Editing Diffuse reflection (section)

{{For|reflection of charged particles|Scattering from rough surfaces}}
{{short description|Reflection with light scattered at random angles}}
[[File:Lambert2.gif|thumb| Diffuse and specular reflection from a glossy surface.<ref>
{{cite book
 |title       = Photoelectric sensors and controls: selection and application
 |author      = Scott M. Juds
 |publisher   = CRC Press
 |year        = 1988
 |isbn        = 978-0-8247-7886-6
 |page        = 29
 |url         = https://books.google.com/books?id=BkdBo1n_oO4C&q=%22diffuse+reflection%22+lambertian&pg=PA29
 |url-status     = live
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20180114234340/https://books.google.com/books?id=BkdBo1n_oO4C&pg=PA29&dq=%22diffuse+reflection%22+lambertian#v=onepage&q=%22diffuse%20reflection%22%20lambertian&f=false
 |archive-date = 2018-01-14
}}</ref> The rays represent [[luminous intensity]], which varies according to [[Lambert's cosine law]] for an ideal diffuse reflector.
]]
'''Diffuse reflection''' is the [[reflection (physics)|reflection]] of [[light]] or other [[Wave|waves]] or [[particles]] from a surface such that a [[ray (optics)|ray]] incident on the surface is [[scattering|scattered]] at many [[angle]]s rather than at just one angle as in the case of [[specular reflection]]. An ''ideal'' diffuse reflecting surface is said to exhibit [[Lambertian reflection]], meaning that there is equal [[luminance]] when viewed from all directions lying in the [[half-space (geometry)|half-space]] adjacent to the surface.

A surface built from a non-absorbing powder such as [[plaster]], or from fibers such as paper, or from a [[polycrystalline]] material such as white [[marble]], reflects light diffusely with great efficiency. Many common materials exhibit a mixture of specular and diffuse reflection.

The visibility of objects, excluding light-emitting ones, is primarily caused by diffuse reflection of light: it is diffusely-scattered light that forms the image of the object in an observer's eye over a wide range of angles of the observer with respect to the object.