1. Refraction

2. 2
NOTE
REFRACTION
the bending of light at the boundary of two transparent substances (or “media”)
occurs because different materials slow the speed of passing light at different rates
e.g. the speed of light in glass is less than the speed of light in air
Light travels fastest in a vacuum at 3.00 x 108 ms-1.
We’ll assume air is approximately the same as a vacuum.

3. LIGHT SPEED IN DIFFERENT MEDIA3
FYI
LIGHT SPEED IN DIFFERENT MEDIA
MEDIUM
SPEED (km/s)
air
ice
water
vegetable oil
glass
ruby
diamond

4. INDEX OF REFRACTION (n)4
NOTE
INDEX OF REFRACTION (n)
number which indicates how much the speed of light will decrease when entering a certain medium
i.e. it is impossible for light to move at top speed when particles get in the way
the larger the “n”, the more the medium decreases the speed of light
since speed of light is fastest in the vacuum of space (where there are very few particles), n = 1.00 (no units)
speed of light in vacuum (c)
Index of Refraction (n) =
speed of light in medium (v)

5. n FOR SELECTED MEDIA vacuum 1.00 air 1.0003 CO2 gas 1.0005 water 1.33
NOTE
n FOR SELECTED MEDIA
vacuum 1.00
air
CO2 gas
water
alcohol 1.36
Pyrex glass 1.47
Plexiglas 1.49
table salt 1.51
flint glass 1.61
sapphire 1.77
cubic zirconia 2.16
diamond 2.42
gallium phosphide 3.50

6. Index of Refraction Trends
The materials in which light travels fastest are the least optically dense materials.
The materials in which light travels slowest are the most optically dense materials.
As the index of refraction value increases, the optical density increases, and the speed of light in that material decreases.

7. 7
FYI
LESS DENSE
TOWARDS NORMAL
MORE DENSE
When light travels from a less dense medium to a more dense medium it travels towards the normal

8. 8
FYI
MORE DENSE
AWAY FROM NORMAL
LESS DENSE
When light travels from a more dense medium to a less dense medium it bends away from the normal

9. “Broken Pencil”
What happens when a pencil is moved across the middle of a glass of water?
Why is this phenomenon observed?
How does the refraction of light cause the pencil to appear fatter and shifted to the side?

10. Broken Pencil Conclusion
Answer: The light rays leaving the pencil are broken at the water surface. Our eye is unaware of this, so it sees the rays running straight forward. So we think the pencil lies in the extension of the straight line from our eyes

11. 𝑣 1 𝑣 2 = 𝜆 1 𝜆 2 = 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑖 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑅 = 𝑛 2 𝑛 1 Snell’s Law
Snell was a wave theorist and he discovered that the bending of light followed a pattern:
𝑣 1 𝑣 2 = 𝜆 1 𝜆 2 = 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑖 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑅 = 𝑛 2 𝑛 1
Where i is the angle of incidence and R is the angle of refraction, v is the speed of light, λ is the wavelength and n is the index of refraction.

12. Examples
1) When light passes from air into water at an angle of 60 from the normal, what is the angle of refraction?

13. Examples
2) When light passes from water into a diamond at an angle of 45 from the normal, what is the angle of refraction?

14. Examples
3) A ray of light approaches a jar of honey at an angle of 30. If the angle of refraction is 19.5, what is the refractive index of honey?

15. Examples
4) The refractive index of the lens in the human eye is If a ray of light goes from the air into the lens at an angle of 55, what is the angle of refraction?

16. Examples
5) A block of amber is placed in water and a laser beam travels from the water through the amber. The angle of incidence is 35 while the angle of refraction is 24. What is the index of refraction of amber?

17. Examples
6) When light passes from air into water at an angle of 30 from the normal, what is the angle of refraction?

18. Examples
7) A red laser beam travels from flint glass into lemon oil. The angle of incidence is 40 and the angle of refraction is 44.4. What is the refractive index of lemon oil?

19. Examples
8) In an experiment, a block of cubic zirconia is placed in water. A laser beam is passed from the water through the cubic zirconia. The angle of incidence is 50, and the angle of refraction is 27. What is the index of refraction of cubic zirconia?

20. Critical Angle and TIR
A special angle exists when light moves from a more dense to a less dense medium.
As the angle of refraction moves away from the normal, the critical angle yields an angle of refraction of 90 degrees!
The is the property that allows total internal reflection to occur, which is used in fibre optics.
If the critical angle is exceeded, the light ray reflects and obeys the law of reflection: i = r

21. Example
Determine the critical angle of diamond (n = 2.42).

22. Let’s See it Again!
C_0&NR=1