Refraction of Light

Refraction is the bending of a wave when it enters a medium where its speed is different.
This bending by refraction makes it possible for us to have lenses, magnifying glasses, prisms
and rainbows. Even our eyes depend upon this bending of light. Without refraction, we wouldn’t
be able to focus light onto our retina.
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.

Refraction is responsible for

image formation by lenses and
the eye.

The bending of refraction can be visualized in terms of Huygens' principle. As the speed of
light is reduced in the slower medium, the wavelength is shortened proportionately. The
frequency is unchanged; it is a characteristic of the source of the light and unaffected by medium
changes.

Refraction of light in water

When light travels from air into water, it slows down, causing it to change direction slightly. This
change of direction is called refraction. When light enters a more dense substance (higher
refractive index), it ‘bends’ more towards the normal line.
The amount of bending depends on two things:
Change in speed – if a substance causes the light to speed up or slow down more, it will refract
(bend) more.
Angle of the incident ray – if the light is entering the substance at a greater angle, the amount of
refraction will also be more noticeable. On the other hand, if the light is entering the new substance
from straight on (at 90° to the surface), the light will still slow down, but it won’t change direction
at all.
Types of Refraction
• Refraction from denser to the rarer medium: In this case, the relative refractive index
is less than 1 and the angle of incidence is less than the angle of refraction, that is, the
refracted ray is 10 to shift away from the normal. For example: The refraction from glass
to air.
• Refraction from rarer to the denser medium: In this case, the relative refractive index
is greater than 1 as well as the angle of incidence is greater than the angle of refraction.
Thus, the refracted ray tends to shift towards the normal. For example: Refraction of light
in water from the air.

Index of Refraction
The index of refraction is defined as the speed of light in vacuum divided by the speed of light in
the medium.

The indices of refraction of some common substances are given below with a more complete
description of the indices for optical glasses given elsewhere. The values given are approximate
and do not account for the small variation of index with light wavelength which is
called dispersion.
Material n Material n
Vacuum 1.000 Ethyl alcohol 1.362
Air 1.000277 Glycerine 1.473
Water 4/3 Ice 1.31
Carbon disulfide 1.63 Polystyrene 1.59
 Methylene iodide 1.74 Crown glass 1.50-1.62
Diamond 2.417 Flint glass 1.57-1.75

Snell's Law
Snell's Law relates the indices of refraction n of the two media to the directions of propagation in
terms of the angles to the normal. Snell's law can be derived from Fermat's Principle or from the
Fresnel Equations.

If the incident medium has the larger index of refraction, then the angle with the normal is
increased by refraction. The larger index medium is commonly called the "internal" medium, since
air with n=1 is usually the surrounding or "external" medium. You can calculate the condition for
total internal reflection by setting the refracted angle = 90° and calculating the incident angle.
Since you can't refract the light by more than 90°, all of it will reflect for angles of incidence
greater than the angle which gives refraction at 90°.

Problem (1): A beam of flashlight traveling in air incident on a surface of a thin glass at an
angle of 38o with the normal. The index of refraction of the glass is 1.56. What is the angle of
refraction?
Solution: When a beam of light strikes the boundary of two different media such as air-glass, part
of it is reflected, and another part is refracted. That part that enters on the other side of the
boundary is called refracted ray. The angle that this ray makes with the vertical to the boundary is
also called the angle of refraction.
In this example problem, the light is initially in the air with an index of refraction ni=1.00 and
strikes the boundary surface separating air and glass at θi=38o. This is the angle of incidence. The
subscript i denotes the incident.
Another different medium is glass with n=1.56. The refracted ray lies in it with an unknown θr
=? which should be found using Snell's law of refraction.
Before going further and solve the problem, we expect that since the light beam enters from a low
index of refraction medium into a one with a high index of refraction so the refracted ray should
be bent toward the normal.

