The refraction tag has no wiki summary.
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2answers
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Penetration of light in the atmosphere
While I was considering an answer to this question, I wondered how much light that enters the atmosphere reaches the ground without colliding with air molecules—if any. I've taken a good bit of ...
2
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1answer
28 views
Relation of color and frequency for the visible spectrum
In this question the OP is looking for a way to see light that is outside of the visible spectrum without using electronic sensors. This got me wondering about the visible spectrum itself. Typically ...
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1answer
40 views
Apparent and real depth object in water [closed]
Did I get my formula right? Seems like the correct answer is $d_o = 1.33 \times d_i$ but I thought the formula I should use is $d_i = - \frac{n_2}{n_1} d_o$
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2answers
118 views
Physical explanation for why total internal reflection occurs
I have been trying to understand total internal reflection (and have read several posts on this site already). Mathematically, I feel that I understand how the evanescent wave decays exponentially as ...
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2answers
31 views
Increase sound intensity in a wall
Why it seems that a sound transmitted in a wall is more intense (amplified)?
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1answer
31 views
How much refraction occurs as a fraction of all reflection and refraction?
When light reaches a boundary between materials below the critical angle, some of it refracts and some of it reflects. For example, glass acts as a partial mirror with a dark background.
Assuming ...
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3answers
204 views
Why frequency doesn't change during refraction?
When light goes through one medium to another it's velocity and wavelength changes. Why frequency doesn't change in this phenomenon?
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2answers
157 views
Why does light not refract when incidented perpendicularly?
I had read that light does slow down in glass because photons interact with atoms in glass. They are absorbed and re-emitted and during this phenomenon it's speed decreases. See also this and this ...
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0answers
11 views
Speed of Light in a Medium [duplicate]
For light travelling in a medium with refractive index greater than one:
The "average" speed of light is slower than the speed of light in a vacuum. As far as I know, the instantaneous speed of light ...
4
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3answers
398 views
Does light change color on its way through a window?
Looking at the refractive index of glass, it's around $1.6$.
Then the speed of light $x$ through light should be given by
$$ 1.6 = \frac{3.0\times10^8}{x}, $$
so $x$ is about ...
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1answer
134 views
Refraction seismology - travel time for wave
I am taking an introductory class in seismology, but have some difficulties understanding the logic behind the formula used to calculate the time it takes for a refracted wave to return to the surface ...
4
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2answers
179 views
Goldfish perspective
What does the world look like from the Goldfish point of view, from inside a spherical aquarium?
If our eyes were inside, would we be able to see the straight lines, focus on different objects and ...
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3answers
310 views
How do “holographic plates” work?
I asked a question about laser stage lighting over at Audio Video Production, and received an excellent answer that explained that laser clusters are generated from a single beam via something called ...
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1answer
97 views
Colors in the secondary rainbow reverse of that in the primary rainbow
Why the colors of Secondary rainbow is reverse of that in the color in the Primary rainbow?
What can be the possible reason among the following options
Because it is formed by one internal ...
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2answers
147 views
Effect of gas or liquid within a compound lens system
Hi my question is if a compound lens system if filled with gas or a liquid how does it affect the system when compared to the lens system being separated by air alone. Does this affect the focal power ...
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0answers
277 views
Question about the refraction of light in a swimming pool
Here is a homework question that I'm having a hard time understanding:
Out of pure intellectual curiosity you have donned a snorkeling face
mask and allowed yourself to sink to the bottom of the ...
2
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0answers
166 views
Nonlinear refraction index of vacuum above Schwinger limit
This question is more about trying to feel the waters in our current abilities to compute (or roughly estimate) the refraction index of vacuum, specifically when high numbers of electromagnetic quanta ...
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1answer
65 views
Idea of precursors of the electro-magnetic waves
The idea of the material Maxwell equation is almost clear. But I'm curious about the idea that except for material equation the pure Maxwell equation should work, but in harder sense: more currents ...
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0answers
35 views
Light Group Velocities
I was recently linked this page: Group Velocity
This was after enquiring about the delay of light propagation down a fibre. I come from a telecoms background so I wish to understand the delay for ...
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0answers
50 views
Is it possible to increase refractive index at lower densities?
Are there any materials for which the refractive index decreases with density? It seems that for most materials we would expect there to be a positive correlation between density and refractive index, ...
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1answer
624 views
Index of Refraction
The scenario:
A ray of light strikes the center of the (a) flat surface and (b) curved surface of a semicircular glass medium with the angle of incidences in degrees of 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50.
The ...
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2answers
174 views
Refractive index inside a fibre
The refractive index $n$ of a fibre is calculated as;
$$
n = c_0/c_m
$$
Where $c_0\approx 300000km/s$ is the speed of light in a vacuum, and $c_m$ is the speed of light in the fibre in question. How ...
5
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2answers
230 views
Photon energy - momentum in matter
$E = h\nu$ and $P = h\nu/c$ in vacuum.
If a photon enters water, it's frequency $\nu$ doesn't change.
What are its energy and momentum : $h\nu$ ? and $h\nu/c$ ?
Since part of it's energy and momentum ...
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0answers
43 views
Energy distribution between long- and shearwaves after refraction of sound
From this explanation, I learn that sound is refracted according to Snell's Law upon passing a border between materials of different sound speed.
I also learn that upon passing the border, a mode ...
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3answers
156 views
Difference in velocity of light in change in medium
It is often seen that according to physics the light changes it's velocity according to the medium through which it is traveling. So can it be explained that why so happen?
