REFRACTION OF LIGHT

Refraction of Light
• Refraction is the bending of light or the change of direction of
light rays as they pass from one optical medium to another
optical medium of different optical density.
• It is caused by different speeds of light in different optical
media.
• Optical density is the ease of light to travel to travel through
an optical medium
• A denser medium slows down the speed of light and vice
versa.
• Glass is an optically denser medium than water and water is
an optically denser medium than air.
• The denser the medium the more the deviation of a ray of
light ie the the smaller the angle of refraction
Refraction of waves
• Water waves slow
down as they pass
over from a deeper
to a shallower region.
• Light slows down as
it passes from air into
glass, Perspex or
water.
Refraction of Light
Refraction of Light at plane
surfaces
• (a) Less to more optical dense transition (e.g. air to glass)

• Light bends TOWARDS the normal.

• The angle of refraction is LESS than the angle of
incidence
Refraction of light at plane
surfaces
• (b) More to less optical dense transition (e.g. water to air)

• Light bends AWAY FROM the normal.

• The angle of refraction is GREATER than the angle of incidence
Refraction of light
• Light only refracts at
the boundary when it
is entering or leaving
a medium.
• The more that light
slows down , the
more the light is
refracted.
Cause of Refraction
Laws of Refraction

1. The incident ray, the refracted ray and the normal,

at the point of incidence, all lie in the same plane.
𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝒊
2. For two given media, the ratio is a constant,
𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝒓
where i is the angle of incidence and r is the angle
of refraction. This is also called the Snell’s law
𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝒊
→𝒏= , where n is the refractive index of the
𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝒓
medium.
The refraction equation
• When a light ray passes from one medium to
another

𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝒊
•𝒏=
𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝒓

where:

i is the angle of incidence in the first medium

r is the angle of refraction in the second medium
n is a constant number called the refractive index. It is bigger
than 1 and different for different materials.
EXAMPLE 1

• Calculate the refractive index when light passes from air

to glass if the angle of incidence is 30° and the angle of
refraction 19º.
• Solution
𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝒊
• 𝒏= 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝒓
𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝟑𝟎
𝒏= 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝟏𝟗
𝟎.𝟓𝟎𝟎
𝒏= ; n = 1.53
𝟎.𝟑𝟐𝟔
Example 2
• Calculate the angle of refraction when light passes from
air to glass if the angle of incidence is 50° and the
refractive index, n = 1.50.
• Solution
Example 3
• Calculate the angle of incidence when light passes from
air to water if the angle of refraction is 20° and the
refractive index, n = 1.33.
Refractive index, n, in terms of speed and
wavelength

• Since speed is directly

proportional to
wavelength then,
Summary
Refractive indexes of different material

material Refractive index, n

Vacuum 1

Air 1.0000293

water 1.333

Diamond 2.417

Vegetable oil 1.47

Crown glass(pure) 1.50- 1.54

Question
Effects of refraction in our daily lives
Light refraction effects
• A spoon dipped in water • The pool appears
appears bent or broken shallower
when seen from above
Refraction in water

• The image of the chest appears to be more shallow then the

actual chest
Refractive index in terms of apparent
depth and Real depth• Relationship between
refractive index and
• Refractive index can
apparent depth
also be defined as;

• Refractive index, n =
𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑙 𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑡ℎ
𝐴𝑝𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑡ℎ
Definition.
• Real depth is the actual depth of an object beneath the
surface as would be measured by submerging a perfect ruler
along with it.

• Apparent depth in a medium is the depth of an object in a

denser medium as seen from a rarer medium.
Example
• A tank is filled with • solution
water to a height of • Refractive index , n, =
12.5cm. The real depth/ apparent
apparent depth of a depth
needle lying at the • = 12.5/9.4
bottom of the tank is
measured by a • =1.33
microscope to be
9.4cm. What is the
refractive index of
water?
Exam question
Question continued
Question cont’d
Answer