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Refraction of Light

Refraction of light occurs when light bends as it passes between different media, governed by laws that describe how light behaves in denser and less dense materials. Snell's law relates the angles of incidence and refraction to the refractive index, which is a constant for each medium. The speed of light changes when entering a new medium, affecting its refractive index.

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10 views3 pages

Refraction of Light

Refraction of light occurs when light bends as it passes between different media, governed by laws that describe how light behaves in denser and less dense materials. Snell's law relates the angles of incidence and refraction to the refractive index, which is a constant for each medium. The speed of light changes when entering a new medium, affecting its refractive index.

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kelathilweaobakwe87
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REFRACTION OF LIGHT

The bending of light when it passes from one material (called a medium) to another is called refraction.

LAWS OF REFRACTION

(i) A ray of light is bent towards the normal when it enters an optically denser medium at an
angle. ie the angle of refraction r is less than the angle of incidence i.
(ii) A ray of light is bent away from the normal when it enters an optically less dense medium
e.g from glass to air.
(iii) A ray emerging from a parallel – sided block is parallel to the ray entering but is displaced
sideways.

(iv) A ray through the normal is not refracted.


For light rays passing from one transparent medium to another, the sine of angle of incidence and the
sine of angle of refraction are in constant ratio.

sine i Snell’s law


n=
sin e r

Where n is a constant or refractive index.

E.g Calculate the refractive index of glass in the example given.

sine i
n=
sin e r

sin 30 °
n= = 1.47
sin 20 °

REFRACTIVE INDEX AND SPEED OF LIGHT

Light is refracted because its speed changes when it enters another medium.

speed of light ∈air


Refractive index of a medium=
speed of light ∈a medium
e.g The speed of light in water is

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