REFRACTION

Refraction of light is the bending of a ray of light as it travels from one medium to another. Refraction of light occurs due to change in the speed of light as it travels from one medium to anothe

In 1620, a Dutch scientist Willebrord Snell discovered the relation ship between the angle of incident and the angle of refraction when light travels from one medium to another

The laws of refraction he put together are follows:

1.      The incident ray, the refracted ray and the normal at the point of incident all lie on the  

      same plane

2.      For two given media, the ratio sin i/sin r is a constant 

Investigating the refraction of light through two media

•         When light travel from air into glass or water, it slows down. A medium is said to be optically dense if it reduces the speed of light

•         The following example will help us understand refraction better

1. Light travels from a less dense medium (air) to a denser medium (water), its speed decrease and it is refracted towards the normal 

2.Light travels from a denser medium (glass) to a less medium (water), it is refracted away from the normal

3.Light travels from a denser medium (glass) to a less medium (water), it is refracted away from the normal