Refraction Ray Diagrams Flashcards
All 6 cards in this deck
What are the steps to draw a ray diagram for refraction at a boundary?
e.g. a light ray travelling from air into a glass block
- Draw the normal at 90° to the boundary at the point where the ray hits it.
- Draw the incident ray to that point and mark the angle of incidence from the normal.
- The light slows in glass, so draw the refracted ray bent towards the normal (smaller angle).
In a refraction ray diagram, which way does a ray bend when it enters a medium in which it travels more slowly?
e.g. light going from air into glass
Towards the normal, so the angle of refraction is smaller than the angle of incidence.
True or false? A light ray passing from glass into air bends towards the normal.
False. It speeds up, so it bends away from the normal.
In a refraction ray diagram, what is the normal?
A construction line drawn at 90° to the boundary at the point where the ray meets it.
What happens to a ray that meets a boundary along the normal (angle of incidence 0°)?
It carries straight on without changing direction, although its speed still changes.
On a wave front diagram, what happens to the spacing of the wave fronts when a wave crosses into a medium where it travels more slowly?
They get closer together (wavelength decreases), because the frequency stays the same.