Refraction of Light: Minati Barman Associate Professor Head, Department of Physics J N College, Boko

REFRACTION OF LIGHT
Minati Barman
Associate Professor
Head, Department of Physics
J N College, Boko
What is refraction of light:
Bending of a light ray or changing of velocity of light
at the interface of the media ,when it passes from
one transparent medium to another is called as
refraction of light. When light travels from a rarer to
a denser medium the refracted ray bends towards
the normal and vice versa.
angle of incidence--i
angle of refraction-- r
Practical applications of refraction.
Medium 1
Medium 2
In terms of depth refractive index

𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑙 𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑡ℎ
¹n₂= 𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑡ℎ
Laws of refraction:
There are two laws of refraction
i. The incident ray, the refracted ray and the normal at
the point of incidence lie on same plane.
ii. When light passes from one transparent medium to
another medium then for a particular colour and for
two particular media the ratio of the sine of the angle
of incidence to the sine of the angle of refraction is a
constant. This constant is called as refractive index of
the medium 2 with respect to medium 1. This 2nd law
of refraction is also called as Snell’s law. So refractive
index of the medium can be represented by
𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝑖
¹n₂ =
𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝑟
Again refractive index can be expressed as the ratio of the
velocity of the light in two medium . The refractive index of a
medium with respect to vacuum for a light ray can be
expressed as
𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑣𝑎𝑐𝑢𝑢𝑚
¹n₂= 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑢𝑚
𝑐
¹n₂ = c is the velocity if light in vacuum
𝑣
v is the velocity of light in the medium.
Refractive index in terms of wave length of light:

When light travels from one medium to other its frequency
remains same but wavelength and velocity changes.
We know that
Velocity of light=frequency x wavelength of light.
velocity of light in vacuum c= 𝛾. λc
Velocity of light in medium v= 𝛾. λv
Here 𝛾 frequency of the light. λc is the wavelength of light
in vacuum and λv is the wavelength of light in medium.
So refractive index of the medium can be written as
𝐶 𝜆𝑐.𝛾 𝜆𝑐
¹n₂ = 𝑉 = 𝜆𝑣 .𝛾= 𝜆 𝑣
𝑤𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑣𝑎𝑐𝑢𝑢𝑚
= 𝑤𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑚𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑢𝑚
Absolute refractive index and the relative refractive
index:
When light travels from vacuum to the medium then the
refractive index is called as absolute refractive index and
when light travels from medium 1 with velocity 𝑣₁ to
another medium with velocity 𝑣₂ then the refractive index
is called as relative refractive index.
𝐶
absolute refractive index n = 𝑉
𝑣₁
relative refractive index. ¹n₂ =
𝑣₂
Physical significance of refractive index:
I) Refractive index of a medium gives the information
about the bending of refracted ray towards the normal.
II) It gives us the information of the velocity of light in
comparison to the velocity of light in vacuum.
Principle of reversibility:
According to principle of reversibility of light, if the path
of the light is reversed after suffering a number of
reflections or refractions, then it exactly retraces its
path.
This is called as principle of reversibility

Refraction through a combination of media:
Medium 1is air

Medium 2 is water
Medium 3 is air
Angle of incidence ө₁ is equal to angle of emergence ө₃ since

both these media are air. Therefore
𝑠𝑖𝑛 ө₁
¹n₂= 𝑠𝑖𝑛ө₂
𝑠𝑖𝑛 ө₂ 𝑠𝑖𝑛 ө₂
²n₃= 𝑠𝑖𝑛ө₃ = 𝑠𝑖𝑛ө₁
𝑠𝑖𝑛 ө₁ 𝑠𝑖𝑛 ө₂
¹n₂x ²n₁= 𝑠𝑖𝑛ө₂ x 𝑠𝑖𝑛ө₁ =1
¹n₂=1/ ²n₁
Refraction through a rectangular glass slab:
ᵃng = sini₁ / sinr₁
ᵍna = sini₂ / sinr₂
1
We know that ᵍna =ᵃ𝑛𝑔
ᵃngx ᵍna =1 since r₁= i₂
i₁
r₁
i₂
air
r₂
𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑖₁ 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑖₂
(𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑟₁)x(𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑟₂) =1
Since Sini₁=sinr₂
therefore i₁=r₂
So emergent ray is parallel to the incident ray.

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REFRACTION OF LIGHT

In terms of depth refractive index

Refractive index in terms of wave length of light:

This is called as principle of reversibility

Medium 1is air

Angle of incidence ө₁ is equal to angle of emergence ө₃ since

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