REFRACTION OF LIGHT

CHAPTER 2
PHYSICS
Fundamental Questions
Q1 What is Refraction?

Ans) When light travels from one transparent medium to another transparent
medium of a different density, it bends from its original path at the surface of
separation of two media. This phenomenon of bending of light is called refraction.

Q2 What are Laws of Refraction?

Ans) Refraction of light is governed by two basic laws. These are:
i) The incident ray, the normal at the point of incidence and the refracted
ray all lay on the same plane.
ii) For a given pair of media of different densities, the ratio of the sine of
angle of incidence to the sine of angle of refraction is always constant,
that is, : sin i/sin r = constant
Q3 What is Snell’s Law?
Ans) For a given pair of media of different densities, the ratio of the sine of
angle of incidence to the sine of angle of refraction is always constant, that
is, : sin i/sin r = constant
This law was first stated by a Dutch astronomer, Willebord Snellius, and is
therefore known as Snell’ law.
Q4 What is Refractive Index?
Ans) The value of constant is fixed for a set of two transparent media and
depends on their nature. It is called the refractive index of the second
medium with respect to the first and is represented by the greek letter “μ”
(mu) .Refractive index is a ratio of two similar quantities and thus has no
units.
Refractive index is also defined as the ration of the speed of light in vacuum
to the speed of light in the given medium.
𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝐿𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑉𝑎𝑐𝑢𝑢𝑚
μ=
𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑚𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑢𝑚
Q5 What are the rules of Refraction?
Ans) The Rules of Fraction are:
 REFRACTION OF LIGHT
CHAPTER 2
PHYSICS
i) A ray of light travelling obliquely from a rarer medium to a denser
medium (for example, from air to water) bends towards the normal at the
surface of separation of the two media. In such cases , the angle of
refraction is less than the angle of incidence.
ii) A ray of light travelling obliquely from a denser medium to a rarer
medium bends away from the normal at the surface of separation of the
two media. In such cases, the angle of refraction is more than the angle of
incidence.
iii) When a ray of light strikes the surface of separation of the two media at
right angle, that is the incident ray strikes the surface normally, it travels
along the same straight line path, without any deviation.
iv) If the path of light is reversed, it retraces its path.
Q6 What is a Prism? Define angle of Prism?
Ans) A prism is a glass block that has a triangular cross section formed by
three rectangular faces.
The rectangular faces are the refracting surfaces and the angle made by any
two adjacent surfaces is called angle of prism.
Q7 What is Dispersion?
Ans) The phenomenon of splitting of white light in to its constituent colors
is called dispersion. Dispersion occurs only when lights of different colors
move in different directions after refraction. It was first studied by Sir Isaac
Newton in 1666.
Q8 What is a Spectrum?
Ans) The band of seven component colors of white light can be obtained on
a screen, in fixed order. The order of the seven colors is violet, indigo, blue,
green, yellow, orange and red (VIBGYOR).This band of seven colors is
called spectrum. In a spectrum, the colors are seen in the reverse order, that
is, red is at the top and violet at the bottom.
Q9 Why does dispersion occur?
Ans) Dispersion of light occurs because the refractive index of a medium
with respect to another medium is different for different colors. Red color
deviates (or bends) the least, whereas violets deviates the most.
Q10 How does a rainbow form?
REFRACTION OF LIGHT
CHAPTER 2
PHYSICS
Ans) One of nature's most splendid masterpieces is the rainbow. A rainbow
is an excellent demonstration of the dispersion of light and one more piece
of evidence that visible light is composed of a spectrum of wavelengths,
each associated with a distinct color. To view a rainbow, your back must be
to the sun as you look at an approximately 40 degree angle above the ground
into a region of the atmosphere with suspended droplets of water or even a
light mist. Each individual droplet of water acts as a tiny prism that both
disperses the light and reflects it back to your eye. As you sight into the sky,
wavelengths of light associated with a specific color arrive at your eye from
the collection of droplets. The net effect of the vast array of droplets is that a
circular arc of ROYGBIV is seen across the sky.