Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I write about physics, science, academia, and pop culture. This article is more than 8 years old. When I woke up Sunday morning, ...

Ever wonder how a mirror works? If you want to find the path that light takes when reflecting off a surface, you could use Fermat's Principle. This states something like this: The path that light ...

Exploiting a novel technique called phase discontinuity, researchers have induced light rays to behave in a way that defies the centuries-old laws of reflection and refraction. The discovery has led ...

Refraction close refractionProcess by which a wave changes speed and sometimes direction upon entering a denser or less dense medium, eg a light ray changes direction when refracted by a lens. of ...

Infinite mirrors are a fun party trick, but the physics behind this phenomenon explains why it may not be true. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s ...