PHYS 142 Lecture Notes - Lecture 36: Refraction
29 Apr 2015
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Phys 142: electromagnetism and optics - lecture 36: ray optics part 2. Two things happen when a light ray is incident on a smooth boundary between two transparent materials: o o. Part of the light reflects from the boundary, obeying the law of reflection. Part of the light continues into the second medium. The transmission of light from one medium to another, but with a change in direction, is called refraction. The e field causes polarization in the medium. As we saw with capacitors, that causes charge density on the surface, which makes a reflected wave. The reflection is only partial, as the charge is smaller than for a conductor. The wave frequency must stay the same. This will cause the wave to bend as it enters the medium. When a ray is transmitted into a material with a higher index of refraction, it bends toward the.
