gcsescience.com 22 gcsescience.com
Light - Refraction (continued).
When a ray of light
enters a glass block at an angle
other than the normal
it changes speed,
wavelength and direction
as shown below.

In going from a less
dense
medium (air)
to a more dense medium
(glass)
light bends towards
the normal.
This means that i > r
(the angle i is greater
than the angle r).
In going from a more dense to a less
dense medium (glass
to air),
light bends away from the normal.
How much the light bends
depends on its colour.
The change in angle
of the light ray is the same
when it enters and leaves
the glass.
If the incident ray had continued without
changing direction,
then the emergent ray
would be parallel to it.
Headings
Waves
Search
Questions
gcsescience.com Contents Index Quizzes gcsescience.com
Copyright © 2007 Dr. Colin France. All Rights Reserved.