22 Refraction of Light
22 Refraction of Light
Specific Objectives
• By the end of this topic the leaner should be able to:
a) Describe simple experiments to illustrate refraction of light
b) State the laws of refraction of light
c) Verify Snell’s law
d) Define refractive index
e) Determine experimentally the refractive index
f) Describe experiment to illustrate dispersion of white light
g) Explain total internal reflection and its effects
h) State the applications of total internal reflection
i) Solve numerical problems involving refractive index and critical angle.
Content
1. Refraction of light – laws of refraction (experimental treatment
required)
2. Determination of refractive index
Snell’s law
Real/ apparent depth
Critical angle
3. Dispersion of white light (Experimental treatment is required)
4. Total internal reflection and its effects: critical angle
5. Applications of total internal reflection
Prism periscope
Optical fibre
6. Problems on refractive index and critical angle
Definition of Refraction of Light
• Refraction of light refers to the change in direction of light at the
interface as it travels from one medium to another at an angle, for
example, a ray of light from air to water. The cause of refraction of
light is the change in velocity of light as it travels from one medium to
another. The change in velocity is due to variation of optical density of
media.
A ray that travels perpendicular to interface proceeds across the
interface not deviated since the angle of incidence to the normal is
zero.
• Refraction of light is the reason as to why;
a) a stick appears bent when part of it is in water
b) a coin in a beaker of water appears near the surface than it actually is,
c) a pool of water appears more shallow when viewed more obliquely
etc. (Students to perform this practically)
Optical density (transmission density) and
refraction of light
A ray of light travelling from an optically less dense medium
to an optically denser medium bends towards the normal
after refraction e.g. a ray from air to glass block as in (a)
below. The angle of incidence in this case is greater than
angle of refraction.
A ray of light travelling from an optically dense medium to
an optically less dense medium bends away from the normal
after refraction e.g. a ray from glass to air as in (b) below.
The angle of incidence in this case is less than angle of
refraction.
NB: some media are physically denser but optically less dense than
others e.g. kerosene is physically less dense but optically denser than
water.
Exercise
1. Define the term refraction
2. Draw a diagram to show refraction for a ray of
light across the following boundaries in the order
they appear
a. air- water
b. water- glass
c. glass- air
d. glass- air- water
3. The figure below shows how refraction occurs.
• Re
Example 2
3. Calculate the refractive index for light travelling from glass to air
given that ang = 1.572.
Solution
=11.572=0.6361
1. A ray of light striking a transparent material is refracted as shown below
b) 2n1
2. Calculate the angle of refraction for a ray of light striking an air glass interface
making an angle of 500 with the interface (ang=1.526)
3. State the principle of reversibility of light.
4. Use the information given in the figures (a) and (b) below to
calculate the refractive index anw and the angle
Refractive Index in Terms of Velocity
• Light travels faster in an optically less dense medium than in an
optically denser medium. Consider a ray of light crossing the
boundary from with to with speed, where is greater than as shown
below.
• Refractive index, 1n2 of medium 2 with respect to medium 1 is
given as:
n
1 2
n
1 2
• Absolute refractive indexis the refractive index of the medium
when light is travelling from the vacuum to the medium.
Consider the diagram below;
2. Explain why the light bends when it travels from one medium to
another.
3. The figure below shows a glass prism of refractive index 1.5 with
equilateral triangle cross section. Find the angle of deviation D.
n x 2n3
1 2
n n
3 11 3
n = wna x ang
w g
n ;
w g
n
w g
Example 2
• A ray of light travels from air through multiple layers of transparent media 1, 2
and 3 whose boundaries are parallel as shown in the figure below.
• Calculate :
a) Angle θ
b) The refractive index of
c) Speed of light in speed of light in air)
d) The refractive index of with respect to
Solutions
• 1 3 n = 1n2 x 2n3
• 1n3
Exercise
1. A ray of light travels from air into medium 1 and 2 as shown
Calculate;
a) The refractive index of medium 1
b) Critical angle of medium 1
c) The refractive index of medium 2 relative to medium (1n2)
2. A ray of light from air travels successively through parallel layers of
water, oil, glass and then into air again. The refractive indices of
water, oil, and glass are, and respectively the angle of incidence in air
is 60%
a. Draw a diagram to show how the ray passes through the multiple
layers
b. Calculate:
i. The angle of refraction in water
ii. The angle of incidence at the oil glass interface
Refractive Index in Terms of Real and apparent depth
An object under water or glass block appears to
be nearer the surface than it actually is when
viewed normally or almost normally. This is due
to refraction of light.
