Atlantic Posted March 1, 2004 Share Posted March 1, 2004 Why does light refract when changing different refractive index mediums? A quantum theory question Just want to hear your side to it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aommaster Posted March 2, 2004 Share Posted March 2, 2004 Well, from what i know, it slows down becuase of the change in density, but, you'll need to make sure. This is the diagram i was given. You can also imagine a car instead of this, if one side of the car enters sand from road first, those slow down, turning the car slightly. This is what i know about it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolfson Posted March 2, 2004 Share Posted March 2, 2004 Yes When a wavefront confronts an index step obliquely, one side of the front slows down before the other, thus turning the wavefront. APP(2004) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaKiri Posted March 2, 2004 Share Posted March 2, 2004 It's to do with the optical properties of the substances, which change the speed which light propagates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aommaster Posted March 2, 2004 Share Posted March 2, 2004 one of my brilliant ms paint diagrams It gives a good idea on what is going on. I was actually going to explain it, but found it too complex, so, ol' ms paint comes to the rescue! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyeokpeng Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 It is very simple. Light as it pass through a optical tranparent material, gets absorbed by the material (exciting an electron to higher energy level) and emitted as the excited electron goes back to a lower energy state. This in effect, will seem to slow down the speed of light in the optical medium due to a series process of absorbtion and trasmission of visible light photons. The slowing of speed of light causes refraction of light. This means that the optical tranparent material must have energy band gap that is sensitive to optical frequencies, so that they can absorb light photons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Callipygous Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 thats all hogwash, its magic. *moves his hands in that shifty magician way* but yeah, its because the side that hits first slows down first, turning the wave. if it goes in straight it doesnt bend at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swansont Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 It is very simple. Light as it pass through a optical tranparent material' date=' gets absorbed by the material (exciting an electron to higher energy level) and emitted as the excited electron goes back to a lower energy state. This in effect, will seem to slow down the speed of light in the optical medium due to a series process of absorbtion and trasmission of visible light photons. The slowing of speed of light causes refraction of light. This means that the optical tranparent material must have energy band gap that is sensitive to optical frequencies, so that they can absorb light photons.[/quote'] Those aren't real states, they are virtual ones. If the medium has real states - i.e. the band gap is in the optical - you will get absorption, and the material won't be transparent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sri_90 Posted October 27, 2004 Share Posted October 27, 2004 also how much the light refracts depends on the refraction index of what it is refracting through srijan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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