CHAPTERTWO

REFRACTI
ONOFLI
GHT
I
ntr
oduct
ion
Ref
ract
ionofli
ghtisthebendi
ngofli
ghtattheinter
faceorboundar
ywheni
tpassesatanangl
efr
om one
medium i
ntoanotherofdi
ffer
entopt
icaldensi
ty.

Causesofr
efr
act
ion
Refractionoflighti
scausedbysuddenchangei ntheveloci
tyofli
ghtasitt r
avelsfrom onemedium i
ntoanot
her
.
Li
ghtt ravelsatdiff
erentspeedindi
ff
erentmedi aastheyhavediff
erentopti
cal densit
ies.
Aslightt r
avelsacrosstheboundarybetweent womediaitmaysuddenl yslowsdownorspeedsupt hereby
tr
ansf ormingintolightwavewi t
heit
herlargerorshort
erwav el
engthast hefrequencyr emai
nconstant.
Thischangei nspeedandwav el
engt
hofl i
ghtmakei ttochangedirect
ionhencer efracti
onofli
ght
.

Condi
ti
onsf
orr
efr
act
ionofl
ight
Forrefr
act i
ontooccurandhowmucht helighti
sr ef
racteddependson;
Changei nspeed–Forr ef
ractiontooccurtheremustbechangei nthespeedoflightther
efor
eifthemedium
causesli
ghtt ospeeduporsl owdowni twillref
ractmor e.
Angleoft heinci
dentray–Forr efr
acti
ont ooccurl i
ghtwavemustappr oachtheinter
faceatanangle.
Ifli
ghti
sent eri
ngthemedium atagr eaterangleitwill
refr
actmorebutifenteri
ngnormal l
y(per
pendicul
arl
y)i
t
slowsdownbuti ti
snotrefracted.

Exampl esofr efract

ionofli
ght
-Athinroddippedi nwaterobli
quelyappearstobendatt hewat ersur
face.
-Apool ofwaterappearsshallowerthantherealdepthwhenv iewedfrom directl
yabove.
-Acolourfulr
ainbowi sformedintheatmospher eusual
lyaftersomer ains.
-twi
nkli
ngofst ars.
-Asimmer ingpool ofwaterseemsaheadoft ravel
eronat armacr oadordeser tsandonahotday.
-Thesetti
ngsunappear sovalinshape
Refract
ionoflightisappli
edinlenses,magnifyi
ngglass,pri
smsandf ocusi
ngoft heimageonther
eti
nabyt
he
humaney e.

Eff
ect sofopticaldensi
tyont hedirecti
onoft herefr
actedray s
Opticaldensityorabsorbanceoft hemat eri
ali sdefi
nedast hel ogari
thmicint
ensit
yrat i
ooft heli
ghtfal
li
ng
upont hemat eri
altotheli
ghtt r
ansmi t
tedt hr oughamat er
ial,thatis,themeasuretowhi char efr
acti
ve
medi um ret
ardst r
ansmittedraysoflight.
Theopt ical
densityofamedi um infl
uencest hespeedatwhi chl ighttr
av el
sint
hatmedi um hencet heamountof
ref
ractioninthatmedium.
Thereforethehighertheopticaldensityofamat eri
althesl
owert hatal i
ghtwavewill
mov ethroughthemater
i .
al
Spect r
ometerisusedt omeasur etheoptical densi
tyofamat er
ial.
Therefr
actedraymaybendawayort owar
dsthenormal
dependingontheopt
icaldensi
tyofthesecondmedi
um
wit
hrespecttof i
rstmedi
um.
Whenar ayoflighttr
avel
sfr
om anopti
cal
lyl
essdensemedium toanopti
cal
lydensermedium suchasfr
om ai
r
towaterorglassitsl
owsdownhenceitbendst
owardsthenormalli
ne.

Whenarayofl
i
ghttr
av el
sfrom anopt
ical
lydensermedi
um toal
essopt
ical
lydensemedi
um suchasf
rom
wat
erorgl
asstoai
ritspeedsuphenceitbendsawayfrom t
henor
malli
ne.

