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.
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Under which circumstances is Snell's law applicable?
For a few years I have been tinkering with a numerical solver for light propagation. I stuck with the Helmholtz equation in the paraxial approximation because of lasers.
$$\partial_z f= \frac{i}{2k}\...
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How mirror can be used to explain the appearance of mirages?
Since mirage, in optics, the deceptive appearance of a distant object or objects caused by the bending of light rays (refraction) in layers of air of varying density. The normal path of light rays ...
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Most generic form of refractive index tensors
The refractive index of a material is in general a $3x3$ tensor (as in the case of birefringent crystals). From literature, it seems that in the case of transparent crystals, this tensor is in general ...
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Under water light reflection of air in a cup vs water in a cup
The last time I was on vacation I was drinking on the swimming pool, and after I was finished with the drinks I started playing with the 2 plastic cups I had, and noticed that the air produces a ...
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Does time pass slowly in water?
In water the speed of light is slower than it is in vacuum. By special relativity the speed of light is constant. Typically, for the basic explanation of special relativity a clock which has a mirror ...
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Huygens' principle and the laws of reflection/refraction
As I understand the Huygens principle, all points on the wavefront are sources of secondary spherical wavelets and the tangent to these wavelets will form new wavefront. This is used to prove the ...
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Relating Brachistochrone problem to Fermat's principle of least time [closed]
When I came across the Brachistochrone problem, my teacher said we could relate it to Fermat's principle of least time.
So, we could make many glass slabs of high $\mathrm dx$, and every slab has a ...
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At which wavelengths do photons behave like X-ray?
Hard X-rays of wavelengths of about an angstrom are very different than regular lights in a way that they can’t be reflected or refracted, which means their refractive index is always close to 1 ...
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Image Formation at a Spherical Refracting Surface
I was thinking about refraction at spherical refracting surfaces and what the required conditions be for the formation of a real or virtual image?
I thought I could use this formula:
\begin{equation*}
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Is there a good quantum explanation of refraction? [duplicate]
I'm aware of the classical explanation of refraction which deals with light being a wave that gets "slowed" down while passing from a medium to another. One problem that I have with this ...
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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 ...
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What does the optical Hamiltonian mean?
So I was trying to demonstrate Snell's law with Hamilton's equations, and when I got the Hamiltonian:
$$H = -\sqrt{n^2-p_{1}^2-p_{2}^2}.$$
I had a question about what this Hamiltonian indicates. I ...
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Can apparent depth be equal to real depth in any case?
Also does the depth of a tank decrease or remain same when viewed normally from above
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Complex part of second-order susceptibility in nonlinear optics
In optics, the absorption of photons by a material can be described by considering the material's susceptibility. For linear absorption (involving a single photon), we think about the imaginary part ...
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In Young double slit experiment, if whole of the space between the slits and the screen is filled with some optical medium (excluding air and vacuum)
Then a slab is introduced in front of one of the slits.
What will be the path difference offered by the slab?
The equation must be, according to my school teacher:
$$\left({n/n'-1}\right)p=d\sin\phi$$...
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