To Physics Journal

Reflection and Refraction in Different Mediums

Received: 02-Aug-2021;Accepted Date: Sep 10, 2021; Published: 23-Sep-2021

Introduction

When light rays reflect off a surface, migrate from one transparent medium to another, or travel through a medium whose composition is constantly changing, they change direction. The angle of the reflected ray is equal to the angle of the incident beam when reflected from a flat surface, according to the law of reflection. The incidence and reflection angles are equal, and the incident and reflected rays are in the same plane as the normal.

Snell’s law can readily be used to establish the basic characteristics of refraction. The difference in the two indices of refraction determines how much a light ray bends as it crosses a border between two mediums. The ray of light is bent toward the normal when it passes through a denser substance. Light that emerges horizontally from a denser medium, on the other hand, is twisted away from the normal. There is no change in the direction of the light as it enters the second medium if the incident beam is perpendicular to the boundary (that is, equal to the normal).

A source of straight waves is created when a linear object attached to an oscillator swings back and forth within the water. The crests and troughs of these straight waves alternate. The crests are the black lines stretching over the paper, and the troughs are the light lines, as seen on the sheet of paper beneath the tank.

Refraction

The phenomenon of refraction occurs when light passes diagonally across the interface between two media of different densities, causing the wave to be deflected. It refers to a change in the transmission medium that causes a change in the direction and speed of a light wave beam. The ratio of the angle of incidence to the angle of refraction is known as the refractive index. In the new medium, it determines the speed of a ray of light. This means that the slower the speed of light is when the medium is denser, and vice versa.

The bending of light beams as they pass from one medium to another is known as refraction. This happens on transparent surfaces that allow the beam to bend to another medium. Only one type of refraction exists. Light changes its direction, or goes from one medium to another, throughout this process. In any two given medium, the ratio of the sine of the angle of incidence to the sine of the angle of refraction remains constant.

Conclusion

At the interface of any two mediums, the incident ray, refracted ray, and normal ray all fall into the same plane. The apparent bending of an item partially submerged in water, as well as mirages seen in a hot, sandy desert, are examples of refraction based phenomena. The ability of lenses to focus a beam of light onto a single point is also dependent on visible light refraction.

The object under the microscope is illuminated by a mirror in a microscope. A huge parabolic mirror is used in an astronomical reflecting telescope to collect faint light from distant stars. For many purposes, such as magnification, a lens employs refraction to generate an image of an object.

Acknowledgement

The authors are grateful to the journal editor and therefore the anonymous reviewers for his or her helpful comments and suggestions.

Conflict of Interests

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this text.