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Refraction of Light
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•What is Refraction?
•What is Optical Density?
•The Laws of Refraction
•The Refractive index
•Angle of Incidence / Refraction
•Total Internal Reflection
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Refraction is the change in

direction of light when it passes
from one medium to another.
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If light ray enters another medium perpendicular to

boundary, the ray does not bend.
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Incident ray When the light ray travels

from air to water, the
normal
refracted ray bends
i
towards the normal.
air

water

r
i – angle of incidence
Refracted ray r– angle of refraction
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Refracted ray When the light ray travels

from water to air, the
normal
refracted ray bends away
r from the normal.
air

water
i

i – angle of incidence
Incident ray
r– angle of refraction
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During refraction, light

bends first on passing
from air to glass and
again on passing from
the glass to the air.
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Incident ray

Reflected ray
air i
During refraction, light
bends first on passing
from air to glass and
again on passing from r Refracted ray
the glass to the air.
glass

air Emergent ray

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Light slows down when it enters an optically denser

medium. The refracted ray bends towards the normal
when the second medium is optically more dense than
the first.
Incident ray

normal
i
air

water r

Refracted ray
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Light speeds up when it enters an optically less dense

medium. The refracted ray bends away from the
normal when the second medium is optically less
dense than the first.
Incident ray

normal

water i

air
r
Refracted ray
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Among the 3 transparent mediums (air, water and

glass), glass has the highest optical density.

Incident ray air air

Refracted ray
i1 r2

r1 water i2 water
i r1 Refracted ray
Refracted ray 2

glass
r2 i1 glass
Refracted ray Incident ray
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Complete these ray diagrams.

air water

glass glass
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Complete these ray diagrams.

water air

air glass
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The incident ray, the refracted ray and the normal

at the point of incidence all lie in the same plane.
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Incident ray For two given media, the ratio

sin i ÷ sin r is a constant,
normal where i is the angle of
i incidence and r is the angle
air of refraction
water

r Refractive sin i
Index, n = sin r

Refracted ray
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The higher the optical density, the greater the

refractive index. The greater the refractive index, the
greater the bending of light towards the normal.
Incident ray air air

Refracted ray
i1 r2

r1 water i2 water
i r1 Refracted ray
Refracted ray 2

glass
r2 i1 glass
Refracted ray Incident ray
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If light is incident upon a piece of glass (refractive

index 1.52) at an angle of 45o, what is the angle of
refraction?
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Given that the refractive index of water is 1.33,

calculate the angle of refraction when the incident
ray comes in at 60o to the normal.

Solution
sin i
n=
60 o
sin r
sin 60 o
air 1.33 =
sin r
water
sin r sin 60 o
r
= 1.33
r = 40.6 o
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When light travels from a When light travels from a

less dense medium to a denser medium to a less
denser medium… dense medium…

sin i sin r
n= n=
sin r sin i

i i
air water

water air
r
r
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The figure shows light travelling from water into the air. The
ray is incident upon the boundary at 30o. What is the angle of
refraction if the refractive index of water is 1.33?

Solution
sin r
n =
sin i
30 o sin r
1.33 =
water sin
30 o
air
r
sin r= 1.33sin
o 30
o
r 41.9
=
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Other ways of calculating the refractive index…

Refractive
Speed of light in
vacuum / air
c
index, n = =
Speed of light in v
medium
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Take a look at this...

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The critical angle is the angle of incidence in the

optically denser medium for which the angle of
refraction is 90o.

When i = critical angle,c

r = 90o.
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When i > critical angle, the ray gets reflected internally.

This is called TOTAL INTERNAL REFLECTION.
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For TOTAL INTERNAL REFLECTION to take place:

The light ray must travel from an optically denser

medium towards a less dense one.

ath
htp
f li g
o
ec tion
Dir i

The angle of incidence must be

greater than the critical angle.
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How do we calculate the critical angle?

We know that r = 90o…

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We know that when

light travels from a less
dense medium to a Refractive sin i
denser medium Index, n =
sin r

We know that when sin r

light travels from a Refractive
denser medium to a Index, n =
less dense medium sin i
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How do we calculate the critical angle?

We know that r = 90o…

Refractive sin r
Index, n =
sin i
sin 90o
n =
sin c
1
=
sin c
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How do we calculate the critical angle?

1
sin c =
n
1
c = sin -1
n
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Medium:Glass
Refractive 1.50
Index:
Critical Angle:
1
c = sin-1
n
1
= sin-1
1.50
= 41.8o
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Medium:Water
Refractive 1.33
Index:
Critical Angle:
1
c = sin-1
n
1
= sin-1
1.33
= 48.8o
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Medium:Diamond
Refractive 2.42
Index:
Critical Angle:
1
c = sin-1
n
1
= sin-1
2.42
= 24.4o
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Total Internal Reflection in Prisms

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Total Internal Reflection in Prisms

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Fibre Optics