What is Refraction?

Refraction is referred as the bending of light when it passes from one medium to another. This bending occurs due to the change in the speed of light as it moves from one medium to another.

When light travels from a less dense medium to a denser one, it bends towards the normal line, whereas when it moves from a denser medium to a less dense one, it bends away from the normal line.

Laws of Refraction

The laws of refraction states that:

• The reflected, incident, and the normal at the point of incidence all will tend to lie in the same plane.

• The ratio of the sine of the angle of the incidence and refraction is constant. This is called Snell’s law.

sin i / sin r = (n₂/n₁)

where,

• i is the angle of incidence
• r is the angle of refraction
• n₂ and n₁ the refractive indices of the two mediums. 

Refraction is the bending of light when passing through different mediums while diffraction occurs when light waves bend around obstacles or edges. While refraction affects the path of light rays, diffraction changes their distribution. Both phenomena play big roles in various scientific fields and applications.

In this article, we will learn about the differences between refraction and diffraction.