Refraction Flashcards
What happens to the speed of a wave when it crosses a boundary between 2 materials?
It changes
What happens to a wave when it travels along the normal to a boundary?
it changes speed but is not refracted.
What is refraction?
when a wave changes direction as it crosses a boundary
How does the direction of a wave change when it hits a boundary at an angle?
it changes direction and undergoes refraction
What determines the amount of refraction a wave undergoes at a boundary?
how much the wave speeds up or slows down, typically influenced by the density of the materials.
What is optical density, and how does it affect the speed of light through a material?
-Optical density measures how quickly light travels through a material.
-Higher optical density results in slower light waves.
What happens to the wavelength and frequency of a wave when it is refracted?
its wavelength changes while the frequency remains the same.
What do ray diagrams show, and what are rays in these diagrams?
-Ray diagrams show the path of a wave -rays represents the direction of wave travel
How do you construct a ray diagram for a refracted light ray?
1)Start by drawing the boundary between the two materials and the normal perpendicular to the boundary.
2)The angle between the incident ray and the normal is the angle of incidence, which must be drawn carefully with a protractor if given
3)After drawing the incident ray and normal, draw the refracted ray on the other side of the boundary.
4)The angle between the refracted ray and the normal is the angle of refraction. If the second material is optically denser, the refracted ray bends towards the normal, resulting in a smaller angle of refraction compared to the angle of incidence. If the second material is less optically dense, the angle of refraction is larger than the angle of incidence.
What is a wave font?
a line representing all points on a wave that are in the same position after a given number of wavelengths
What do wave font diagrams show?
the behavior of waves at boundaries
What happens to a wave front when a wave crosses a boundary at an angle?
only part of the wave front initially crosses the boundary
How does the speed difference between parts of a wave front cause refraction?
-The part of the wave front traveling into a denser material moves slower, causing it to lag behind the rest of the wave front.
-This speed difference leads to the bending of the wave (refraction)
