A student shines a laser beam from water into air at an angle to the normal. She observes that the beam bends away from the normal as it passes into air. Which concept of the laws of refraction is best demonstrated by this observation?
When light travels from a denser to a rarer medium, it bends away from the normal.
Water is optically denser than air (refractive index about 1.33 vs 1.00).
Light speeds up on entering a rarer medium, so it bends away from the normal and the angle of refraction exceeds the angle of incidence.
Light does not travel straight across media at an angle; total internal reflection would keep the beam in the water instead of letting it pass into air; reflection does not cause bending into a new medium.
Hence, the observation shows: When light travels from a denser to a rarer medium, it bends away from the normal.
Similar Questions
A student is asked to design an experiment using a concave mirror to locate its principal focus. She position a parallel beam of light to strike the mirror and observe the reflected rays meeting at a point. How should this point be described in the context of the mirror’s features?
A prism produces a spectrum when white light passes through it. If the refractive index for red light is 1.50 and for violet light is 1.54, what does this suggest about the behavior of the different colors in the prism?
Which of the following statements is/are correct about the twinkling of stars as observed from Earth?
(i) Twinkling occurs due to atmospheric refraction.
(ii) The density of Earth's atmosphere is uniform at all heights.
(iii) The apparent position of stars shifts slightly due to changing atmospheric conditions.
(iv) Twinkling is more pronounced for planets than for stars.
An object is placed at a distance of twice the focal length (2F) from a convex lens along its principal axis. What is the nature and position of the image formed?
If an image formed by a spherical mirror is real and inverted, which of the following correctly describes the sign of the image distance according to the sign convention?
Which feature best describes the orientation and size of the image produced by a convex mirror for any object position?
Which of the following statements about image formation by spherical mirrors is NOT correct?
A ray of light passes through the center of curvature of a concave mirror after reflection. Which path will it follow and why?
Identify the statement(s) that accurately describe situations involving refraction.
(i) The apparent depth of a swimming pool is less than its actual depth due to refraction.
(ii) We are able to see our image in a plane mirror due to refraction.
(iii) A pencil partially dipped in water appears bent at the water surface due to refraction.
(iv) Refraction makes a white wall appear colored at night.
A wildlife photographer uses a camera with a convex lens to capture an image of a rare bird perched on a branch. The bird is positioned further from the lens than twice its focal length, but the photographer wants the resulting image to be the same size as the real bird. Which lens adjustment would most effectively allow the photographer to achieve this goal, based on ray diagram principles?
Important Questions from Optics
Who was the first one to use a glass prism to obtain the spectrum of sunlight?
Twinkling of stars is due to:
In which a convex mirror is used?
A. Rear View mirrors in vehicles
B. Glass windows
C. Makeup Mirror
D. Kaleidoscope
An object is placed 10 cm in front of a lens. The image formed is real, inverted and of same size as the object. What is the focal length and nature of the lens?
The power of a lens is -2.5 D. The type of lens and its focal length are respectively:
