max

max
Index of Refraction
Reflection
• Reflection follows the cleverly
named “Law of Reflection”
Reflection
• Reflection follows the cleverly
named “Law of Reflection”
• Θi = Θr
Reflection
• Reflection follows the cleverly
named “Law of Reflection”
• Θi = Θr
• Be sure to measure the angle
from the line perpendicular
to the surface
Reflection
• Reflection follows the cleverly
named “Law of Reflection”
• Θi = Θr
• Be sure to measure the angle
from the line perpendicular
to the surface
• Corner reflectors always
reflect light at 180 degrees, no
matter the initial angle
Scattering
• For a surface that is
“rough” (non-smooth on a
scale comparable to the
wavelength of light)
• Light is reflected at all
manner of angles, leading
to diffusion, and we don’t
see a reflection.
Refraction
 Refraction
• When going between media
with different indices of
refraction, light slows down
or speeds up, and bends
 Refraction
• When going between media
with different indices of
refraction, light slows down
or speeds up, and bends
 Refraction
• When going between media
with different indices of
refraction, light slows down
or speeds up, and bends
• The mathematical
description of this bending is
called Snell’s Law.
 Refraction
• When going between media
with different indices of
refraction, light slows down
or speeds up, and bends
• The mathematical
description of this bending is
called Snell’s Law.
• n1sin(Θ1) = n2sin(Θ2)
 Refraction Practice (Ex. 1.2 in openstax)

Find the index of refraction for

medium 2, assuming medium
1 is air and given that the
incident angle is 30.0 degrees
and the angle of refraction is
22.0 degrees
Refraction Practice (Ex. 1.2 in openstax)
 Dispersion
• For a given medium, the
index of refraction also
depends on the wavelength
of light.
 Dispersion
• For a given medium, the
index of refraction also
depends on the wavelength
of light.
• By Snell’s Law, different
wavelengths of light will have
different refracted angles.
 Dispersion
• For a given medium, the
index of refraction also
depends on the wavelength
of light.
• By Snell’s Law, different
wavelengths of light will have
different refracted angles.
Polarization
• The E and B fields are
oscillating in a direction
perpendicular to the direction
of motion.
• The axis along which the E
field oscillations is the
direction of polarization
Polarization
Polarization
 Polarization

If unpolarized light with intensity I0 is incident on a polarizer, the polarized

light on the other side has intensity I0/2
 Polarization

If polarized light with intensity I0 is incident on a polarizer, the polarized light

on the other side has intensity I0cos2(θ), where θ is the angle between the
polarization of the light and the axis of the polarizer