Refraction Flashcards
What is refraction?
When waves cross a boundary that causes a change in speed and wavelength. It depends on the refractive index of substances.
Why is the normal line drawn?
To measure the angles of incidence and refraction
Why does the light ray change direction when it hits a denser medium?
A corner of the ray hits the medium first. This means one corner slows down while the rest of the ray keeps moving, so the ray bends.
What does Snell’s Law state?
The angle of incidence is larger than the angle of refraction when light moves into a substance that is optically denser, a substance in which it travels slower.
What is the refractive index of a substance?
How much the substance bends a light ray.
If light enters a substance that is less dense, which way will it bend in relation to the normal?
Away from the normal
