All Questions
Tagged with refraction reflection
307
questions
33
votes
3
answers
3k
views
A Rainbow Paradox
I was studying the phenomena of the formation of a rainbow. In my book, the following diagram is given:
So, the rays at the red end of the spectrum make a larger angle with the incident ray than the ...
- 1,064
0
votes
0
answers
48
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What causes an object to be more reflective than refractive?
This is a question that a high school student asked me and I couldn't give him a satisfactory answer. He started by saying that
An object appears red because the energy corresponding to a "red&...
- 8,230
0
votes
1
answer
70
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Combined reflection and refraction [closed]
Suppose a plane mirror is half-submerged in another medium (say water) and light rays are incident obliquely on mirror at the interface separating two media.
My questions -
(a)- Will reflected rays ...
- 3
2
votes
2
answers
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Why double rainbows have the orders of the color bands in them inverted?
I did some online search and found the explanation using the following two diagrams. It's not perfectly convincing to me. Or at least it is not clear to me in the following details of the process:
...
- 81
8
votes
2
answers
399
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Can we trap a light ray in a prism (in geometric optics)?
In geometric optics, light rays can enter a (finite) prism of constant refractive index, and bounce off the edges as long as the incident angle is less than the critical angle of the medium.
Is there ...
- 2,141
0
votes
1
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Is there a maximum angle for total internal reflection (TIR) above which TIR won't happen? [closed]
I came across such a concept when I learnt about fibre optic cables and T.I.R. There was this question:
Light guidance in an optical fibre can be understood by considering a structure comprising of ...
0
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0
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48
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Is it possible to have single-sided refraction?
Is it possible to have light refract in one direction, then reflect off a mirror but come back as a straight line like the picture below?
The context of this problem is in lens optics when a ...
- 1
0
votes
1
answer
342
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How to derive Fresnel's tangent law?
In this Wikipedia post the $r_p$ Fresnel reflection coefficient is given by:
$$r_p = \frac{\tan{(\theta_i - \theta_t)}}{\tan{(\theta_i + \theta_t)}}.$$
How can this be derived from the previous ...
- 2,111
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0
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Can a mote of dust create a rainbow/prism like effect if floating inside the light of a sunbeam and seen from the right angle and/or device?
The device could be a telescope, microscope, camera, or anything that zooms in with great clarity. I'm pretty sure that lots of dust together in one place in a sunbeam can have this effect (please ...
1
vote
1
answer
85
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Change in nature of image: Putting a concave mirror in water vs in air
I was wondering if we put a concave mirror in water, what will be the difference in the image formed by it in air vs water?
Exception: Here I mean except when rays come from infinity (e.g., sun) ...
- 1,064
1
vote
0
answers
65
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What are the physics behinde reflection and refraction of electromagnetic wave at a dialectric surface?
I have understood the most of the equations that lead to the Fresnel-Equations from electromagnetic waves and Maxwell equations. But not enough to understand what is happening. So I don't ask for an ...
- 11
0
votes
1
answer
38
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Is it possible to see real images without a screen?
I have always wondered about this question, so searched it up on the internet and there were contrasting ideas.Some said that it can be seen but the others said it can't.
According to me we are able ...
- 31
7
votes
4
answers
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What's at the end of a rainbow?
I recently saw a video where someone saw the end of a rainbow as it went into a lake. How is this even possible considering the fact that rainbows have no ends and are circular in nature?
Edit: I ...
2
votes
1
answer
38
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Why are $\rm ZnSe$ beam-combiners typically "optimized" for a 45º angle of incidence?
Everywhere I look it seems that $\rm ZnSe$ beam combiners (as the ones sometimes used in $\rm CO_2$ [10600nm IR] laser cutters) are "optimized" or designed to work at a 45º angle of ...
- 21
3
votes
1
answer
90
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Reflection versus Refraction with Waves
I am a middle school science teacher and we teach a unit on waves (mostly about sound) My students struggle to identify whether a wave (usually sound) is refracting or reflecting across many different ...
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