Refractive Index

Question	Answer
REFRACTION is caused by the WAVES CHANGING SPEED. REFRACTION is when the waves CHANGE DIRECTION as they ENTER A DIFFERENT MEDIUM.	1. When waves slow down they bend towards the normal. 2. When light enters glass or plastic it slows down to about 2/3 of its speed in air. 3. If a wave hits a boundary at 90 degrees (i.e. along the normal) it will not change direction- but it will slow down. 4. When light hits a different medium (e.g. plastic or glass) some of the light will pass through the new medium but some will be reflected - it depends on the angle of incidence (the angle it hits the medium).
Every Transparent Material has a REFRACTIVE INDEX	Image: refractive_index (image/jpg)
Image: refractive_index_equation (image/jpg)	Image: refractive_index_equation (image/jpg)

Resource summary

	Created by marsbarkid0311 almost 11 years ago