NATS 1870 Lecture Notes - Lecture 18: Total Internal Reflection, Refraction
20 Jun 2016
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Reflection : incoming angle = outgoing angle: specular, diffuse see pdf. Mirrored surface metals; overlapping valence + conduction bands. Outgoing light rays go in many directions but each individual ray follows the law of reflection at the local area. Refraction the slowing down and changing direction of a beam of light as it goes from one medium to another. Law of refraction describes how a light beam changes its path in a denser medium. Each medium has specific index of refraction (i. e. water: 1. 33%) Dispersion: the spreading of light into its component wavelengths as it travels through a medium. Different wavelengths slow down by different amounts in a medium. I. e. each wavelength has a different index of refraction. Happen when water drops in the atmosphere refract, disperse and totally internally reflect light from the sun. Sun: refraction (light changes its path) and dispersion happens.
