Refraction Flashcards
1
Q
What is refraction
A
- When a wave changes direction as it passes from one medium to another due to a change in speed
2
Q
What is the connection between the density of the material and the wave speed
A
- Waves travel at different speeds in different mediums
- The denser the material, the slower the wave
3
Q
What is the emergent ray
A
- The ray emerging out of the medium after refraction
4
Q
What changes along with wave speed
A
- As the wave speed changes in different mediums, we know that the wavelength also changes
- Wave speed = frequency X wavelength
- Frequency never changes
- An increase in wave speed means an increase in wavelength
5
Q
What happens if we pass white light through a triangular prism
A
- White light is made up of all different coloured lights
- Different coloured lights have different wavelengths
- Different wavelengths means different frequencies
- This means that different coloured lights will refract in different angles
- All of the different coloured lights will be split up