1.

Refraction of Light

2.Total internal Reflection.

3.Huygens’s principle
 Learning objective:
• 11.5.1.2 explain the refraction of light using Huygens’ principle;

• 11.5.1.3 draw ray diagrams in a plane-parallel plate and a

triangular prism;

• 11.5.1.4 able to solve problems involving the refraction of light

in a plane-parallel plate and a triangular prism;
What is the refraction?
Refraction
- Light changes direction
when crossing a
boundary from one
medium to another. This
is called refraction

- is the apparent
bending of light as it
passes from one
medium to another.
 Refraction of Light
When a light ray is incident at the boundary between two
transparent media
 it is partially reflected back to the medium where it came, obeying the laws
of reflection and partially transmitted to the second medium.
 Part of the ray that enters the second medium is bent at the boundary and
said to be REFRACTED.
 Refraction of Light

Question
What do you think is the reason for refraction?
 Refraction of Light

When light
rays strike the
boundary
between the
two media at
right angles,
THEY ARE
NOT BENT.
 Answer the questions
angle of incidence i -

angle of refraction r -

Formulate definition the

Law of Refraction
 Refraction of Light
angle of incidence i - The angle between the incident ray
and the normal to the surface at the point of incidence

angle of refraction r -
The angle between the
refracted ray and the normal.
Laws of Refraction
Complete the sentence for term
Index of Refraction
 Its symbol is---
 The ratio of--------------------------------
 n =-------
 Snell’s law equation______________
 Index of Refraction
 Its symbol is n
 The ratio of the speed of light c in vacuum to the
speed of light v in the medium
 n = c/v
 From this equation, if we substitute c/n for the speeds
into Snell’s law equation, we obtain the law of
refraction as
Index of Refraction
Based on the diagrams below of the refraction of light rays
through different materials. Study the diagrams and compare
the angle of incidence i and the of refraction r as light passes
from: (a) air to the material and (b) the material to air

i i i
air air air

water glass r
r diamond
r

air air air

State the relationship between the amount of bending and the
index of refraction as light passes from an optically less dense
medium to an optically denser one.

i i i
air air air

water glass r
r diamond
r

air air air

 i i i
air air air

water glass r
r diamond
r

air air air

Based on your answer in the previous question, compare the

angle of incidence and the angle of refraction as light passes
from an optically less dense medium to an optically denser
medium and vice versa.
Ray diagrams in a triangular prism

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aggi0g67uXM -
Refraction: why glass prisms bend and separate light
 Total Internal Reflection
As light ray travels on a medium of higher refractive index to
a medium of lower refractive index, like from water to air, it is
refracted and the
refracted ray bends
AWAY from the normal.

As the angle of
incidence increases, the
angle of refraction also
increases.
 Total Internal Reflection
At a certain angle of incidence, the angle of refraction
becomes 90 and the refracted ray travels along the boundary
between
the media.

The angle of incidence

In this case is called the
CRITICAL ANGLE.
 Total Internal Reflection
Question:
Define CRITICAL ANGLE.
When the angle of incidence is
greater than the critical angle,
the light ray CANNOT PASS into the second medium,
CANNOT ESCAPE OF THE FIRST MEDIUM, CANNOT
GO OUT OF THE FIRST MEDIUM, TRAPPED and it is
reflected back according to the laws of reflection. This is
called TOTAL INTERNAL REFLECTION.
Total Internal Reflection
 Total Internal Reflection
• Total internal reflection
can occur when light
attempts to move from a
medium with a high index
of refraction to one with a
lower index of refraction
• Ray 5 shows internal
reflection

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAaHPRsveJk
 Critical Angle
A particular angle
of incidence will
result in an angle
of refraction of 90°
This angle of
incidence is called
the critical angle

n2
sin  C  for n1  n2
n1
 Critical Angle, cont
• For angles of incidence greater than the critical angle,
the beam is entirely reflected at the boundary
• This ray obeys the Law of Reflection at the boundary
• Total internal reflection occurs only when light
attempts to move from a medium of higher index of
refraction to a medium of lower index of refraction.
EXAMPLE: In this figure, find the critical angle.
WATER-AIR BOUNDARY
EXAMPLE: In this figure, find the critical angle.

GLASS-AIR BOUNDARY
 Christian Huygens (1629 – 1695)
• In 1678 year explained
many properties of light
by proposing light was
wave-like
• Best known for
contributions to fields of
optics and dynamics
• Deduced the laws of
reflection and refraction
• Explained double
refraction
 Huygens's Principle
• Huygens assumed that light is a form of
wave motion rather than a stream of
particles.
• Huygen’s Principle is a geometric
construction for determining the position
of a new wave at some point based on the
knowledge of the wave front that
preceded it.
 Huygens's Principle, cont
• All points on a given wave front are taken as point
sources for the production of spherical secondary
waves, called wavelets (small waves / a ripple),
which propagate in the forward direction with
speeds characteristic of waves in that medium.
• After some time has elapsed, the new position of
the wave front is the surface tangent to the wavelets

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5g3ChMJBITc
Huygen’s Construction for a Plane Wave
• At t = 0, the wave front is
indicated by the plane AA’
• The points are
representative sources for
the wavelets
• After the wavelets have
moved a distance cΔt, a
new plane BB’ can be
drawn tangent to the
wavefronts
Huygen’s Construction for a Spherical Wave
• The inner arc represents
part of the spherical wave.
• The points are
representative points
where wavelets are
propagated
• The new wavefront is
tangent at each point to the
wavelet
 HUYGEN’S PRINCIPLE
States that every point on a wavefront may be considered to
be a source of secondary wavelets (small waves).
a) Propagation of straight
waves

b) Propagation of circular
waves
 HUYGEN’S PRINCIPLE

a) Propagation of straight waves b) Propagation of circular waves

 Consider wavefronts AB

 All the points on this wavefront are sources of new wavelets

 After a short time new wavelets from a new wavefront A’B’

 Huygen’s Principle and the Law of
Reflection
• The Law of
Reflection can be
derived from
Huygen’s Principle
• AA’ is a wave front
of incident light
• The reflected wave
front is CD
 Huygen’s Principle and the Law of
Reflection, cont
• Triangle ADC is
congruent to
triangle AA’C
• θ1 = θ1’
• This is the Law of
Reflection
 Huygen’s Principle and the Law of
Refraction
• In time Δt, ray 1
moves from A to B
and ray 2 moves
from A’ to C
• From triangles
AA’C and ACB, all
the ratios in the Law
of Refraction can be
found
• n1 sin θ1 = n2 sin θ2
 Answer the following:

a) What do you mean by refraction?

b) What is the angle of refraction when the angle of incidence is zero?
c) What is optical density?
d) Can angle of refraction be greater than the angle of incidence?
e) Is the refractive index of water with glass less or more than 1?
 Sample Problem
A beam of light in air strikes the glass side of a water-filled
aquarium at an angle of 37 to the normal.

(Take nglass = 1.5; nwater = 4/3)

a) At what angle does the beam enter the glass?

b) At what angle does the beam enter the water?