Investigating the law of reflection in microwaves

J. Madalipay, N. Galban, F. Lopez, R. Yadao Physics191 Cdpq, Department of Physical Sciences, University of the Philippines Baguio 3 July 2013 Abstract The law of reflection was investigated using a microwave optics setup. The angle of reflection was measured for each of the angles of incidence. Results show that the angle of incidence and the angle of reflection are equal which follows the law of reflection. However, this only evident for small angles. For larger angles, there is scattering in the output pattern which is due to a diffraction effect. I. Introduction This paper intends to study the law of reflection in microwaves and investigate the behavior of the waves at different angles. The microwave is just a portion in the broad electromagnetic spectrum. Microwaves have wavelengths of the order of a few centimeters and frequencies that are close to the natural resonance frequencies of water molecules in solids and in liquids. 1 Microwave optics studies those properties of microwaves which are analogous to the properties of light waves in optics. The fact that microwaves and light waves are both electromagnetic waves, the major difference being that of frequency, already suggests that their properties should be alike in many respects. But the reason microwaves behave more like light waves than, for instance, very low-frequency waves for electrical power is primarily that the microwave wavelengths are usually comparable to or smaller than the ordinary physical dimensions of objects interacting with the waves. 2 When a beam of light strikes a boundary surface separating two different media, such as an air-glass interface, part of the light energy is refracted and part enters the second medium. If the incident light is not perpendicular to the surface, the transmitted light is not parallel to the incident light. The change in direction of the transmitted ray is called refraction. In Figure 1, a light ray is striking a smooth air-glass interface. The angle 1 between the incident ray and the normal (the line perpendicular to the surface) is called the angle of incidence, and the plane defined by these two lines is called the angle of incidence. The reflected ray lies in the plane of incidence and makes an angle 1 with the normal that is equal to the angle of incidence as shown in the figure: (1) This result is known as the law off reflection. The law of reflection holds for any type of wave. 3

Figure 1. The angle of reflection 1 equals the angle of incidence 1. 4

II. Experimental The materials used in the experiment were the microwave transmitter, receiver, rotating component holder, goniometer and metal reflector. The transmitter and receiver were arranged facing the reflector as shown in Figure 2. The transmitter was attached to the fixed arm of the goniometer and the horns were in the same orientation such that the transmitter and receiver have the same polarity.

Figure 2. The equipment setup. 5 The rotating component holder was adjusted until the angle of incidence, which is the angle between the incident wave from the transmitter and a line normal to the plane of the reflector, reached 45 o. The movable arm of the goniometer was rotated without moving the transmitter or the reflector until the meter reading is a maximum. The angle of reflection, which is the angle between the axis of the receiver horn and a line normal to the plane of the reflector, was measured and recorded for each of the angles of incidence. III. Results and Discussion The data obtained in this experiment were the angles of reflection and the maximum meter reading for each of the angles of incidence ranging from 20o to 90o having increments of 10o. This was done in two trials. The tabulated data is presented in Figure 3.

Trial 1 incidence angle (degrees) 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 reflection angle (degrees) 22 31 41 51 60 64 75 68 meter reading (mA) 0.6 0.61 0.6 0.58 0.46 0.42 0.5 0.3

Trial 2 reflection angle (degrees) 23 37 43 53 61 80 72 65 meter reading (mA) 0.8 0.85 0.88 0.88 0.72 0.78 0.78 0.5

Figure 3. The corresponding angle of reflection and meter reading for every angle of incidence.

The obtained results show that the angle of reflection is almost equal to the angle of incidence, having only small discrepancies. This means that the microwaves still follow the law of reflection as stated by equation (1). The first trial is closer to the theoretical value while the second trial is more deviated. Note that this is only true for smaller angles. The obtained data are stable at angles from 10 o to 60o. However, staring from 70o until 90o, the angles of reflection deviated from the angle of incidence. The deviation is due to the scattering of the waves as seen in the output pattern. The meter reading obtained shows that when the angle of incidence is increased, the maximum meter reading in the transmitter decreases. This means that because the angle of incidence is small (and also the angle of reflection), the intensity of microwaves is stronger thus having a greater meter reading. Meanwhile, when the angle of incidence is larger (and also the angle of reflection), the intensity of the microwaves is weaker so the maximum meter reading decreases. This can be accounted for the dispersion of the low intensity waves into different angles when it hits the reflector. The dispersion or scattering of the low intensity waves is a result of a diffraction effect. When the movable arm of the goniometer was adjusted to find out the maximum meter reading, it was observed that the meter reading behaves sinusoidally, thus confirms the wave nature of microwaves. The small discrepancies in the data can be accounted for the uneven plane of the table where the microwave setup was placed. Even just a small change in the level of the microwave receiver will affect the meter reading and the angle of reflection. There are also errors due to the very sensitive meter reader that even a small change in the movable arm of the goniometer will change the reading. IV. Conclusion The microwaves follow the law of reflection which holds for any type of waves. For smaller angles, the law of reflection is evident but for larger angles, it is unclear because of the dispersion of waves into different angles. The deviation of the angle of reflection from the angle of incidence is a result of diffraction effect. Acknowledgement The proponent would like to acknowledge Nescy Leann Galban, Fiona Mae Lopez and Richard Dean Yadao for their help in the experiment proper. References 134 P. Tipler, G. Mosca, Physics for Scientists and Engineers, 4th Ed, California, Canada, 1004, 1041-1042 2 http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/microwave+optics (Retrieved 7/2/2013) 5 http://www.clemson.edu/ces/phoenix/labs/224/microwaves/MirrorMW.jpg (Retrieved 7/2/2013)