Light reflection in Physics Teaching journals: highlighting research trends and needs from a literature review

Abstract

The article presents a literature review on light reflection, in which 152 articles on the subject were reviewed. The texts were published between 1995 and 2015 in Brazilian and International Physics academic education journals. The dialogue between the articles was established from ten categories of text classification, according to their specific sub-theme: principles of reflection, reflectance, speed of light, diffuse reflection, real and virtual images, flat mirrors, curved mirrors, mirror associations, polarization and relativistic mirrors. The review showed a great concentration of research efforts in applications of flat and curved mirrors. On the other hand, there is shortage of research in other themes such as reflectance, speed of light, relativistic mirrors and the relationship between reflection and polarization phenomena. The review showed that Brazilian authors do not usually publish articles about these four sub-themes, which demonstrates possibilities for future research. The use of everyday materials in experimental activities was also evidenced, especially on articles about high school topics, a fact that contributes for the continuity of researches on the topic. It is noteworthy that the celebration of the International Year of Light (2015) did not substantially boost publications on the subject.