Problem (2): A boy is in a pool and shines a flashlight toward the level of it at a 35o angle to
the vertical. At what angle does the flashlight beam leave the pool? (the index of refraction
of glass is 1.33).
Solution: As before, a beam of light strikes the surface boundary of two different media so to
find the refracted angle in the air we must use Snell's law.
Contrary to the previous problems, here the light beam initially traveling in glass and entering the
air with a lower index of refraction so we expect that the angle of refraction in the air bent away
from the vertical.
In other words, we expect that the angle of refraction is greater than angle of incidence i.e. θr >θi.
Now, we calculate it by applying Snell's law formula as below:

Problem (3): A slab of glass has an index of refraction of 1.5 and is submerged in water
with n=1.33n=1.33. A beam of monochrome light is incident on the slab and is refracted.
(a) Find the angle of refraction if the angle of incidence is 30o.
(b) Now, assume that the light is initially in the glass and incident on the glass-water surface.
What is the refraction of light?
Solution: (a) Light strikes at an angle of θi=30 o in the water ni=1.33 on the glass at
point A with nr=1.5. Applying Snell's law of refraction, nisinθi=nrsinθr, at the surface that the
light enters the glass and solving for unknown refracted angle we get
Effects & Examples of Refraction
As mentioned before, refraction can be witnessed in terms of optics as well as technology. The
most common examples of refraction of light in our daily lives are:
• Stars twinkle due to refraction of their light.
• Mirage as well as looming are the optical illusions caused by refraction of light.
• Light in swimming pool refracts and gives it a shallower look when the straight light strikes
it at the bottom and bends at again the water surface causing refraction of light.
• The rainbow formation as well as prism are also major examples of refraction, so is the
prism.
Applications of Refraction of Light
The refraction is applicable in optics as well as technology. However, it mainly depends on the
type of spherical lens, be it convex or concave.
1. A lens is used for refraction in order to form an image like magnification.
2. Another application of refraction is VIBGYOR which is how a white light passes through
a glass prism splits it into the spectrum of colours.
3. The twinkling of stars, mirage is the prime example of atmospheric refraction.
Causes of Refraction of Light
The refraction of light happens when:
• The refracted ray’s frequency remains the same.
• The intensity of refracted rays is less than an incident ray due to partial reflection and
absorption of light at the interface.
• In two different media, when the light crosses the boundary, the deviation of light takes
place. It occurs refraction wherein the wavelength of light and its speed varies.
Examples of Refraction of Light in Real Life
To understand the phenomena of refraction of light in more detail, here are some common daily
life examples-
• The formation of a rainbow is termed as one of the most perfect examples of refraction as
the sun rays bend through the raindrops which ultimately result in a rainbow.
• Mirage as well as looming are the optical illusions which occur due to the phenomena of
refraction of light.
How do mirages form?
Normally, light waves from the sun travel straight through the atmosphere to your eye. But,
light travels at different speeds through hot air and cold air.
Mirages happen when the ground is very hot and the air is cool. The hot ground warms a
layer of air just above the ground.
When the light moves through the cold air and into the layer of hot air it is refracted (bent).
 A layer of very warm air near the ground refracts the light from the sky nearly into a U-
shaped bend. Our brain thinks the light has travelled in a straight line.

Our brain doesn't see the image as bent light from the sky. Instead, our brain thinks the
light must have come from something on the ground.

• Whenever a white light passes through a glass prism it splits into seven colour components
because of refraction of light.
• Whenever you felt that the swimming pool looked shallow then its actual depth, it was all
because of refraction as the light coming from the bottom of the pool bends at the surface.
Refraction in Lenses
Lenses are of two kinds:
Convex
A convex lens is the type of lens that is used in making magnifying glasses. It is thicker in the
middle and thinner at the edges. A convex lens is also known as a Converging Lens.
 Refraction in a Diverging Lens
Concave
A concave lens is thinner in the middle and thicker at the edges. The refraction of light occurs
outwards as it enters a concave lens and then as it leaves it too. A concave lens is known as
a Diverging Lens.

Refraction in a Converging Lens

LENS EQUATION:
The lens equation expresses the quantitative relationship between the object distance (d o), the
image distance (di), and the focal length (f). The equation is stated as follows:
The magnification equation relates the ratio of the image distance and object distance to the ratio
of the image height (hi) and object height (ho). The magnification equation is stated as follows:

These two equations can be combined to yield information about the image distance and image
height if the object distance, object height, and focal length are known.
Sign Conventions
The sign conventions for the given quantities in the lens equation and magnification equations are
as follows:
• f is + if the lens is a double convex lens (converging lens)
• f is - if the lens is a double concave lens (diverging lens)
• di is + if the image is a real image and located on the opposite side of the lens.
• di is - if the image is a virtual image and located on the object's side of the lens.
• hi is + if the image is an upright image (and therefore, also virtual)
• hi is - if the image an inverted image (and therefore, also real)

Problem #1:
Suppose a student who was farsighted wears glasses that allows him to read at a distance
of 20cm from his eyes to the book. His near-point distance is 63cm. If his glasses
are 1.5cm from his eyes, what is the refractive power of his glasses lenses?

