A ray goes from air into glass (n = 1.5).
Contributed by StemPy LabTry it on paper first. A hint, the key idea and the worked solution are here when you need them.
A ray goes from air into glass (). The angle of incidence is . Find the angle of refraction, and say by how many degrees the ray turns at the boundary.
Need a reminder? The key ideaShow
Light bends because its speed changes. Into an optically denser material it bends toward the normal; into a rarer one, away from it. Snell's law: is a constant for two materials; from air into a material of index , .
The worked solution
Have you tried it?
Work it out on paper first. It is fine to get stuck or make a mistake: that is how we learn. When you are ready, go through the solution one step at a time, and check each step against your own.
Step 1. The sine. .
Step 2. The angle. .
Step 3. The turn. , toward the normal.
Answer: ; the ray turns by .
Check. Into a denser material, must be smaller than . It is.
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