REFRACTION

OF LIGHT
Prepared by Jay-R P. Valdez
LIGHT PROPERTIES

Light exhibits the characteristics and properties of a wave. It is

classified as an electromagnetic wave located between the
spectrum of infrared and ultraviolet. As an electromagnetic
wave it does not need a medium in order to propagate.
LIGHT PROPERTIES

Light moves in its maximum speed in vacuum. But this

speed decreases as it moves along different media. This
characteristic of light consequently shows bending when
it crosses the boundary between two media.
LIGHT PROPERTIES
Refraction is the bending of light
when it travels from one
transparent medium into another.
It occurs at the boundary and is
caused by a change in the speed
of the light wave upon crossing
the boundary.

Optical density measures the ability of an object to slow or delay

the transmission of light. It is the sluggishness of the atoms of a
medium to maintain the absorbed energy before reemitting. A
known indicator of the optical density of a material is the index
of refraction of the material.
LIGHT PROPERTIES
The index of refraction refers to the amount by
which light slows or bends when it enters a given
material. It is a dimensionless constant obtained by
dividing the speed of light in vacuum c by the
speed of light v in that material.
LIGHT PROPERTIES
Study the values of indices of
refraction for some materials given in
the table. In which medium is light
fastest? Slowest? By how much does
light slow down in air as it passes
from vacuum?
Light in air is 1.0003 times slower
than light in a vacuum, which slows it
all the way down from 299,792,458
m/s to 299,702,547 m/s. That's a
slowdown of 89,911 m/s.
LIGHT PROPERTIES
The index of refraction is always
greater than 1 because c is the
maximum value of the speed of light
anywhere. Note that there is an
inverse relationship between the
speed of light in a medium and the
refraction index
A substance is said to be optically
denser than another if its index of
refraction is greater. The higher the
refractive index, the slower light
travels in that substance.
LIGHT PROPERTIES
The Laws of Refraction
When light passes from one medium to another
of different optical density, it is refracted
according to some laws.

1
The incident ray,
the refracted ray
and the normal lie
in one plane.
LIGHT PROPERTIES
The Laws of Refraction

When a ray of light

2
passes obliquely from
an optically less dense
medium to a denser
medium, it is refracted
toward the normal.
LIGHT PROPERTIES
The Laws of Refraction

When a ray of light

2
passes obliquely
from an optically
denser medium to a
less dense medium,
it is refracted away
from the normal.
LIGHT PROPERTIES
The Laws of Refraction

2
At perpendicular
incidence, no
bending of light
ray occurs.
LIGHT PROPERTIES
The Laws of Refraction
As mentioned, the greater the index of
refraction, the more refraction occurs. But
how can the angle of refraction be
found?

In 1621, Willebrord Snell experimented

with light passing through different
media. He developed a relationship called
Snell’s law, which can be used to find the
angle of refraction for light traveling
between any two media.
LIGHT PROPERTIES
The Laws Refraction

3 Snell’s Law, named after the Dutch astronomer

and mathematician Willebrord Snell, states that

Notice that sinӨ1 and sinӨ2 are inversely proportional to n1

and n2, respectively. In simpler terms, Snell’s law tells us that
the sine of the angle made by light in a medium is inversely
proportional to the refractive index in that medium.
LIGHT PROPERTIES
Apparent depth is the illusion that objects under the water
appear to be nearer the surface than they really are. This is
visible when an observer is standing beside the swimming
pool looking at an object under water.
LIGHT PROPERTIES
Refraction causes a pencil to appear bent when placed in
water. Note that rays leaving the water are bent away from
the normal and hence extend back to a point that is higher
than the actual position of the pencil.
LIGHT PROPERTIES
One of the most common mirages, often seen in hot
weather, makes a stretch of road look like the surface of a
lake. The blue color that so resembles water to our eyes is
actually an image of the sky, refracted by the hot, low-
density air above the road.
END