Snell’s Law and Index of

Refraction
Index of refraction
• Refractive index, also called index of refraction, measure of the
bending of a ray of light when passing from one medium into another.
If i is the angle of incidence of a ray in vacuum (angle between the
incoming ray and the perpendicular to the surface of a medium, called
the normal) and r is the angle of refraction (angle between the ray in
the medium and the normal)
• The refractive index n is defined as the ratio of the sine of the angle of
incidence to the sine of the angle of refraction; i.e., n = sin i / sin r.
• Refractive index is also equal to the velocity of light c of a given
wavelength in empty space divided by its velocity v in a substance,
or n = c/v.
Snell’s Law
• Snell’s law, in optics, a relationship between the
path taken by a ray of light in crossing the
boundary or surface of separation between two
contacting substances and the refractive index of
each. This law was discovered in 1621 by the
Dutch astronomer and
mathematician Willebrord Snell.
Sample Problem

•1. What is the speed of

light in water? The index of
refraction in water in 1.33
Sample Problem

•2. The speed of light in

diamond is 1.24 x 10 ^ 8
m/s. What is the index of
refraction of diamond?
Sample Problem

•The wavelength of light in a

vacuum is 600nm. What is the
wavelength of light in glass? The
index of refraction of glass is 1.5
Sample Problem

•Light strikes on air water

boundary with an angle of
incidence of 30 degrees. What is
the angle of refraction of the
refracted light ray in water?
•A light ray travels from air (n=1) into
glass 1.5 with an angle of incidence of
60 degrees. The light ray continues to
travel through the glass material into
diamond. At what angle does the light
ray make with the normal line as it
enters the diamond material?
Sample Problem

•A ray of light is traveling through

air at an angle of 30∘ to the
vertical. It passes into water and
halves its angle to the vertical.
What is the index of refraction
of water?
•A beam of light going through a medium
with an index of refraction of 1.14 has
an angle of incidence of 48∘ with
another medium. If the light wave is at a
new angle of 39∘, what is the index of
refraction for the second medium?