2. A 4.00-cm tall light bulb is placed a distance of 35.5 cm from a diverging lens having a focal
length of -12.2 cm. Determine the image distance and the image size.
Like all problems in physics, begin by the identification of the known information.
ho = 4.00 cm do = 35.5 cm f = -12.2 cm
Next identify the unknown quantities that you wish to solve for.
 di = ??? hi = ???
To determine the image distance, the lens equation will have to be used. The following lines
represent the solution to the image distance; substitutions and algebraic steps are shown.
1/f = 1/do + 1/di
1/(-12.2 cm) = 1/(35.5 cm) + 1/di
-0.0820 cm-1 = 0.0282 cm-1 + 1/di
-0.110 cm-1 = 1/di
di = -9.08 cm
The numerical values in the solution above were rounded when written down, yet unrounded
numbers were used in all calculations. The final answer is rounded to the third significant digit.
To determine the image height, the magnification equation is needed. Since three of the four
quantities in the equation (disregarding the M) are known, the fourth quantity can be calculated.
The solution is shown below.
hi/ho = - di/do
hi /(4.00 cm) = - (-9.08 cm)/(35.5 cm)
hi = - (4.00 cm) * (-9.08 cm)/(35.5 cm)
hi = 1.02 cm
The negative values for image distance indicate that the image is located on the object's side of the
lens. As mentioned, a negative or positive sign in front of the numerical value for a physical
quantity represents information about direction. In the case of the image distance, a negative value
always indicates the existence of a virtual image located on the object's side of the lens. In the case
of the image height, a positive value indicates an upright image.

Power of a lens
If a lens has a shorter focal length it is said to be more powerful. The power of a lens is defined
as the reciprocal of the focal length. Lens power is measured in dioptres (D).

Converging (convex) lenses have positive focal lengths, so they also have positive power values.

Diverging (concave) lenses have negative focal lengths, so they also have negative power values.

Example 1
What is the power of a convex lens with a focal length of 25 cm?

First convert focal length into metres: f = 25 cm = 0.25 m

Example 2
A lens has a power of -3.33 dioptres. Calculate the focal length and state what type of lens it is.

Refraction in Spectrum
This type of refraction talks about how a white light passes through a prism and results in each
colour refracting at a very different angle. Violet colour is on the extreme end of this spectrum
while Red at the least. Therefore, a prism can be used in order to depict the VIBGOYR colours in
the spectrum.

Refraction of light in Spectrum gives evidence that white light is made up of the colours of the
Rainbow. It can be easily remembered like this:
• V – Violet
• I – Indigo
• B – Blue
• G – Green
• Y – Yellow
• O – Orange
• R – Red
The explanation behind these colours breaking out when they pass through the prism is because
light is made of up waves.
• Since the wavelengths of the red light and violet light are different from each other, red
light having a longer wavelength as compared to violet light, their refractive index is
different from each other
 • The refractive index of violet light is 1.532
• The refractive index of red light is 1.513
• This slight difference is sufficient for the shorter wavelengths of light to be refracted
more.
RED SHIFT VS BLUE SHIFT
Redshift and blueshift describe the change in the frequency of a light wave depending on
whether an object is moving towards or away from us. When an object is moving away
from us, the light from the object is known as redshift, and when an object is moving
towards us, the light from the object is known as blueshift.

Astronomers use redshift and blueshift to deduce how far an object is away from Earth, the
concept is key to charting the universe's expansion.

To understand redshift and blueshift, first, you need to remember that visible light is a
spectrum of color each with a different wavelength. According to NASA, violet has the
shortest wavelength at around 380 nanometers, and red has the longest at around 700
nanometers. When an object (e.g. a galaxy) moves away from us it is 'red-shifted' as the
wavelength of light is 'stretched' so the light is seen as 'shifted' towards to red end of the
spectrum, according to ESA.

REFERENCES:
https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/
https://leverageedu.com/
https://physexams.com/
https://www.physicsclassroom.com/