What does a ray represent in optics?

In optics, a ray represents the direction of light travel. When we talk about rays, we visualize them as straight lines that indicate the path along which light is moving. This is fundamental in understanding how light interacts with various surfaces, such as reflection and refraction.

In practical terms, when we draw ray diagrams, we use a series of straight lines to portray how light travels from one point to another. This convention helps in making calculations and predictions about how light will behave when it encounters different optical components, like lenses or mirrors.

While the speed of light, intensity of light, and wavelength are critical properties of light, they are not represented by rays. The speed of light tells us how fast light travels, intensity refers to the power per unit area that light carries, and wavelength indicates the distance between successive peaks of a light wave. However, the ray itself is solely concerned with the direction in which light propagates, making it a crucial concept in the study of optics.