Let\'s apply Snell\'s law to the refraction of light across a water-air interfac
ID: 1520809 • Letter: L
Question
Let's apply Snell's law to the refraction of light across a water-air interface. Suppose you kneel beside the fishpond in your backyard and look at one of the fish. You see it by sunlight that reflects off the fish and refracts at the water-air interface. If the light from the fish to your eye strikes the water-air interface at an angle of 60.0 to the interface, what is the angle of refraction of the ray in the air? SET UP (Figure 1) shows our sketch. We take the water as medium a and the air as medium b; n_a = 1.33 and n_b = 1.00. Note that theta_n is 30.0degree, not 60.0degree! We use Snell's law to find theta_b. You are spearfishing from a boat and eye a large bass swimming below. It is apparently at an angle of 40.0 0 from the normal. At what angle should you aim your spear? Express your answer in degrees to three significant figures.Explanation / Answer
N1 Sin(theta)1 = N2Sin(theta)2
Sin(theta)1 = Sin(40)/1.33
Theat1 = 28.9o
therefore, we should aim at 28.90 to spearing.
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