Wave Optics - Refraction

Description:

• Change in the speed of light as it passes from one medium to another is called Refraction.

• Light is deviated due to difference of velocity of light in the mediums. Velocity of light decreases when it enters the denser medium.

• As we are working with wave theory of  light, the incident and refracted light is in the form of plane wavefront.

• Consider that the incident wavefront is traveling with a velocity V₁ in the rarer medium and after refraction velocity changes to V₂ (V₁ > V₂).

To prove wave theory of light it needs to satisfy Snell’s law.

= constant

= μ (refractive index)

Where,

• i = angle of incidence,

• r = angle of refraction,

• v₁ = velocity of rarer medium,

• v₂ = velocity of denser medium.