Theprincipl
eofreversi
bil
i
tyofli
ghtalsoappli
esi
nther
efracti
onsuchthatar
ayofli
ghttr
avel
l
ingf
rom an
opt
ical
l
yl essdensemedium toopti
call
ydensermedi
um f
ollowsthesamepaththati
ttr
avel
swhenmovingfr
om
opt
ical
l
ydensermedi um tolessopt
ical
lydensemedi
um.

Lawsofr ef
ract
ion.
Fi
rstlaw:
Theincidentray,t
heref
ract
edr
ayandt
henor
malatt
hepoi
ntofi
nci
denceal
lli
eont
hesamepl
ane.
Secondl aw:
TheSnell’
slawwhichstatest
hattheratioofthesineoft
heangl
eofi
nci
dencet
othesineoft
heangl
eof
ref
racti
onisaconstantforagiv
enpai rofmedia.
si
ni
=constant(
k)wheretheconstantistheref
racti
vei
ndexwhi
chi
sdenot
edby(n)
.
si
nr
Exper
iment
alv
eri
fi
cat
ionofSnel
l
’sl
aw.
Youar epr ov i
dedwi t
ht hefoll
owing
Ar ectangul argl assblock
4opt i
calpi ns
4thumbpi ns
Asof tboar d
Apl ainpaper .
Proceedasf ol
lows
Fi
xt hewhi tepl ainpaperont hesoftboardusingt humbpins.
Placet hegl assbl ockwi t
hitslar
gersur f
aceont hepaperandtr
aceitsoutli
ne,labeli
tABCDasshownbel ow.
Remov et hegl assbl ockanddr awanor malENatpoi ntE2cm from A.
Const ructanangl eanangl eofi =20°atEwi tht henormalEN.
Replacet hegl assbl ockont otheoutli
neandst icktwopinsPandQont helinesucht hatt
heyar
eatleast6cm
apar tandupr i
ght.
Viewi ngpi nsPandQf rom oppositeside,f
ixpinsRandSsucht hatthefourpinsappearinastr
aightl
i
ne.
Remov et hepi nsandt heglassblock.
Drawal inej oiningRandSandpr oduceitt
omeett heoutl
inef
aceDCatpoi ntF.joi
nEt oF
Measureangl
esr°ande°.
Repeatt
heaboveprocedur
eforot
herv
aluesofi
=30°
,40°,
50°
,60°and70°

Complet
et hetabl
ebel
ow
Angl
eofi nci
dence Angl
eofr
efr
act
ion si
ni si
nr si
ni
i r si
nr
20°
30°
40°
50°
60°
70°
Pl
otthegraphofsi
niagai
nstsi
nr
Det
erminethesl
opeofthegr
aph.
Obser
v at
ions:
Thegraphofsi agai
ni nstsi
nri
sast
rai
ghtl
i
net
hrought
heor
igi
n.

si
ni
Thesl
opeoft
hegr
aphi
sequal
tot
her
ati
oof
si
nr
Refr
acti
veIndex.
Theconstantofpropor
ti
onal
i
tyoft
heSnell
’sLawister
medastheRefr
act
ivei
ndexanditi
sthe
measureoftheamountofbendingofarayofli
ghtwhenpassi
ngfr
om onemedium i
ntoanot
her
.
I
tisdenotedby(n).
I
tisadi mensi onlessnumbert hatdescribeshowf astli
ghttravelsthroughamat eri
al.
Refracti
v eindexofamat eri
ali
sani ndi
catoroftheopt i
caldensityofthemateri
alhencethehigheropti
cal
densitythehi gherther ef
racti
veindexandt helowerthespeedofl ight
.
Refracti
v eindexi srelati
veasitcompar esonemedi um toanot her.
fiam t
I heangl eofi ncidenceofar ayandri st
heangl eofrefractionatthei
nter
faceorboundarybetweentwo
medi athenr efracti
vei ndexofthemedium 2wi threspecttomedi um 1isgi
venasf ol
lows.
sini
(n
1 2 )=
sinr
if1n2ist herefracti
v eindexofmedi um 2withrespecttomedi um 1t henbytheprinci
pleofr
eversi
bil
i
tyofl
ight
therefractiveindexofmedi um 1wi t
hrespecttomedi um 2isgi venasfoll
ows;
1
2n1= .2n1i
sther
eci
procalof1n2
1n2

Exampl
es
1.Thefi
gurebelowshowsarayofl
i
ghtinci
dent
ontheboundarybet
weentheai
randli
quidA.

