riflessione

Riflessione is the Italian term for reflection, referring to the act or result of turning back or contemplating. It is used in everyday language and across disciplines to describe both a physical process and a mental one.

In optics and wave phenomena, riflessione denotes the change in direction of a wave or particle that encounters a boundary and returns to the original medium. The law of reflection states that the angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection. Surfaces can produce specular reflection, which preserves a coherent image, or diffuse reflection, which scatters light in many directions. The behavior of reflected light depends on the surface texture and the refractive properties of the media; phenomena such as total internal reflection can occur when light attempts to move into a medium with a lower refractive index beyond a critical angle.

Riflessione also appears in acoustics and radar, where waves bounce off objects to form echoes used in imaging and sensing. The concept is fundamental to technologies such as mirrors, imaging systems, and non-destructive testing.

Beyond physical processes, riflessione denotes contemplative thinking or thoughtful consideration. In philosophy, psychology, and education, it refers to deliberate reflection on beliefs, experiences, and assumptions to improve understanding, reasoning, or decision-making. It can be individual or collective and is often encouraged as a learning or professional development practice.

In computing, riflessione is the Italian term for reflection, the capability of a program to inspect and potentially modify its own structure and behavior at runtime. This includes accessing metadata about types, methods, and attributes, and is a common feature in many programming languages under the umbrella of reflection or introspection.