Refraction of Light

The bending of a light wave when it passes from one medium to another due
to the change in the speed of the light traveling the two different media is
called the Refraction of light.

This phenomenon also occurs with sound, water, and other waves. Because
of this bending of waves that are responsible for the refraction of light, we
have lenses, magnifying glasses, prisms, and rainbows. Due to this
phenomenon, our eyes would not be able to focus, without the refraction of
light.
As shown in the above figure, light travels from Medium 1 to Medium 2.
Please note that these mediums can be different materials or substances
with different densities. So when an incident ray from medium 1 travels to
another medium 2, the refracted ray bends either towards the normal or
away from the normal (depending upon the densities of the mediums).
Here are the definitions of important terms used to study Refraction:
• Normal – The point of the surface at which an optical phenomenon
occurs is called the normal. In simple words, it is termed the point of
 incidence. It is shown by a dotted line drawn perpendicular to the surface
of the refracting material, in a ray diagram.
• Incident Ray – The light rays that strike the refracting surface, at the
separation of two media are called the Incident Ray.
• Refracted Ray – The light rays that bend after passing into another
medium are called the Refracted Ray.
• Angle of Incidence – This is the angle between the incident ray and the
normal. It is represented by ∠i and it is also called an Incident angle.
• Angle of Refraction – This is the angle between refracted ray and the
normal. It is represented by ∠r and it is also called a Refracted angle.

Laws of Refraction of Light

The refraction of light traveling through different mediums follows some laws.
There are two laws of refraction as stated below which at the sight of
refraction, the light follows, and we see the refracted image of the object.
• The reflected, incident, and the normal at the point of incidence all will
tend to lie in the same plane.
• Secondly, the ratio of the sine of the angle of the incidence and refraction
is constant which is termed Snell’s law.
sin i / sin r = Constant (n)
where i is the angle of incidence, r is the angle of refraction, the constant
value depends on the refractive indexes of the two mediums.

What is the Refractive Index?

The Refractive index also called the index of refraction enables us to know
how fast light travels through the material medium.
Refractive Index is a dimensionless quantity. For a given material or
medium, the refractive index is considered the ratio between the speed of
light in a vacuum (c) to the speed of light in the medium (v) on which it goes.
The Refractive index for a medium is represented by small n, and it is given
by the following formula:
n=c/v
where
• c is the speed of the light in a vacuum, and
• v is the speed of light in the medium.
The given velocities of light in different media can give the refractive index by
the following also where the first medium is not vacuum:
n21 = v1 / v2
where n21 is the refractive index of 2 with respect to 1.
Based on the given refractive index of the material or medium, the light ray
either changes its direction or bends at the junction which separates the two
given media. If the light ray travels from a certain medium to another of a
slightly higher refractive index, it bends towards the normal in that case when
traveling from rarer to a denser medium, or else it bends away from the
normal when traveling from denser to rarer medium.

Snell’s Law

Snell’s law provides the degree or extent of refraction that occurs through a
relationship between the incident angle, refracted angles, and the refractive
indices of a given pair of media.
According to Snell’s law, the ratio of the sine of the incident angle to the sine
of the refracted angle is a constant, for any light of a given color or for any
given pair of media. The constant value is called the refractive index of the
second medium with respect to the first.
Snell’s Law is given by the relation,

𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑖
= 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡 = 𝑛
𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑟

or

𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑖 𝑣1
= = 𝑛2/𝑛1
𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑟 𝑣2

where,
• i and r are the angle of incidence and refraction,
• n is the refractive index and n 1 and n2 are the refractive indices of medium
1 and 2, and
• v1 and v2 are the speed of light in medium 1 and 2 respectively.
Causes of Refraction of Light

As it is known that when light travels in different mediums its speed varies.
e.g. light passes through the air than in a glass. Hence, it can be said that,
due to the change in the speed of light in different mediums that the light
rays are refracted.
To understand the causes of refraction of light in much depth let’s
understand What are rarer and denser mediums? and Types of Refractions
as:

What are Rarer and Denser mediums?

1. Rarer medium (or Optically Rarer medium) is a medium in which the

speed of light is more. For example, Air is optically rarer medium as
compared to glass and water.
2. Denser medium (or Optically Denser medium) is a medium in which the
speed of light is less. For example, Glass is optically denser medium as
compared to air.

