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What happens to light when it hits a different medium?

Updated: 8/17/2019
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15y ago

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The light reflects or refracts on hitting the medium.

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15y ago
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Q: What happens to light when it hits a different medium?
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What happens when a ray hits a block at a different angle?

It reflect.Reflecting is the bouncing back of light


What happens when sunlight goes through glass?

Whenever electromagnetic radiation of any kind (light, heat, radio, gamma rays and microwaves are all examples of electromagnetic radiation) travels from one medium to another, the radiation will be refracted because the speed of light in each medium is different. When light travels from air into glass, the glass slows the light down, and the light refracts or "bends" toward the glass, depending on the angle of incidence. (The Angle of Incidence is the angle at which the light hits the glass. ) The amount of refraction (bending) also depends on the wavelength of the radiation, so when sunlight hits the glass at an angle, the glass breaks the "white" light into a rainbow of colors. This is the same thing that happens with a real rainbow, when light hits water droplets and is refracted and broken into different colors.


What happens when light passes into water?

The light will change directions (to be closer to the normal) once it hits the water. This is known as refraction which is a property of light. In this case, you have 2 media (plural form of medium). The two are air and water. The reason it changes direction is because air allows a different speed of light than water. Water is denser which is why light can't travel as fast. This change in the speed of light is what causes the light to change direction once it hits the water. In conclusion, after light hits the water, it will change directions (to be closer to the normal) due to the fact that the medium is changed(from air to water) which results in a change in the speed of light.


Where does refraction occur?

Refraction occurs because waves move at different speeds in different bodies. Because a wave hits the other medium at an angle, part of the wave changes speed earlier than the rest, turning the waves. this is most obvious with light waves in water, but it happens with all types of waves in any change of medium.


What happens when light hits mirror?

if it is a normal mirror the light we reflect of the mirror from a different angle the angle on which it comes from is the same angles as it goes out.


What happens when light hits a new medium at an angle?

it refracts according to snell's law: sin(angle 1) x refractive index of 1st medium = sin(angle 2) x refractive index of 2nd medium. Cross multiply to solve.


What happens when light hits foil?

It should reflect the light.


What happens when a ray of light hits a mirror?

The light hits the mirror and the light bounces off like a reflection


What is it about the nature of light that causes it to be refracted?

Refraction is the bending of a wave when it enters a medium where it's speed is different. The refraction of light when it passes from a fast medium to a slow medium bends the light ray toward the normal to the boundary between the two media. The amount of bending depends on the indices of refraction of the two media and is described quantitatively by Snell's Law.


What happens to light when it hits?

it goes nowhere


What happens when light hits a rough surface?

when light hits a rough surface it scattters.


What happens when a light hits a prism and why does it happen?

The light sctters into a spectrum.