Refracted Light

When light traveling in one transparent medium encounters a boundary with a second transparent medium e g air and glass a portion of the light is reflected and a portion is transmitted into the second medium.

Refracted light. This slight difference is enough for the shorter wavelengths of light to be refracted more. In physics refraction is the change in direction of a wave passing from one medium to another or from a gradual change in the medium. The angle between the normal and the refracted light ray is known as the angle of refraction. Violet light slows down even more than red light so it is refracted at a slightly greater angle.

The refractive index of violet light is 1 532. As the transmitted light moves into the second medium it changes its direction of travel. 1 refraction of light is the most commonly observed phenomenon but other waves such as sound waves and water waves also experience refraction. The opposite occurs when light moves from a more dense to a less dense substance.

If light enters a medium from another substance at a 90 degree angle it does not refract and passes right through. To alter or distort as if by refraction. The refractive index of red light in glass is 1 513. That is it is refracted.

A ray of light being refracted in a plastic block.