Visual Appearance - Appearance of Reflective Objects

Appearance of Reflective Objects

The appearance of reflecting objects is determined by the way the surface reflects incident light. The reflective properties of the surface can be characterized by a closer look at the (micro)-topography of that surface.

Structures on the surface and the texture of the surface are determined by typical dimensions between some 10 mm and 0.1 mm (the detection limit of the human eye is at ~0.07 mm). Smaller structures and features of the surface cannot be directly detected by the unaided eye, but their effect becomes apparent in objects or images reflected in the surface. Structures at and below 0.1 mm reduce the distinctness of image (DOI), structures in the range of 0.01 mm induce haze and even smaller structures affect the gloss of the surface.

Definition
diffusion, scattering
: process by which the spatial distribution of a beam of radiation is changed in many directions when it is deviated by a surface or by a medium, without change of frequency of its monochromatic components.


Appearance of Reflective Objects


Figure 1:Manifestation of surface properties upon reflection of light. Structures with dimensions, λ, above 0,1 mm can be seen directly by the unaided eye (focus on surface), smaller structures become manifest by their effect on the directional distribution of the reflected light (focus on source). Structures at and below 0,1 mm reduce the distinctness of image (DOI), structures in the range of 0,01 mm induce haze and even smaller structures affect the gloss of the surface.

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