Refraction

Here's an example for a phenomena about refraction in real life

The straw seems to be bent in the water.

Here's what happens to light in a refraction

The light rays slows down an changed direction in the water.

So, remember:

In a refraction, the light changes speed when it enter a another a new medium from another. As a result, it bends.

Snell's law

For the relationship between the angle of incidence and the angle of refraction, we have "snell's law", which is also called "the law o refraction".

Technics terms:

• θ1: Angle of incidence
• θ: Angle of refraction
• v: velocity
• n: Refractive index

Refractive index

The refractive index is a measure of how much light slows down when it goes into a new medium, which is represented by "n".

Absolute refractive index

Absolute is the refractive index of a medium in vacuum.

The formula for it is:

relative refractive index

The relative refractive index is used when the first medium is not vacuum.

The formula for it is:

Here's a table for the absolute refractive indices of different materials.