Det
ermi
net
her
efr
act
ivei
ndexoft
hegl
ass.

Findther
efr
act
ivei
ndexofl
i
qui
dAwi
thr
espect
4.Findtheangl
eofref
ract
ion(ig)gi
vent
hatt
he
toair
.
ref
ract
ivei
ndexofgl
assis1.5.

2.Thefigur
ebelowshowst heangl
eof
i
ncidenceinai
rwaterboundary

Cal
cul
atet
heangleofrefr
act
ionri
fther
efr
act
ive
i
ndexofwateri
s1.333. 5.Cal
culat
et heref
ract
ivei
ndexforl
ightt
ravel
l
ing
fr
om gl
asst oairgi
venthatr
efr
acti
veindexofglass
wit
hrespecttoairi
s1.5

3.Thefi
gurebel
owshowsar
ayi
nci
dentonagl
ass
ai
rint
erf
ace.
6.Cal
cul
atetheangl
eofref
ract
ionforar
ayofl
ight
fr
om ai
rstr
iki
nganair
-gl
assint
erf
ace,maki
ngan
 eof600wi
angl tht
hei
nter
face.(
Ref
ract
ivei
ndexof gl
assang=1.
5)

Ref
ract
iveindexintermsofvel
ocit
y
Ref
ract
ivei
ndexcanal sobegiv
enasrati
oofvel
ocit
yofl
ighti
nthefi
rstmedi
um t
othev
eloci
tyofl
i
ght
i
nthesecondmedi um.
Ref
ract
ivei
ndexofmedi um 2withr
espectt
omedium 1i
sgivenas:
vel
ocityofl
ighti
nmedium 1.
1n2=
vel
ocityofl
ighti
nmedium 2.

Absol
uteRefracti
veindex
Whenar ayofli
ghtistrav
ell
ingf
rom v
acuum t
oamedium ther
efr
act
ivei
ndexi
sref
err
edt
oas
absol
uteref
racti
veindexofthemedi
um andi
sdenot
edby‘n’
I
tisdefi
nedastherel
ati
vespeedatwhichli
ghtmovest
hroughamateri
alwi
thr
espectt
oit
sspeedi
nav
acuum.
Thisref
ract
ivei
ndexi
sknownast herefr
acti
vei
ndexofthemater
ial
.
veloci
tyofl
i
ghtinav
acuum(
c)
Refr
act
ivei
ndexofamat
eri
al‘
n’=
v
eloci
tyofl
ighti
nmadi
um(v
)
c
n=
v
Exampl
es
1.Calculat
etherefr
acti
v eindexofwat
ergi
venthat
8
thevelocit
yofl
ightinairis3.0×10 m/sandthati
n 3.Giv
enthatt
heveloci
tyofli
ghti
nai
ris3.0×
wateris2.25×108m/ s. 108m/sandthati
nglassis2.
0×108m/s.Cal
cul
ate:
(a)
Theref
ract
ivei
ndexofglass.

2.Ar ayoflighti
sinci
dentonagl assslabmaki ngan
angleof250wi ththesurf
ace.Calcul
atet heangleof
ref
racti
oni nglassandtheveloci
tyofli
ghti nglassi
f (
b)Theangleofrefract
ioni
ntheglassf
orar
ayof
therefract
iveindexofgl
assis1.5andv eloci
tyof l
i
ghtpassingfrom airt
oglassatanangl
eof
l
ightinairis3.0×108. i
ncidenceof400.

Ref
ract
ivei
ndexi
nter
msofRealandappar
entdept
h
Setupt
heappar
atusasshownbel
ow.

