Find a relationship between the angles of incidence and the angles of refraction by obtaining a set of readings for the angles of incidence and refraction as a light ray passes from air into perspex.

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Refraction of Light

Aim:

To find a relationship between the angles of incidence and the angles of refraction by obtaining a set of readings for the angles of incidence and refraction as a light ray passes from air into perspex.

Introduction:

Refraction is the bending of a wave when it enters a medium where it's speed is different. The refraction of light when it passes from a fast medium to a slow medium bends the light ray toward the normal to the boundary between the two media. The amount of bending depends on the indices of refraction of the two media and is described quantitatively by Snell's Law. (Refer to diagram below)

The index of refraction is defined as the speed of light in vacuum divided by the speed of light in the medium. In this experiment, the index of refraction for the perspex is 1.50.

Snell's Law relates the indices of refraction of the two media to the directions of propagation in terms of the angles to the normal. It refers to the relationship between the different angles of light as it passes from one transparent medium to another. When light passes from one