Refraction

Refraction of light is the change in direction of a wave passing from one medium to another caused by its change in speed. This is the bending or breaking that occurs throughout this lab. Learning about refraction is the main purpose of this lab and is explained through four separate experiments. The first experiment includes a medium size glass, water, and a pencil. The first step of this section was to fill the glass to two-thirds full of water. Then take the pencil and circle it around both the inside and outside of the glass. I had to look at the misconfiguration of the pencil at all different angles and distances. After doing this I had to write about my observations and determine why this occurs through the bending of light. The second…

entirely optical (light-based) technology. To send information using fiber optics, (eg: a computer) lasers within the computer will convert electrical information from the computer into a series of light pulses, this is the fundamental properties and function of a fiber optic cable. Fiber optic cables can be made of entirely out of glass, also known as ‘glass plus polymers’ or just ‘polymers’. (plastic optical fibers) Glass is primarily used for long distance applications due to its low…

absorbing all the light that tries to pass through it. Conversely, there are some materials that allow light to travel through them. These substances include things like air, water, or glass. When the substance light is travelling through changes so does the speed at which it travels. This change in speed causes light to bend and change direction when entering a new substance–a process referred to as refraction. Every one of these refractive materials has a property that has been called an…

The refractive index for the longer wavelengths (red) is lower than for the shorter wavelength (violet). This leads to a large angle of refraction for the longer wavelengths than shorter wavelengths. When light emerges from the other side of the prism, we see the various wavelengths dispersed to show different colors of the spectrum. Fig.No.2.10 - Dispersion of Light 2.5. Behaviour of Light: Just there for…

What is refraction Refraction is the bending of light when it passes from one medium to another, as light travels through one medium such as air it will travel at a certain velocity but once it enters another medium such as glass it will change direction due to the increase in density of the medium which slows down the velocity of the light. The amount that the light bends as it travels through a medium depends on how drastic the difference in optical density is. For example if light were to…

The Schlieren photographs taken in this lab, attached in Appendix B, show how the flow develops with respect to the flow exit pressure that is controlled by the opening of the valve. Schlieren photography is made possible by the variation of refraction index of gases in different density. To be more specific, the Schlieren photographs are taken in an environment with a collimated light. Without external interference, a collimated light should propagate in parallel for an infinite distance;…

A ray of light travels in a straight line. This is true until it passes from one medium (eg. air) into another medium (eg. glass) of a different optical density. When this happens, the ray of light changes speed causing it to bend either towards or away from the normal which is an imaginary line at 90 to the interface between two mediums. This is called refraction. How much it bends depends on the refractive indices of the two mediums which is a ratio of the speed of light in one medium…

The speed of light is the ultimate speed limit in the universe. Which travels at 3.0 x 108 m/s in a vacuum and always moves in a straight line. When light travels to a new medium its speed and direction will change, this is called refraction. Materials have different optical density so light rays travel at different velocities. Refractive index is the ratio of the speed of light in a vacuum to the speed of light in a medium. Calculated by the velocity of light in vacuum divided by velocity in a…

lens is negative. We also observe that the focal length of the plano-convex lens is greater than that of the bi-convex lens, which is due to the fact that one side of the plano-convex lens is flat while the other side is convex. When trying to observe spherical aberration, we find that five light rays passing through the bi-convex lens creates two focal points. The first focal point is (0.0520 ± 0.0005) m from the center of the lens and the second focal point is (0.0570 ± 0.0005) m away.…

Color skepticism is the belief that nothing truly possesses colors, since they are merely appearances to the perceiver. Although this is a sole belief on its own, there are many ways in which people have attempted to prove its validity. Some points of view include considering the scientific process behind the perception of color, while others, through a scientific lens, concentrate on what color really is, including its potential properties. However, I believe that the theory that is the most…