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Q: When light is traveling fast in a medium which way will it bend?
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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.


Why does light rays bend?

The refraction of light when it passes from a slow medium (high density) to a fast medium (low density) causes the light to change speed and thus it bends away from the normal to the boundary between the two media. The amount of bending also depends on the indices of refraction of the two media and is described quantitatively by Snell's Law.


When light passes from a fast medium to a slow medium is it refracted towards or away from the normal?

Light is refracted away from the normal while passing from denser(slow) medium to a rarer(fast) medium.At one angle called the critical angle the angle of diffraction is 900.After this the ray diffract at an angle greater than 90 i.e. it comes back to the slow medium.Whereas from faster to slower medium the rays bend towards the normal.Thus avoiding the possibility of coming back to the slow medium.


What wave form can pass through empty space?

Compression waves, such as sound, cannot move through space due to the lack of a medium. Transverse waves, such as light and radiation, can move through a vacuum such as space. This is related to Einstein's theory of relativity, in which he states that Mass and Energy are the same thing. Essentially, transverse waves, which move at the speed of light, are moving fast enough to metaphorically be their own medium, as stated by the equation E=MC2 (Energy traveling at the speed of light is what we call a photon, which is a very hard concept to explain. The best I can do off the top of my head is that it's almost like it's matter and energy at the same time). Since the energy is it's own medium, the energy can travel through a vacuum, where there is no other medium to support it.


Why light goes in straight path?

It just does not bend, its common sense Edit: light does bend, but it is so fast, it doesn't look like it's bending. If you shoot a laser into the water, you can see that it bends as it touches the surface. Also, you can see that from the night sky. Stars' gravity can bend lights, sometimes stars appears to be bigger, or smaller than it really is. But remember Newton's Laws. A body set in motion will continue ...

Related questions

What is a medium breakfast?

medium breakfast


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.


How fast does electricity travel in one second?

Depends on the medium through which it is traveling.


Why does light rays bend?

The refraction of light when it passes from a slow medium (high density) to a fast medium (low density) causes the light to change speed and thus it bends away from the normal to the boundary between the two media. The amount of bending also depends on the indices of refraction of the two media and is described quantitatively by Snell's Law.


What is the difference between refractions and lens?

First lets consider a double convex lens. Suppose that several rays of light approach the lens; and suppose that these rays of light are traveling parallel to the principal axis. Upon reaching the front face of the lens, each ray of light will refract towards the normal to the surface. At this boundary, the light ray is passing from air into a more dense medium (usually plastic or glass). Since the light ray is passing from a medium in which it travels fast (less optically dense) into a medium in which it travels relatively slow (more optically dense), it will bend towards the normal line. This is the FST principle of refraction. This is shown for two incident rays on the diagram below. Once the light ray refracts across the boundary and enters the lens, it travels in a straight line until it reaches the back face of the lens. At this boundary, each ray of light will refract away from the normal to the surface. Since the light ray is passing from a medium in which it travels slow (more optically dense) to a medium in which it travels fast (less optically dense), it will bend away from the normal line; this is the SFA principle of refraction.


Explain why light bends when it passes from one medium to another?

Light moves at the speed a medium permits. It is "handed off" to each bit of material in turn. One "side" of light encounters the different medium before the other, and so a turn is involved. Think of drivng a car along a road, with one tire on smooth pavement, and the other tire on rough pavement. You have to slightly turn the steering wheel to keep from turning across this interface between smooth (low n, high speed) and rough (high n, lower speed). Light *has* no steering wheel.


How can we know that people traveling at or close to the speed of light will not age as fast as someone not traveling at such speeds when we have no means of reaching such speeds?

Einsteins theory of relativity


When light would refract?

If one considers reflective indicies, if the reflective index of the second medium (n2) is larger than the first (n1), the ray bends towards the normal. This means that n2 > n1Since n is defined as c/v, we know that the speed of light is greater in the first medium. Thus, when light changes speed from fast to slow, it bends towards the normal.


Why does the light from the sun take so long to reach earth when the light is traveling so fast?

light takes approximately 8 minutes to travel from the sun to the earth. even though it is traveling extremely fast, the earth is about 93million miles away from the sun, so if you think about it 8 minutes is pretty quick


How fast must you travel to reach the sun?

As fast as you'd like, but if you were traveling at the speed of light, you'd be there in about 8 minutes and 30 seconds. If you were traveling at a speed of about 60 miles per hour, you'd be there in about 167 years.


Is fast medium bowling and fast medium the same thing?

yes


How fast would light travel when emmitted from an object traveling 100 million miles per hour?

The speed of light is constant. It is 671,000,000 mph.