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Q: Why does refraction occur when a wave enters a new medium at an angle?
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What are the conditions for total internal reflection to take place?

Light must travel from the optically denser medium to the optically less dense one. For total internal reflection to occur, the angle of incidence in the optically denser medium must be greater than the critical angle of that medium. The critical angle is that angle of incidence in the optically denser medium for which the angle of refraction is 90o.


Does refraction occur only if rays are straight up and down?

No refraction can occur either way!


In order for refraction to occur at least how many mediums are needed?

two. refraction is caused because of a wave passing between one medium to another, therefore changing its speed. Waves travel through different mediums at different speeds, depending on the medium's refractive index. By passing from one medium to another, it will change speed and therefore refract.


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.


Why does no refraction occur when the media have the same index of refraction?

Reflection happens only at the interface between two media, and two media with the same index of refraction act as if they were a single medium. Thus, at the interface between media with the same index of refraction, there is no reflection, and the ray keeps going straight. Continuing this line of thought, it is not surprising that we observe very little reflection at an interface between media with similar indices of refraction.

Related questions

For refraction to occur in a wave the wave must?

For refraction to occur in a wave, the wave must enter a new medium at an angle.


Will dispersion occur if a polychromatic ray of light enters a prism at an angle of incidence of 90 degree from air to denser medium?

Dispersion will occur, in the sense that the phase velocity of the different wavelengths will be different. What you may be asking is whether refraction (a change in the direction of the light) will occur. Refraction will only be visible if the light impacts at an oblique angle, not 90 degrees.


Why refraction does not occur in opaque medium?

Refraction is the bending of the rays of light when it travels from one medium to another... For refraction to occur there should be some difference in the refractive index of the materials.... Refraction can also occur in Opaque medium........


What are the conditions for total internal reflection to take place?

Light must travel from the optically denser medium to the optically less dense one. For total internal reflection to occur, the angle of incidence in the optically denser medium must be greater than the critical angle of that medium. The critical angle is that angle of incidence in the optically denser medium for which the angle of refraction is 90o.


What is the definition of critical angle?

The definition of critical angle is the angle of incidence that refraction can still occur.


Does refraction occur for both sound and light waves?

Refraction occurs for any waves, where there's a change in the medium.


At what angle does no refraction occur?

this angle is called the critical angle of a substance. To work it out you must know the refractive index of that substance.


Would refraction still occur if light did not change speed when passing from medium to another?

No


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 is the difference between refraction and transmission?

the difference is transmission occur in same medium,but refraction occurs whn 2 medias are there,its actually bending of light at interface of 2 medias


How do you find critical angle of an object?

The critical angle is the angle where the wave is refracted at 90 degrees. Using Snell's law, nisinxi=nrsinxr, the two indexes of refraction, and the definition of a critical angle, it's pretty easy to figure out. Keep in mind that the critical angle ONLY occurs when the wave is travelling from a denser medium to a less dense medium (eg diamond to air) as angles formed when travelling into less dense mediums turn away from the normal, whereas if the opposite were to occur, even with an angle of incidence of 90 degrees, the angle of refraction would be less than 90 (it would turn towards the normal). The denser the medium, the larger its index of refraction value. knowing this, the equation would look something like: (larger n)sin(critical angle)=(smaller n)sin(90 degrees) Where you would input the known values and solve for the critical angle. Another tip is that sin(90 degrees) is just 1 so you could even just ignore that variable.


What is refracrtion?

Refraction is the bending of light beams when it goes from a more dense to a less dense medium, like glass and water. Or the other way around, too. Refraction can also occur with radio waves.