Real depth is the actual depth of the object in
the medium while apparent depth is the virtual
depth of the object in the medium. The
difference between real depth and apparent
depth is called vertical displacement.
Real and apparent depth
• Refractive indices of materials can be expressed in terms of real and
apparent depths.
• Condition for Use of the Formula: This formula applies only when the
object is viewed normally.
1. A coin in a glass jar filled with water appears to be 24.0cm from the
surface of water. Calculate:
I. The height of the water in the jar, given that refractive index of
water is.
II. Vertical displacement
Solution
2. Calculate the displacement and apparent depth of the object shown
in the figure below assuming that the object is viewed normally and
boundaries of the media are parallel.
Solution
Exercise
1. A tank full of water appears to be 0.5m deep. If the height of
water in the tank is 1.0m, calculate the refractive index of water.
2. A glass block of thicken 12cm is placed on a mark drawn on a plain
paper. The mark is viewed normally through the glass. Calculate
the apparent depth of the mark hence the vertical displacement
(refractive index of glass =
3. A beaker placed over a coin contains a block of glass of thickeners
12cm. over this block is water of depth 20cm. calculate the vertical
displacement of the coin and hence, its apparent depth if it is
viewed normally. Assume the boundaries of the media are parallel
and take refractive indices of water and glass to be and
respectively
4. A mark on a paper is viewed normally through a rectangular block
of a transparent material as shown below.
5. Calculate critical angle for diamond-water interface (anw = 1.33, and = 2.46)
Effects of Total Internal Reflection
1. Mirage
• Mirage refers to optical illusion of an inverted pool of water
that is caused by total internal reflection of light.
• During a hot day air near the ground is warmer and therefore
physically less dense than air away from the ground.
Therefore on a hot day the refractive index increases
gradually from the ground upwards.
• A ray of light travelling in air from sky to ground undergoes
continuous refraction and finally reflected internally.
• Mirages are also witnessed in very cold regions in which the refractive
index increases gradually from the ground upwards. Images appear
inverted in the sky.
2. Atmospheric Refraction
• This is a phenomenon in which light rays from the sun are refracted
and then reflected internally towards the earth. As a result, the sun is
seen even after it has set or before it rises.
Total Internal Reflection Prisms
• Right-angled isosceles glass or Perspex prisms are used.
I. To turn a ray of light through 900
II. To turn a ray through 1800
III. Inversion with deviation
IV. Inversion without deviation
Applications of Total Internal Reflection
• Note: Prisms are preferred to plane mirrors
for use in periscopes and other optical
instrument because:
I. Mirrors absorb some of the incident light
II. The silvering on mirrors can become
tarnished and peel off
III.Thick mirrors produce multiple images
1. Periscope
• Light is deviated through 900 by first prism before the second prisms
deviates it further through 900 in the opposite direction. An upright
virtual image is formed
2. Optical Fibre
• An optical fibre is a thin flexible glass rod of small diameter in the
order of 10-6m. The central case of the glass is coated with glass of
lower refractive index (cladding)
A ray of light entering the fibre
undergoes total internal reflections on
the boundary of the high and low
refractive index glass. The light therefore
travels through the entire length of the
fibre without any getting lost.
Advantages of optic fibers over ordinary cables.
a) -they have high carrying capacity
b) -they are thinner and lighter
Uses of Optical Fibre
1. Used in medicine to view internal organs of the body.
(endoscopy)
2. Used in telecommunication where they have higher
advantage than ordinary cables since they have
higher carrying capacity, they are thinner and lighter.
Dispersion of White Light
• Dispersion of light is the splitting of white light into its component
colors. .White light is a mixture of seven colors
• The components of white light travel with same velocity in vacuum but their
velocities are not the same in other media.
Cause of Dispersion of White Light
The separation of white light into
constituent colours is due to their different
velocities in a given transparent medium.
The velocity of red is highest while that of
violet is the least. Red colour has longest
wavelength while violet has the least
wavelength
The Rainbow
• Rainbow is a bow-shaped colour band of the visible spectrum seen in
the sky. It is formed when white light from the sun is refracted,
dispersed and totally internally reflected by rain drops
Revision Exercise
1. The diagram below show two prisms
Given that the critical angle of the glass in both prisms is 420 sketch the paths of the two beams of monochromatic light
until they leave the flasks.
2. The figure below show how white light behaves when it is incident on a glass prism.
i. Determine the angle of refraction for the ray shown in the diagram
ii. Determine the angle of incidence for which the angle of refraction is
900 (refractive index of water =1.33)
4. The diagram below shows a ray of light incident on the glass – air
interface from the inside of the glass. The angle of incidence I, is
slightly smaller than the critical angle of glass.