DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONIC

ENGINEERING
NWFP UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING
AND TECHNOLGY ABBOTTABAD
CAMPUS

Assignment#02
Name: Hamza khan.
Registration No: 17ABELT0761.
Section: “B”
Class No: “30”
Submitted To: Sir Muhammad Fayyaz.
Subject: Optoelectronics.

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Explain laws of reflection and refraction.
Introduction to Light:
Light is a form of energy that is in the form of an electromagnetic wave and is
almost everywhere around us.
 The visible light has wavelengths measuring between 400–700 nanometers. The
Sun is the primary source of light by which plants utilize this to produce their
energy.
 In physics, the term light also refers to electromagnetic radiation of different
kinds of wavelengths, whether it is visible to the naked eye or not. Hence, by
this, the gamma rays, microwaves, X-rays, and radio waves are also types of
light.

Reflection of light:
“When a ray of light approaches a smooth polished surface and the light ray
bounces back, it is called the reflection of light.”
Explanation:
The incident light ray which lands upon the surface is said to be reflected off the
surface. The ray that bounces back is called the reflected ray. If a perpendicular
were to be drawn on a reflecting surface, it would be called normal. The figure
below shows the reflection of an incident beam on a plane mirror.
Here, the angle of incidence and angle of reflection are with respect to normal and
the reflective surface.

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Laws of Reflection:
The laws of reflection determine the reflection of incident light rays on reflecting
surfaces, like mirrors, smooth metal surfaces and clear water. Let’s consider a
plane mirror as shown in the figure above. The law of reflection states that

 The incident ray, the reflected ray and the normal all lie in the same plane.
 The angle of incidence = Angle of reflection.

Refraction of light:
“Refraction is the change in the direction of a wave passing from one medium to
another.”
Explanation:
Refraction of light in glass is shown in the figure above. When light travels from
air into glass, the light slows down and changes direction slightly. When light
travels from a less dense substance to a denser substance, the refracted light bends
more towards the normal line. If the light wave approaches the boundary in a
direction that is perpendicular to it, the light ray doesn’t refract in spite of the
change in speed.

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Laws of Refraction of Light:
Laws of refraction state that;

 The incident ray refracted ray, and the normal to the interface of two media at
the point of incidence all lie on the same plane.
 The ratio of the sine of the angle of incidence to the sine of the angle of
refraction is a constant. This is also known as Snell’s law of refraction.

𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝜽𝒊
= 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕
𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝜽 𝒓

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