The law of reflection is quite useful for mirrors and other flat, shiny surfaces. (This sort of reflection is called specular reflection). However, you've likely been told that when you look at something, you are seeing light reflected from the object that you are looking at. This is reflection of a different sort: diffuse reflection. In this problem, you will see how diffuse reflection actually arises from the same law of reflection that you are accustomed to for reflections from mirrors.

Suppose that the spotlight shines so that different parts of the beam reflect off of different two surfaces, one inclined at an angle alpha (from the horizontal) and one inclined at an angle beta. What would the angular separation \Delta \theta be between the rays reflected from the two surfaces? Assume that the light comes at an angle theta_a to the vertical.
Express your answer in terms of some or all of the angles theta_a, alpha, and beta.

igneous rocks also form where plates converge. the subducting plate melts as it sinks into the crust of the earth, and the melt rises into the overriding plate forming volcanoes. metamorphic rocks are formed mainly in the lithosphere, wherever there is high pressure and high temperature. -woods

bacteria that live on the ocean floor are sustained by phytoplankton. phytoplankton, microscopic marine photosynthetic organisms, have a vastly significant role to play not only in the marine food web of which they’re part of, but also on a more global scale. despite their infinitely small size in comparison to other marine organisms, these tiny creatures occupy an immensely important ecological niche: they are the foundation of the marine food web, and as primary producers, play key roles in supporting all other organisms in the marine environment, as well as in the regulation of the earth’s climate through the sequestration of carbon, oxygen production, and other related processes. phytoplankton account for roughly half of all global primary productivity; therefore, their significance extends far beyond the marine environment alone. there is an intriguing sense of irony in the realization that these tiny living beings that often live out their existence unnoticed and undetected by the rest of the world, have such a far-reaching impact on the lives of virtually all other living organisms on the planet, particularly on those in the marine environment. the world that we have become accustomed to has been and is continuously shaped by the workings of these miniscule yet vital “plants of the sea”.

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