Effects of Refraction of Light
When anything interrupts the light waves, it causes refraction of the light. Light also moves mostly in the form of waves, much like most other materials.
As shown below, the pencil seems deformed in the water because light cannot travel through the water as rapidly as it can through the air. The pencil has a tiny magnification effect due to the light refraction, which makes the angle appear larger than it actually is and makes the pencil appear crooked.
Refraction of Light
Refraction is an important term used in the Ray Optics branch of Physics. Refraction of light is defined as the change in direction or the bending of a wave passing from one medium to another due to the change in speed of the wave. Some natural phenomena occurring in nature where refraction of light takes place are the twinkling of stars, the formation of mirages and Rainbows, Optical illusions, and many more. The major cause of refraction to occur is the change in the speed of waves in different mediums, which is different due to the difference between the densities of the mediums. e.g. the speed of light in a vacuum is maximum. Snell’s Law provides a quantitative description of the amount of bending of a wave, that depends on the refractive index of the two mediums. Let’s learn more about refraction like the Laws of Refractions, Causes of Refraction, Types of Refraction, Examples, and Applications of Refractions in the article below.
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