All Questions
5
questions
0
votes
1
answer
50
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What does the wave created during refraction look like?
People always describe refraction as light stimulating the electrons in the glass, which create their own light, which interferes with the original wave. They always say “the math is too complex, but ...
- 103
2
votes
2
answers
779
views
Wavefronts, refraction, and the marching soldiers analogy
I am not a physicist, but rather a middle school science teacher. Please be gentle. The marching soldiers has been a really good analogy for explaining why a change of direction is caused by hitting ...
- 43
1
vote
0
answers
28
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Path a photon or phonon takes in a moving medium
Lets say we have a medium with refractive index n whose velocity is given as a function of height.
$v_x(y)=ay$
How would we go about finding the motion of a photon or phonon in this space from the ...
- 780
2
votes
1
answer
94
views
Why does light behave according to the left picture and not according to the right?
Light changes its speed, because the new medium is either more, or less dense; but why does it change direction?
- 33
2
votes
3
answers
2k
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Reconciling refraction with particle theory and wave theory
I have searched the web for good answers to why refraction occurs when light moves from one medium to another with different density. I have limited background in physics and want to know if there is ...
- 151