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A comparison of the angle of refraction to the angle of incidence provides a good measure of the refractive ability of any given boundary. For any given angle of incidence, the angle of refraction is dependent upon the speeds of light in each of the two materials. The speed is in turn dependent upon the optical density and the index of refraction values of the two materials. There is a mathematical equation relating the angles that the light rays make with the normal to the indices (plural for index) of refraction of the two materials on each side of the boundary. This mathematical equation is known as Snell's Law

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12y ago
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13y ago

the angle of incidence is the initial ray angle and the angle of reflection is the reflected ray angle

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11y ago

The incidence ray is the ray that hits the surface first and the reflected ray is the ray that bounces off the surface. The ray of incidence is equal to the ray if reflection.

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Q: How does the angle of the refraction compare with the angle of incidence in each case?
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What are characteristics of refraction?

1. When a ray of light travels obliquely from an optically rarer medium to an optically denser medium,it bends towards the normal at the point of incidence. in this case,angle of incidence is greater than the angle of refraction...


What happens to a ray of light when it travels from a more dense medium into a less dense medium?

It will be refracted accordingly, based on Snell's law. In this case, the angle of incidence is smaller than the angle of refraction, and as it is traveling from a more dense to a less dense medium, it may undergo total internal reflection, provided that the angle of incidence is greater than the critical angle.


What is the angle of refraction when the angle of incidence is equal to the critical angle?

Quick Answer:The angle of incidence is not equal to the angle of refraction.The angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection.Better Answer:(This answer applies to all waves, e.g. sound, ripples, earthquakes, but the answer is given in terms of light waves.)The angle of incidence never equals the angle of refraction except in the peculiar circumstance when there is an interface between two materials of exactly the same index of refraction.The angle of refraction is the direction of the wave exiting the surface and the angle of incidence is the angle entering the surface.These two angles are related by Snell's law and by Snell's law one would conclude that the index of the medium of the incident beam would be exactly the same as the index of the transmitted beam. In optical terms, it would mean the wave propagates as though there were no interface and the two mediums were actually the same medium. In that case, there would be no reflection as well.So, one does not expect this to happen, not because it can't, but because the wave travels through the surface as though the surface did not exist and that is both unusual and uninteresting.


When a ray of light enters water from air then?

Light will undergo refraction, and the light rays will bend towards the normal, because it is entering an optically denser medium. In this case, the angle of refraction will be smaller than the angle of incidence. In addition, the speed of light will be reduced when travelling in water.


What is the angle between the incident wavefront and the normal to the reflecting surface?

It's called the angle of reflection. 38 degrees. The angle between the incident ray and the reflected ray is 19 degrees + 19 degrees = 38 degrees. The angle of incidence and the angle of reflection are measured with respect to the surface normal, or a line drawn perpendicular with the surface the light is reflecting off of.

Related questions

How does the angle of refraction compare to the angle of incidence measured from the normal when going from air to water?

Angle of refraction will be less compared to the angle of incidence in this case.


How does the angle of incidence compare with the angle of refraction in each case?

A comparison of the angle of refraction to the angle of incidence provides a good measure of the refractive ability of any given boundary. For any given angle of incidence, the angle of refraction is dependent upon the speeds of light in each of the two materials. The speed is in turn dependent upon the optical density and the index of refraction values of the two materials. There is a mathematical equation relating the angles that the light rays make with the normal to the indices (plural for index) of refraction of the two materials on each side of the boundary. This mathematical equation is known as Snell's Law


What are characteristics of refraction?

1. When a ray of light travels obliquely from an optically rarer medium to an optically denser medium,it bends towards the normal at the point of incidence. in this case,angle of incidence is greater than the angle of refraction...


What happens to the angle of incidence from air to glass?

The angle of incidence does not change. I think you want to know the relationship between the angle of incidence and the angle of transmission. In the case of from air to glas, the transmission angle is smaller than the angle of incidence due to a higher index of refraction of glass than that of air. Look up Snell's Law for better understanding.


State the relationship between the amount of bending and the index of refraction as light passes from an optically less dense medium to an optically denser one?

The amount of bending that a light ray experiences can be expressed in terms of the angle of refraction (more accurately, by the difference between the angle of refraction and the angle of incidence). A ray of light may approach the boundary at an angle of incidence of 45-degrees and bend towards the normal. If the medium into which it enters causes a small amount of refraction, then the angle of refraction might be a value of about 42-degrees. On the other hand if the medium into which the light enters causes a large amount of refraction, the angle of refraction might be 22-degrees. (These values are merely arbitrarily chosen values to illustrate a point.) The diagram below depicts a ray of light approaching three different boundaries at an angle of incidence of 45-degrees. The refractive medium is different in each case, causing different amounts of refraction.


What happens to a ray of light when it travels from a more dense medium into a less dense medium?

It will be refracted accordingly, based on Snell's law. In this case, the angle of incidence is smaller than the angle of refraction, and as it is traveling from a more dense to a less dense medium, it may undergo total internal reflection, provided that the angle of incidence is greater than the critical angle.


What is the angle of refraction when the angle of incidence is equal to the critical angle?

Quick Answer:The angle of incidence is not equal to the angle of refraction.The angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection.Better Answer:(This answer applies to all waves, e.g. sound, ripples, earthquakes, but the answer is given in terms of light waves.)The angle of incidence never equals the angle of refraction except in the peculiar circumstance when there is an interface between two materials of exactly the same index of refraction.The angle of refraction is the direction of the wave exiting the surface and the angle of incidence is the angle entering the surface.These two angles are related by Snell's law and by Snell's law one would conclude that the index of the medium of the incident beam would be exactly the same as the index of the transmitted beam. In optical terms, it would mean the wave propagates as though there were no interface and the two mediums were actually the same medium. In that case, there would be no reflection as well.So, one does not expect this to happen, not because it can't, but because the wave travels through the surface as though the surface did not exist and that is both unusual and uninteresting.


What is the angle of incidence if the angle of reflection is 15 degrees?

If the ray is incident at right angles to the reflection surface, angle of Incidence will be 90 degrees and so will be the angle of reflection. In such a case, the incident ray, the normal and the reflected ray coincide.


Why does the angle of incidence equal the angle of reflection in the case of curved mirrors?

because that's the rule. angle of incident ALWAYS = angle of reflection.


What is the bending of light rays as it passes from one material into another?

Index Of Refraction


Why does the angle of deviation of a prism decreases first and then increases?

As the angle of incidence is increased, angle of deviation 'd' decreases and reaches minimum value. If the angle of incidence is further increased, the angle of deviation is increased. Let dm be the angle of minimum deviation. The refracted ray in the prism in that case will be parallel to the base.


When a ray of light enters water from air then?

Light will undergo refraction, and the light rays will bend towards the normal, because it is entering an optically denser medium. In this case, the angle of refraction will be smaller than the angle of incidence. In addition, the speed of light will be reduced when travelling in water.