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Explain why light bends when it passes from one medium to another?
Wiki User
∙ 13y ago
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.
Wiki User
∙ 15y ago
Wiki User
∙ 13y agoEvery one says light ray bends due to change of velocity. But when light ray enters normally then also there is change in velocity, wavelength & density of medium but then light doesn't bend. Why?
Wiki User
∙ 15y agoThe speed of light in a vacuum is a universal constant: about 3*10^8 meters/second and the fastest anything can go. However, when light hits some other medium, it slows down. This slowing causes the light to bend. This phenomenon is known as refraction.
A simple way to remember how the light bends is with the acronym FST SFA, or "Fast Sofa." A wave moving quickly that slows down as it enters some medium's boundary, bends towards the normal, or perpendicular, of the medium (Fast Slow Towards, or FST). Alternatively, a wave moving slowly that speeds up as it leaves a medium bends away from the normal (Slow Fast Away, or SFA)
Wiki User
∙ 12y agofirst of all lets see what is mean by refractive index of a medium,its defined as ratio of velocity of light in the medium of incidence to medium of refraction(bending of light while passing through a medium)
the refractive index of the medium is the cause for this
while going from DENSER medium to RARER medium refracted ray bends AWAY from normal,(you can also remember this as DRAw-denser to rarer...away from normal)
Wiki User
∙ 13y agoBecause the speed of light in the two media are not the same.
Wiki User
∙ 12y agoThe difference in speed in different mediums cause light to bend from one medium to another if the angle is not 90 degrees.
Wiki User
∙ 15y agoThe velocity of light changes in different media.
Wiki User
∙ 13y agoIt dosent it refracts
Wiki User
∙ 13y agoChange in medium velocity.
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Is there a pattern that describes the path of light during refraction?
Yes, Light bends towards the normal when it travels from air to another medium and bends away when going into air from another medium. This can be affected by the angle of incidence and what angle it is.
What happens when light traveling at an angel passes from one material into another?
When light traveling at an angle passes from one material into another, it undergoes refraction. Refraction is the bending of light as it passes from one medium to another, due to the change in the speed of light. The degree to which the light bends depends on the angle of incidence and the refractive indices of the materials involved.
When light passes from a medium with a high index of refraction into a medium with a lower index of refraction which direction does the light bend?
A medium with a higher index of refraction, like diamond, is more dense than the medium with a lower index of refraction, like air. If the ray of light is moving from the less dense medium (lower index of refraction), to a more dense (higher index of refraction) the ray of light bends TOWARDS the normal.
When light moves from one medium to another it bends however there is one exception to this rule what is it?
When you have two different medias but with the same refractive index, light does not refract (bend).
What happens when light passes through a substance near 0 degrees Kelvin?
When light passes through a substance near 0 degrees Kelvin, it bends and becomes deformed.
What happens when light passes through one medium to another?
the light bends
What is a measure of how much a ray light bends when it passes from one medium to another?
Index of Refraction
What happens to light when it passes thought a different medium?
It bends.
What happens to the direction of a light wave when it passes from a less dense medium such as air into a more medium such as glass?
The light bends when it passes from one medium to another. But only if it approaches the interface at an angle. In such a case it will still travel slower, but there will be no apparent bending.
What happens to the direction of light wave when it passes from less dense medium such as air into a more dense medium such as glass?
The light bends when it passes from one medium to another. But only if it approaches the interface at an angle. In such a case it will still travel slower, but there will be no apparent bending.
Why are things not where they appear in water?
Because of the refraction of light. Light bends when it passes from one medium to another, this bending is called refraction not to be confused with reflection.
When a wave bends as it passes from one medium to another what occurs?
Refraction is the change in direction of a wave when it reaches a boundary between two media due to traveling at different speeds in each medium.
Why the ray of light bends away normal or towards normal when it passes from one medium to another?
it deviates its path and meet where water and air surfaces meet.
Why does a stick dipped in water appears to be bent?
Light bends when it passes at an angle into a medium of a different density. When light passes from a less dense medium into a denser medium, like from space into Earth's atmosphere or from air into water, it bends toward the normal, which is an imaginary line perpendicular to the boundary between the two media where the light passes through. Light passing from a denser medium to a less dense medium bends away from the normal.
What happens when light bends as it passes from one material to another?
it is refraction
What is it called when a wave bends going from one medium to another?
Refraction
When trying to spear a fish in water a person needs to take into account the way light bends as it moves from water into air the bending of light as it passes from one medium into another is known as?
Refraction
