What is Refraction of Light?

The phenomenon of change in the direction/path of light rays when it travels from one medium to another is called refraction of light. 

The bending of light is caused by the change in the wave’s speed. Light has different speeds in different mediums. When light travels in the same medium, it travels along a straight line but when the medium changes the speed of light changes and light bends. 

The image below shows the light ray entering the air-glass surface and bending towards the normal. This phenomenon represents the refraction of light.

Laws of Refraction of Light are the basic laws which govern the refraction of light. As we know light changes its path when it changes its medium and this property is called the refraction of light. The laws of refraction of light are useful in defining the relationship between incident light and refracted light.

When we put a pencil in a glass of water, we observe that the pencil is slightly bent but actually it is not. We also observed that during summer, the trees and houses on the other side of an open ground appear to be shaking. While travelling on a road on a hot summer day, we sometimes observe that water appears in the middle of the road out of nowhere and when we get closer, there is no water. The reason behind all this is the “Refraction of light“. In this article, we will discuss the Refraction of light, the Laws of Refraction and its examples in detail.