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Questions tagged [refraction]

Change in the direction of propagation of a wave when its transmitting medium changes. The tag does also apply to index of refraction.

3 votes
4 answers
630 views

Refraction of light through a slab of variable refractive index

Here I am posting a question of Jee Adv. 2023 based on refraction. A monochromatic light wave is incident normally on a glass slab of thickness 𝑑, as shown in the figure. The refractive index of the ...
Govind Prajapat's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
72 views

On the (variable?) nature of $\epsilon_0$ and $\mu_0$

In electromagnetism, the electric displacement field D represents the distribution of electric charges in a given medium resulting from the presence of an electric field E. Its relation to ...
Juan Moreno's user avatar
10 votes
1 answer
2k views

How does a Magic Mirror work?

I recently found out about the Magic Mirror. Both sides of the mirror look the same, and it appears to be dark, if looked at closely, like sunglasses (but lighter in colour) but looks like a normal ...
Stuti's user avatar
  • 702
1 vote
1 answer
94 views

When light passes from one medium to another. Depending on the density, it would experience a change in velocity. Why would its vector change as well?

For example, when light passes through water its velocity decreases and refraction occurs. Why? Why is there a change in direction. If I slow down a car I don’t suddenly turn left.
A new learner's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
50 views

What causes light to scatter in a medium?

My understanding is that all mediums have a complex iindex of refraction where the real component is the "standard" index of refraction, and the imaginary component is the extinction ...
Chris Gnam's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
32 views

General formulea for describing the refractive index at any point within the a black hole's gravitational field approaching the event horizon?

So, say I describe a perfectly linear field expanding outward from a point (A signed distance field of a sphere, basically) (as described by sqrt(x^2 + y^2 + z^2) ...
Mister SirCode's user avatar
15 votes
6 answers
7k views

Why color depends on frequency and not on wavelength? [duplicate]

To explain my question lets consider this example: The wavelength of light in a medium is $\lambda=\lambda_{0}/\mu$, where $\lambda_{0}$ is the wavelength in vacuum. A beam of red light ($\lambda_{0}=...
Devansh Mittal's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
59 views

Refractive index of air & pressure relation [duplicate]

I do not understand why refractive index of air,when nearly equal to 1,is proportional to the pressure of the air. If anybody can provide an answer with proper resource from which I can study on the ...
Sumit Roy's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
30 views

Broadening of sodium lines by a prism upon change of incidence angle

How angle of incidence affect the lines of sodium when we are observing refracted rays from prism ? Or is it the deviation of rays that makes the lines broader. Let me put it in a better way , when ...
Subhajit Podder's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
153 views

Complex Refractive Indices, Absorption, and Transparency

A complex refractive index is defined as $n = n_0 + \kappa$ where $n_0$ is the "standard" refractive index, and $\kappa$ is the optical extinction coefficient. The optical extinction ...
Chris Gnam's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
200 views

Lenses and missing reflection

I am wondering why reflected rays are not considered with lenses. If a ray strikes a surface, another is reflected off that striking point; however, this is not added when studying lenses, only ...
DisD's user avatar
  • 23
1 vote
0 answers
28 views

Fresnel Equations and an Opaque Surface?

I'm trying to make sense of what actually happens to light when it interacts with an opaque surface. The fresnel equations give us the proportion of light which is reflected off the surface of a ...
Chris Gnam's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
75 views

Perceiving the rainbows

Famous Astrophysicist Dr Neil DeGrasse Tyson, explains that whenever we observe a rainbow it appears exactly semi-circle to us. If another person is observing the same rainbow from a slightly ...
Shamant Desai's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
91 views

The speed of light in medium with different frequency

We know that the speed of light in vaccuum can be expressed as $c=\frac{1}{\sqrt{\mu_0\epsilon_0}}$ and thus the speed of light in vaccuum is thus $$v=\frac{1}{\sqrt{\mu\epsilon}}=\frac{c}{\sqrt{\...
Pck Tsp's user avatar
  • 83
1 vote
2 answers
181 views

Geometric optics multiple lens focal length calculation

Just wanted to understand how I would go about calculating the effective focal length of these different lens configurations. There's the combined focal length formula, but I'm struggling to apply it ...
user94863's user avatar

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