reflection

The process whereby radiation (or other waves) incident upon a surface is directed back into the medium through which it traveled.

The process whereby a surface turns back a portion of the radiation that strikes it.

The ability to find out what methods, fields, constructors, and so on, are defined for a class or object. Reflection is supported by the Class class, and other classes in the java.lang.reflect package. Reflection makes it possible, among other things, to create dynamic programs.

The abrupt change in direction of a wave front at an interface between two dissimilar media so that the wave front returns into the medium from which it originated. Note 1: Reflection may be specular (i.e., mirror-like) or diffuse (i.e., not retaining the image, only the energy) according to the nature of the interface. Note 2: Depending on the nature of the interface, i.e., dielectric-conductor or dielectric-dielectric, the phase of the reflected wave may or may not be inverted.