Which term refers to the spreading of light due to irregularities in a medium?

Which term refers to the spreading of light due to irregularities in a medium?

• A. Reflect
• B. Refract
• C. Scatter
• D. Solar

Answer: (C)

Light spreading in many directions because of irregularities in a medium is called scattering. When light travels through a medium that isn’t perfectly uniform—think of fog, milk in water, or the air with small particles—these irregularities push and redirect photons in different directions. That random redirection is what makes the light appear to diffuse rather than travel in a straight line. This is different from reflection, where light bounces off a surface in a specific direction, and from refraction, where light changes speed and bends at a boundary between two uniform media. The term solar doesn’t describe how light moves through a medium.

Light spreading in many directions because of irregularities in a medium is called scattering. When light travels through a medium that isn’t perfectly uniform—think of fog, milk in water, or the air with small particles—these irregularities push and redirect photons in different directions. That random redirection is what makes the light appear to diffuse rather than travel in a straight line.

This is different from reflection, where light bounces off a surface in a specific direction, and from refraction, where light changes speed and bends at a boundary between two uniform media. The term solar doesn’t describe how light moves through a medium.