Types of Refraction

The refraction of light occurs in different ways depending on the medium

through which the light travels.
• Refraction from rarer to denser medium – When light rays pass
through rarer to a denser medium, the light rays bend towards the normal.
Due to this the angle of refraction is smaller than the angle of incidence.
e.g. In the case when light rays pass from air to water or from air to glass,
it bends towards normal. It is because of the reason that the speed of light
rays reduces while passing from air to glass or water.
• Refraction from denser to rarer medium – When light rays pass from
denser to rarer medium, the light rays bend away from the normal. Due to
this the angle of refraction becomes more than the angle of incidence.
e.g. In case when light rays pass from water to air or glass to air, light
 rays bend away from the normal. The speed of light rays becomes greater
while passing from glass or water to air.

Characteristics of Refraction

Some of the important characteristics of Refraction are:

1. The frequency of light does not change when it travels from one medium
to another, but the velocity and wavelength of light changes.
2. A ray of light bends when it travels from one optical medium to another
with a variable refractive index. For a specific pair of media, the ratio of
the sine of the angle of incidence to the sine of the angle of refraction is
constant.
3. The relationship between a medium’s refractive index and the speed of
light in that medium is as follows:

𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑖 𝑣1
= = 𝑛2/𝑛1
𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑟 𝑣2

where,
• i and r are the angle of incidence and refraction,
• n is the refractive index and n 1 and n2 are the refractive indices of medium
1 and 2, and
• v1 and v2 are the speed of light in medium 1 and 2 respectively.
Effects of Refraction of Light

When anything interrupts the light waves, it causes refraction of the light.
Light also moves mostly in the form of waves, much like most other
materials.
As shown below, the pencil seems deformed in the water because light
cannot travel through the water as rapidly as it can through the air. The
pencil has a tiny magnification effect due to the light refraction, which makes
the angle appear larger than it actually is and makes the pencil appear
crooked.

Examples of Refraction of Light

• The stars twinkle in the night sky due to the refraction of their light.
• Looming and Mirage formation, both occur due to the optical illusions
caused by the refraction of light.
• The formation of rainbows in the sky and VIBGYOR, when white light
passes through the prism are also major examples of refraction.
• A swimming pool always seems or looks much shallower than it really is
because of the light that comes from the bottom of the pool bends at the
surfaces due to the refraction of light.
Applications of Refraction of Light
Refraction has many wide and common applications in optics and also in
technology. A few of them are given below:
• A lens uses the refraction phenomenon to form an image of an object or
body for various purposes, such as magnification.
• Spectacles that are worn by people with defective vision use the principle
of refraction.
• Refraction is used in peepholes of the house doors for safety, in cameras,
inside movie projectors, and also in telescopes.

Solved Examples on Refraction of Light

Example 1: What is the constant value if the angle of incidence is 22°

and the angle of refraction is given to be 15°?
Solution:
As we know,
sin i / sin r = constant
Given sin i = sin 22° and sin r = sin 22°
Putting the values of angles from log table we get
sin 22° / sin 15° = 1.44
Hence, the value of constant or refractive index is 1.44.
Example 2: What is the constant value if the angle of incidence is 30°
and the angle of refraction is given to be 46°?
Solution:
Since, the
sin i / sin r = constant
Given sin i= sin 30° and sin r= sin 46°
Putting the values of angles from log table we get
sin 30° / sin 46° = 1.44
Hence, the constant is 1.44.
Example 3: What is the value of the sine of the angle of incidence if the
angle of refraction is given to be sin 35°? Given the value of refractive
index 1.33.
Solution:
As we know,
{sin i}/{sin r} =constant
Given constant= 1.33 and sin r = sin 35° = 0.57
Putting the values of angles from log table we get
sin i / sin 35° = 1.33
sin i = 1.33 × 0.57
= 0.75

Example 4: Calculate the speed of light in diamond with respect to air.

Take the absolute refractive index of glass from the table.
Solution:
As we know we can calculate refractive index by the following formula,
n = c/v
where refractive index of diamond n= 2.42, c = 3 × 10 8 m/s