The key difference between Braggs reflection and ordinary reflection is that Braggs reflection has an angle of incidence and an angel of scattering, whereas, in ordinary reflection, the incident ray is reflected at the same angle.
Reflection refers to the change in the direction of a wavefront at an interface between two different media so that the wavefront returns into the medium from which it originated. Braggs reflection and ordinary reflection are two types of reflection that can occur.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Braggs Reflection
3. What is Ordinary Reflection
4. Side by Side Comparison – Braggs Reflection vs Ordinary Reflection in Tabular Form
5. Summary
What is Braggs Reflection
Braggs reflection is the scattering of radiation from crystal lattices. This phenomenon’s named comes from Bragg’s law, which was developed by Sir W.H. Bragg and his son Sir W.L. Bragg. Bragg’s law is very important in identifying the structure of crystals and molecules using X-ray diffraction studies. Also, this law explains the effect of reflection that occurs at a crystal lattice when an X-ray light is shot into the lattice.
Figure 01: Plane Diffraction according to Bragg’s Law
According to Bragg’s law, the angle of incidence of the light is equal to the angle of reflection/scattering. This type of reflection occurs when radiation with a wavelength that is comparable to atomic spacing, is scattered in a specular way by the atoms of the crystal system. Here, the radiation undergoes constructive interference as well. if the lattice planes of the crystal are separated by a distance “d”, the constructive interference occurs when the scattered waves remain in phase since the difference between the path lengths of the two waves is equivalent to an integer multiple of the wavelength (n). Then we can give Braggs law as follows:
2d sinθ = nλ
What is Ordinary Reflection?
Ordinary reflection is the mirror-like reflection of waves such as light, from a surface. All incident rays are reflected at the same angle to the surface normal (surface normal is the hypothetical line that is perpendicular to the surface plane we are considering) and the incident, normal and reflected directions are coplanar.
Figure 02: Normal Reflection
There are three possible outcomes when the light hit a surface. They are absorption, transmission and reflection. Often, materials show a mix of these behaviours rather than one specific behaviour. For most interfaces between materials, the proportion of the light that is reflected increases with the increasing angle of the incident ray. The law of reflection gives the angle of reflection of light. It states that the angle of incident light is similar to the angle of the reflected light.
What is the Difference Between Braggs Reflection and Ordinary Reflection?
Reflection refers to the change in the direction of a wavefront at an interface between two different media so that the wavefront returns into the medium from which it originated. Braggs reflection and ordinary reflection are two types of reflection. The key difference between Braggs reflection and ordinary reflection is that Braggs reflection has an angle of incidence and an angel of scattering, whereas, in ordinary reflection, the incident ray is reflected at the same angle.
Below infographic summarizes the difference between Braggs reflection and ordinary reflection.
Summary – Braggs Reflection vs Ordinary Reflection
Braggs reflection and ordinary reflection are two types of reflection. The key difference between Braggs reflection and ordinary reflection is that Braggs reflection has an angle of incidence and an angel of scattering but, in ordinary reflection, the incident ray is reflected at the same angle.