Refraction Flashcards

All 6 cards in this deck

What is refraction?

The change in direction of a wave when it crosses a boundary between two different materials.

What is the angle of refraction?

e.g. a light ray entering a glass block

The angle between the refracted ray (inside the glass) and the normal.

What is the normal on a ray diagram?

A line drawn at right angles (90°) to the boundary at the point where the ray meets it.

True or false? A light ray passing from air into glass bends away from the normal.

False. It bends towards the normal on entering the glass.

What happens to the direction of a wave that meets a boundary along the normal (at 90° to the surface)?

Its direction doesn't change. It carries straight on into the new material.

What is the angle of incidence?

e.g. a light ray hitting a glass block

The angle between the ray arriving at the boundary and the normal.