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Snell's Law Sample Problem 1:: Toward The Normal

Snell's law describes how light refracts when passing from one medium to another. It states that the ratio of the sines of the angles of incidence and refraction is equal to the ratio of phase velocities in the two media. The document provides examples of using Snell's law to calculate angles of refraction and reflection when light passes between materials like air and optical fibers. It also gives the definition of refractive index and examples of using it to calculate the speed of light in a medium and the time for light to travel a given distance.

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538 views3 pages

Snell's Law Sample Problem 1:: Toward The Normal

Snell's law describes how light refracts when passing from one medium to another. It states that the ratio of the sines of the angles of incidence and refraction is equal to the ratio of phase velocities in the two media. The document provides examples of using Snell's law to calculate angles of refraction and reflection when light passes between materials like air and optical fibers. It also gives the definition of refractive index and examples of using it to calculate the speed of light in a medium and the time for light to travel a given distance.

Uploaded by

amethyst grande
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Snell’s Law

Sample Problem 1:
Light travels from air into an optical fiber with an index of refraction of 1.44.  (a)  In which
direction does the light bend?  (b)  If the angle of incidence on the end of the fiber is 22 o, what is
the angle of refraction inside the fiber? 

Solution:
(a) Since the light is traveling from a rarer region (lower n) to a denser region (higher n), it will
bend toward the normal.
(b) We will identify air as medium 1 and the fiber as medium 2.  Thus, n1 = 1.00, n2 = 1.44, and
θ/font>1 = 22o.  Snell's Law then becomes
(1.00) sin 22o = 1.44 sin θ2.
sin θ2 = (1.00/1.44) sin 22o = 0.260
θ2 = sin-1 (0.260) = 15o.

Sample Problem 2:
Light traveling through an optical fiber (n=1.44) reaches the end of the fiber and exits into air. 
(a)  If the angle of incidence on the end of the fiber is 30 o, what is the angle of refraction outside
the fiber?  (b)  How would your answer be different if the angle of incidence were 50 o?

Solution:
(a) Since the light is now traveling from the fiber into air, we will call the fiber material 1 and
air material 2.  Thus, n1 = 1.44, n2 = 1.00, and θ1 = 30o.  Snell's Law then becomes
(1.44) sin 30o = 1.00 sin θ2.
sin θ2 = (1.44/1.00) sin 30o = 1.44 (0.500) = 0.720
θ2 = sin-1 (0.720) = 46o.
Notice that this time, the angle of refraction is larger than the angle of incidence.  The light
is bending away from the normal as it enters a rarer material.
(b) Replacing the angle of incidence with 50 o gives
sin θ2 = (1.44/1.00) sin 50o = 1.44 (0.766) = 1.103
This equality cannot be met, so light cannot exit the fiber under these conditions.

Refraction
Sample Problem 1:
The speed of light in an unknown medium is measured to be 2.76 x 10 8 m/s.  (a)  What is the
index of refraction of the medium?  (b) Does it match any of the materials listed in your Table?

Solution:
 
(a) The index is found to be
n = c/v = (3.00 x 108 m/s)/(2.76 x 108 m/s) = 1.09.
(b) This does not equal any of the indices of refraction listed in the table.  It is closest to air,
which suggests it is some slightly denser gas.

Sample Problem 2:
Optical fibers are generally composed of silica, with an index of refraction around 1.44.  (a) 
How fast does light travel in a silica fiber, and (b) How long will it take for that light to travel
from St. Petersburg, Florida to Anchorage, Alaska?

Solution:
 
(a) The speed of light in this fiber is found to be
v = c/n = (3.00 x 108 m/s)/(1.44) = 2.08 x 108 m/s.
(b) The distance between these two cities is 6091 km, or 6.091 x 10 6 m.  Since speed is
distance x over time t, we find
t = x/v = (6.091 x 106 m)/(2.08 x 108 m/s) = 2.92 x 10-2 s, or 29.2 s.

Reflection
Sample Problem 1:
Light is incident on a flat surface, making an angle of 10 o with that surface, as shown in the
figure to the right.  (a)  What is the angle of incidence?  (b)  What is the angle of reflection? 

Solution:
 
(a) If the light makes an angle of 10o with the surface, it makes an angle of 80o with
the normal to the surface.  Thus the angle of incidence is 80o.
(b) According to the law of reflection, the angle of reflection equals the angle of incidence.  So
the angle of reflection (measured to the normal) is 80o.

Sample Problem 2:
Three initially parallel rays of light are incident at slightly different points on a bumpy surface,
as indicated in the figure to the right.  The angles of incidence are 15o for ray A (blue in figure),
31o for ray B (green), and 47o for ray C (red).  (a)  What are the angles of reflection for the three
rays?  (b) Will the three rays remain parallel after reflection? 

Solution:
 
(a) According to the law of reflection, the angle of reflection must equal the angle of incidence
for each ray.  Thus ray A will have an angle of reflection of 15o, B will have an angle of
reflection of 31o, and the third will have an angle of reflection of 47o.
(b) No; the three rays will diverge after reflection.  The divergence is due not only to the
differences in the angles of reflection, but also to the differences in the directions of the
normal at each incident point.

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