Physics 08
Next, is refraction.

We just finished the topic on refraction today so it is quite fresh in my mind.

Refraction is the bending of light due to the change of direction.

Usually, refraction takes place in the change of mediums when the speed of light travels from a less dense to a more dense or a more dense to a less dense place. Because of this, the speed of light will change due to the different mediums.

So, when light is traveling from a less dense medium to a more dense medium, say from air to water, the light ray will get refracted. The light ray will bend towards the normal when it enters the more dense medium, and when it enters the less dense medium, the speed of light will increase, causing the refracted ray to bend away from the normal.


Hence, to conclude: Refraction is the bending of a wave when it enters a medium where it's speed is different. The refraction of light when it passes from a fast medium to a slow medium bends the light ray toward the normal to the boundary between the two media. The amount of bending depends on the indices of refraction of the two media and is described quantitatively by Snell's Law.


reference: My brain, textbook, http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/Hbase/geoopt/refr.html