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physdoc
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why does light refract toward the normal when passing through glass?
Do you mean to say that sometimes the light would not be refracted toward the normal, and sometimes it would, depending on the indices of refraction?robphy said:It depends on the ratio of the indices-of-refraction.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snell's_law
Here's a neat simulation:
https://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/bending-light
I answered it: because it covers less distance in the same time.physdoc said:The light slows down, but how can it be explained that this slowing down causes it to be refracted toward the normal?
Yes... check out the "wave" (as opposed to the "ray") version of the PhET simulation.physdoc said:I answered it: because it covers less distance in the same time.
When light travels through a medium, such as air, water, or glass, it interacts with the molecules of that medium. This interaction causes the direction of the light to change, resulting in refraction.
The normal is an imaginary line perpendicular to the surface of a medium where the light ray enters or exits. It is used as a reference point to measure the angle of incidence and angle of refraction.
The denser the medium, the slower the speed of light. This change in speed causes the angle of refraction to change as the light passes through the medium, resulting in refraction towards the normal.
As light enters a denser medium, its speed decreases and the wavelength becomes shorter. This causes the light to bend towards the normal in order to maintain the same frequency and velocity.
Yes, light can refract away from the normal when it enters a less dense medium. As the speed of light increases, the wavelength becomes longer, causing the light to bend away from the normal in order to maintain the same frequency and velocity.