How Mirrors ACTUALLY Work: Feynman's Mind-Blowing QED Explanation

How Mirrors ACTUALLY Work: Feynman's Mind-Blowing QED Explanation



You’ve always been taught the golden rule of optics: "The angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection." It sounds simple. It sounds logical. But according to Richard Feynman, it is fundamentally wrong.
In this episode of Imagine the Physics, we open the pages of Feynman’s legendary QED (Quantum Electrodynamics) lectures to reveal a disturbing truth about light: Photons do not travel in straight lines. In fact, when you look in a mirror, the light is hitting the entire surface—even the edges—simultaneously.
In this video, we explore:
The Classical Lie: Why the geometric model of reflection is just an approximation.
The Path Integral Formulation: Feynman’s Nobel Prize-winning discovery that particles take "all possible paths" from point A to point B.
The Stopwatch Analogy: Visualizing probability amplitudes and vectors to understand how light "cancels itself out" in the wrong directions.
The Proof: How scraping away parts of a mirror (a diffraction grating) proves that light was hitting the dark spots all along.
The universe doesn't choose the path of least resistance; it calculates every possible path and sums them up. Prepare to never look at a mirror the same way again.
Timestamps:

0:00 - The "Angle of Incidence" Myth
2:15 - Richard Feynman’s Radical Idea
4:40 - The "All Paths" Theory (Path Integral)
6:55 - Why Light Cancels Out (The Stopwatch Analogy)
9:30 - Scraping the Mirror (Diffraction Gratings)
11:45 - The Quantum Reality of Everyday Objects
#RichardFeynman #Physics #QuantumMechanics #QED #Science



This channel is not officially affiliated with Richard Feynman, his estate, or Caltech. We are an independent educational project dedicated to one mission: preserving and reimagining the genius of Feynman’s teaching for a new generation. A Modern Tribute to a Legend:
The voice you hear in these videos is not a historical recording; it is a meticulously crafted AI-synthesized tribute to Feynman’s unique teaching style. We use modern technology to transform his timeless lectures, writings, and insights into high-quality visual experiences that make physics accessible to everyone, everywhere.
Our Commitment to Authenticity:
Education First: We use AI to breathe life into Feynman's original words, staying strictly faithful to his actual theories and scientific explanations.
Total Transparency: We do not claim this is Feynman himself speaking. This is synthetic media created for educational and inspirational purposes, fully compliant with YouTube’s disclosure policies.
Respect for the Source: We do not add our own theories or misrepresent his ideas. Our goal is to serve as a bridge between Feynman’s classic wisdom and today's digital world.
Physics is about curiosity, and Feynman was the master of wonder. We hope this project inspires you to look at the world with the same "Feynman-esque" curiosity that changed science forever. 🙏

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