Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Comments on HW - Refraction

There are a few concepts that are not clear:

(a) Light bends towards the normal when it moves from a air to water
Optical density OR refractive index of water is HIGHER than that of air
n=1 for air, n=1.33 for water

(b) Light bends away from the normal when it moves from water to air

(c) Critical angle is a special property of a glass-to-air OR water-to-air transition of light
When the angle of incidence is greater than the critical angle, there will be only total internal reflection
When the angle of incidence is smaller than the critical angle, there will be NO total internal reflection
Specifically, light rays will be refracted (pass through) as well as reflected.

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