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1answer
91 views
Refraction and Reflection Seismology
So I am wondering if I got the difference right. Both methods use explosives to send waves into the earth's surface. Now reflection seismology tries to get information from the reflected waves; the ...
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1answer
77 views
Determine when a light is going into the object [closed]
Please look at this image: (http://mypages.iit.edu/~smart/acadyear/refract.gif)
How can I determine when light is going into the object?
Actually, if there is, what is the simplest way to ...
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3answers
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1answer
145 views
Speed of light and virtual particles
After becoming extremely bored while studying for an Afrikaans exam, I started thinking about virtual particles. So, can light (photons) interact with virtual particles (even though they only exist ...
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1answer
110 views
Width of Gaussian Beam and Refractive Index
I know that in free space, the width of a Gaussian beam can be written as $W=W_0\sqrt{1+(\frac{z}{z_0})^{2}}$. However, I was wondering if it was possible to express this width as a function of ...
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2answers
958 views
Refraction, reflection, and what is total reflection?
So if light travels from one media to another with a different refraction index, what may happen happen? Refraction, reflection or total reflection? I am quite confused as to the differences between ...
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0answers
42 views
Planar Electric Field in Glass, how to express it?
The field must have properties such as planar wave and moving in glass so
$$\bar E=E \left( \hat i t + \hat j \sin(kz-wt) + ...
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3answers
286 views
Why do rainbows have distinct colors?
When I searched on the Internet for the reason of formation of rainbows, I got many explanations like this one & this. All the explanations consider only one spherical water droplet (like this ...
2
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0answers
81 views
How can I estimate the elasto-optic coefficients ($p_{11}$ and $p_{12}$) of a material?
I am attempting to estimate the elasto-optic coefficients ($p_{11}$ and $p_{12}$) of $\mathrm{TiO}_2$ and $\mathrm{ZrO}_2$, where $p_{11}$ and $p_{12}$ refer to the elements of a strain-optic tensor ...
2
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1answer
320 views
What are the properties of the partially polarized light on refraction?
When a ray of ordinary light is passed on the surface of the water the reflected light will be completely polarized( vibrations in one plane).
My question is what will be plane of vibration in the ...
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1answer
59 views
In electro-optic material, what is happening to the structure of the material for the index of refraction to change?
I apologize if electro-optic material is not the correct word.
As I understand it, when an electric field is applied to an electro-optic material, the index of refraction changes in proportion to the ...
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1answer
96 views
Is the acceleration and deceleration of a wave instantanious?
When an light travels in free space, it has a velocity of propagation equal to the speed of light.
However, then the light enters a medium with a refractive index of n, the velocity of propagation ...
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1answer
195 views
Speed of light is not fixed?
In my research, I found that the speed of light is not fixed. IS it true?
Namely, We know that light refracts when the medium it travels through changes. Actually, light travels in the same medium ...
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4answers
1k views
How to bend light?
As we all know that light travels in rectilinear motion. But can we bend light in parabolic path? If not practically then is it possible in paper? Has anyone succeeded in doing that practically ?
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1answer
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Calculating a Deflection of Light Integral from Einstein's 1907 paper on Gravity and Light
$\frac{1}{c^2}\int_{\theta=-\pi/2}^{\theta=\pi/2} \frac{kM}{r^2}cos\theta ds=2\frac{kM}{c^2\Delta}$
An observation: $\cos\theta=\frac{\Delta}{r}$
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1answer
171 views
Fermat principle: which index of refraction?
I am somewhat puzzled by a common formulation of the Fermat principle (light travel time), because it contains index of refraction related to phase velocity while light travel time through a slab of ...
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4answers
136 views
Light refraction and causality
One way how to look at refraction by a dielectric medium like water or glass is that (phase) velocity of light decreases because it is the wavelength rather than the frequency of the light which ...
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5answers
2k views
Is it possible to witness a circular rainbow?
What conditions would make it possible to see a naturally occurring fully 360° circular rainbow? Would it even be possible?
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3answers
1k views
Can anyone explain to me why light is not dispersed into a spectrum through a parallel glass slide, but only through a prism?
The question pretty much sums up what I need to know. Why is it that light only gets dispersed into a spectrum when travelling through two non-parallel sides(like a prism) and not through something ...
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2answers
51 views
Does the efficiency of radiation change in any way in the presence of a medium?
I've read that radiation doesn't really require a medium. But if you're taking, for example, the sun's light, then does its efficiency of transmission increase or decrease once it reaches the earth's ...
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2answers
240 views
About change in velocity of a light wave as it enters a different medium [closed]
$\dfrac {sin\theta1}{sin\theta2}=\dfrac {v1}{v2}=\dfrac {n2}{n1}$
I understand this equation, but what is the velocity of a light wave going through air and what is the velocity/change in velocity as ...
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2answers
12k views
Why does wavelength change as light enters a different medium?
When light waves enter a medium of higher refractive index than the previous, why is it that:
Its wavelength decreases?
The frequency of it has to stay the same?
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3answers
373 views
Why does change in speed of a wave make it refract?
When a light wave enters a medium with a higher refractive index (e.g. from air to standard glass) and its speed decreases, why does that make it refract/bend?
I understand that wavelength decreases ...
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6answers
4k views
What determines color — wavelength or frequency?
What determines the color of light -- is it the wavelength of the light or the frequency?
(i.e. If you put light through a medium other than air, in order to keep its color the same, which one would ...
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3answers
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Clarification needed in the concept of apparent depth & real depth
I understood the concept of apparent depth from here:
But one thing I didn't understand is, will there be difference in the real depth and apparent depth when we are looking not at an angle as ...
