Explain why light bends when it passes from one medium to another. Is there any

Question

Explain why light bends when it passes from one medium to another.

Is there any angle at which light does not bend when it goes from air into glass? Explain.

Consider the case when light passes from one medium into another medium that has a lower index of refraction, for instance, from glass to water. Is there an angle of incidence for which the refracted angle is 90 degrees? If there is, derive an expression for this angle in terms of two indices of refraction.

Using the apparatus in this experiment, can you determine the velocity of light in water directly? indirectly? Explain fully. (Cenco refraction apparatus)

Will there be any refraction of light waves if the metal slit is placed on the rear of the glass plate directly behind the etched line on the front plate?

Explanation / Answer

Refraction is the bending of the path of a light wave as it passes from one material into another material. The refraction occurs at the boundary and is caused by a change in the speed of the light wave upon crossing the boundary. The tendency of a ray of light to bend one direction or another is dependent upon whether the light wave speeds up or slows down upon crossing the boundary. The speed of a light wave is dependent upon the optical density of the material through which it moves. For this reason, the direction that the path of a light wave bends depends on whether the light wave is traveling from a more dense (slow) medium to a less dense (fast) medium or from a less dense medium to a more dense medium.

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