Refraction of Light Flashcards

Practice flashcards covering key concepts, definitions, formulas, and phenomena from the Refraction of Light lecture notes.

What is lateral shift in the context of refraction through a glass slab?

The perpendicular distance between the direction of the incident ray and the emergent ray.

What is the mathematical expression for the second law of refraction?

$\mu = \frac{\sin(i)}{\sin(r)}$, where the ratio of the sine of the angle of incidence to the sine of the angle of refraction for given two media is a constant.

What are the refractive index values of water and diamond given in the lecture notes?

The refractive index of water is $1.33$ and the refractive index of diamond is $2.42$.

How do a real image and a virtual image differ regarding screen obtainability and ray intersection?

A real image can be obtained on the screen and forms by the real intersection of reflected or refracted rays of light, whereas a virtual image cannot be obtained on the screen and forms without the real intersection of rays.

Why do stars twinkle while planets do not twinkle?

Stars twinkle because continuous air movement changes atmospheric density and continually refracts starlight, shifting its image position. Planets do not twinkle because they lie nearer to Earth and appear larger, making position changes negligible.

What is defined as the critical angle?

The angle of incidence in the denser medium for which the corresponding angle of refraction in the rarer medium is $90^\circ$.

What are the critical angles of glass and diamond?

The critical angle of glass is $42^\circ$ and the critical angle of diamond is $24^\circ$.

What is total internal reflection?

Total internal reflection is a phenomenon in which a ray of light traveling from denser to the rarer medium with an angle of incidence greater than the critical angle reflects back to the same denser medium.

What are the two conditions required for total internal reflection to occur?

1. Light must be travelling from denser to rarer medium. 2. Angle of incidence must be greater than the critical angle.

What phenomenon is illustrated in this diagram where light travels in a denser medium with an angle of incidence greater than the critical angle ($i > c$)?

Total internal reflection