that Astronauts have left reflectors on the moon, which Scientists have subsequently been able to bounce laser-pulses off, to measure changes in the distance, of the moon’s orbit.

One fact which I’ve only learned about tonight, is the existence of multiple reflectors, at multiple sites.

Another fact which I’ve only learned about tonight, is that during a full moon, apparently, the reflected pulses seem to disappear. Apparently, this phenomenon has baffled some thinkers.

My mind conjures a plausible explanation for this phenomenon, in less time than it takes to state what the phenomenon is.

Science and Technology today has specialized in devising complex circuits, which have feedback loops, non-linearities, and gain-adjustment behaviors, which we don’t even keep track of anymore.

During a full moon, the angle of the sun’s light is approximately the same, as the angle of light from lasers on the Earth.

Possibility 1:

This could mean that the reflectors also send some of the sun’s light, that hits them, into the direction of the measuring base set up, as the source of laser-pulses.

What I imagine Scientists have done is to feed the output from highly sensitive amplifiers, through a high-pass filter, so that only changes in the intensity of the light, short enough to correspond to a laser-pulse, will pass through the high-pass filter. But then, if the gain of the amplifier that precedes the high-pass filter decreases for any reason, the intensity of the HF component, of the signal, should also decrease.

Continue reading About The Disappearing Laser-Pulses, During Full-Moons

Quantum Mechanics is Falsifiable.



(Edit 02/03/2018 :




(Edit 02/15/2018 :












Continue reading Quantum Mechanics is Falsifiable.