REFRACTION OF A WAVE AT AN INTERFACE

ANIMATIONS

In a medium of refractive index n, light travels with velocity v as given by

In a uniform medium rays travel in a straight path. However, at the plane of interface between two media, a ray is reflected at the angle equal to the angle of incidence and the direction of transmitted ray is determined by Snell’s law

where n₁ and n₂ are the values of refractive indices in both media and and are the angles of incidence and refraction respectively.

Figures 1 and 2 show an animated view of the reflection and refraction of a light ray at a plane interface.

Fig. 1. Propagation of light from a medium of lower refractive index to a medium of higher refractive index .

Fig. 2. Propagation of light from a medium of higher refractive index to a medium of lower refractive index . When the angle of incident equals or becomes greater than the critical anglethen the light is totally reflected at the interface.

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