Refraction of Light
Practice 1
Refraction of Light
• Refraction is the bending of light as it
passes from one medium to another.
• The light ray may change direction.
• Refraction happens at the boundary
between the two materials.
Refraction of Light
• The ray approaching the
boundary is the incident ray.
• The ray leaving the boundary is
the refracted ray.
• The angle of incident, i, and the
angle of refraction, r, are
measured to the normal drawn
at the point where the rays hit
the boundary.
Changing Direction
• The ray bends towards the
normal when entering glass.
• The ray bends away from the
normal when leaving the glass.
• Note that when the ray passes
through a parallel-sided block of
glass, it returns to its original
direction of travel shifted slightly.
Changing Direction
• A ray of light may strike a surface at
an angle of incidence of 00.
• In this case it does not bend and
simply passes straight through in the
same direction.
• When light rays pass through
perpendicular to the boundary, there
is no bending.
Explaining Refraction
• Light is refracted because it
travels at different speeds in
different materials.
• It travels faster in a vacuum and
more slowly in glass of water.
• At the boundary, the part of the
light ray that enters the glass
first slows down while the other
part keeps moving quickly
causing a change in direction.
Refractive Index
• The refractive index of a material is the ratio of the speed of a light in
a vacuum to that of another medium.
• E.g. If the speed of light is halved when it enters a material, the
refractive index is 2.
Calculating Refractive Index – Snell’s Law
• n1 is the refractive index of the first medium.
• n2 is the refractive index of the second medium.
• i is the angle of incidence.
• r is the angle of refraction.
Example
A ray of light hits the surface of
water at an angle of incidence of
300. It is refracted at an angle of 220.
Find the refractive index, n, of
300 water.
water
220
Total Internal Reflection
• Sometimes, not all light is
refracted.
• Some light can be reflected back
from the surface inside the glass.
• This is called internal reflection.
• Internal reflection is dependent on
the angle of incidence.
Total Internal Reflection
• In a, the angle of incidence is
small so most light emerges
from the block.
• In b, the angle of incidence
increases so more light is
reflected inside the block.
• In c, the refracted ray emerges
along and parallel to the surface
of the block. No refracted rays
emerge. This angle is called the
critical angle.
Total Internal Reflection
• The critical angle is the angle of
incidence inside an optically
more dense medium at which
light rays emerge along the
surface of the medium. Most of
the light is reflected inside the
block.
• In d, the angle of incidence is
even greater and all light is
reflected inside the block. No
refracted rays emerge.
Total Internal Reflection
• When the angle of incidence is
greater than the critical angle,
the light is entirely reflected
inside the glass.
• This is known as total internal
reflection (TIR).
Critical Angle and Refractive Index
• n is the refractive index of the medium.
• c is the critical angle (angle of incidence where light rays emerge
along the surface of the medium).
Optical Fibres
• Inside a fibre, light travels along by
total internal reflection.
• Each time it strikes the inside of the
fibre, its angle of incidence is
greater than the critical angle.
• This means no light is lost as it is
reflected.