Thedi
agram aboveshowsapointobj
ectpl
acedatthebott
om ofthebeakerf
il
ledwit
hwat er
.TheraysOAand
OBcomingfrom Oareref
ract
edalongADandABr espect
ivel
y.Theser
aysappeartodiv
ergefrom poi
ntIt
husIi
s
t
heVirtual
imageofO.
From Snel
l’
slaw
sini AB AB
Ref ract iv
eindexofai rwithr
espectt othewater= butsi ni = andsi nr=
sinr OB I
B
AB
sini OB I B
Then = =
sinr AB OB
I
B
Ast her ayistrav
ell
ingfrom opt
icall
ydenserwat ert olessopt i
cal l
ydenseai
rthen
I
B
( n )=
water ai
r OB
1
Ther ef racti
veindexofwat erwit
hr especttoair
( n )=
ai er ( n )
r wat
wat
er ai
r
OB
=
IB
Ast heobj ectisvi
ewedf rom apointv er
ti
cal
lyabov eitthenpoi ntBi sver
ycl
osetopoi
ntAsucht
hat
;
I
B=I AandOB=OA
OA
( n )=
ai
r water I
A

Butthedi
stanceofthevir
tuali
mageIf r
om thesur f aceofwat er(I
A)istheappar
entdept
hwhi
l
ereal
dept
hist
he
di
stanceofthereal
0bjectOf r
om thesurf
acewat er( OA)then,
Realdepth
Refr
acti
veindexofwaterwithrespectt
oair( n ) =
ai
r water A pparentdepth
Thedistancethr
oughwhichtheobjecthasbeendispl
acedi
sknownast
hev
ert
ical
displ
acementandi
s
gi
venas;
Vert
icaldispl
acement=Realdept
h-Appar entdept
h.
Note:
Thi
sf or
mul ai
strueonl
yiftheobj
ectisviewednormall
y.

Exampl
e
1.
Agl assblockofthi
ckness12cm i splacedona
markdr awnonapl ai
npaper.Themar kisv i
ewed
normallythr
oughtheglass.Calcul
atetheapparent
depthofthemar kandhencet hevert
ical
3
di
splacement .(
Ref
racti
veindexofglass= )
2

a)Expl
aint
hehowt
hisphenomenonoccur
s.
b)Ifthedept
hoft hepooli
s0.8m calcul
atethe
2.Afishatt
hebottom ofapondappearstobe1.2
dist
anceoftheimageofhislegsasseenf r
om the
mf r
om thewatersur
face.Whati
st hedept
hofthe
surfaceofwatergiv
enthatt
hattherefr
acti
veindex
pondifther
efr
acti
veindexofwateris1.
33?
ofwat eri
s1.
33.

3.Thefi
gur
ebelowshowsaboyst andi
nginsi
de
aswimmingpool.Hi
slegsappearshor
terwhen 4.Aglassli
quidt ubei sfi
l
ledwi t
hli
quidXandt hen
hi
sfri
endobser
veshimf r
om pool
side. hel
dhor i
zontal
ly.Anai rbubbleappearstobe12cm
whenv i
ewedf rom oneendand18cm whenv iewed
fr
om theotherend.I fthelengthofthetubei
s40cm,
deter
minerefractiv
ei ndexofliqui
dX.
 5.Ami croscopeisf ocusedonamar kona
horizontalsurface.Ar ect
angulargl
assblock30mm
thi
cki splacedont hemar k.Themicroscopeisthen
adjusted20mm upwar dstobr i
ngthemar kbackto
focus.Det erminether efr
acti
veindexoftheglass.

Ref
ract
iont
hroughsuccessi
vemedi
a
Asallint
erfacesar eparal
l
el t
oeachot hert
hen
thefi
rstandt helastmedium arethesame
ther
eforetheangl eofemer genceisequalt
o
angl
eofi ncidence( i
).
ThenbySnel l
’
slaw;
sinr
( n )= 2
(
ii
i)thenbypr
inci
pleofr
ever
sibi
l
ity
Gl
ass Ai
r sini
sini
( n )=
Ai
r Gl
ass sinr2
Bymul tipl
ying(i),(i
i)the
sini i snr1
( n )× ( n )= ×
A W W g sinr1
si
n r
2
sini
=
sinr2

BySnel
l
’sl
aw =( n
A g
)
sini Ther
efor
eingener
al
( n )= (i
)
Ai
r water sinr
1
(
A
n)(
1
n)(
2
n)=(
A
n)
1 2 3 4
Att hewat erglassint
erf
ace
sinr1
( nass)= (
ii
)
wat
er gl si
nr2

Examples
1.Arayofli
ghtisi
nci
dentonawat er-
glassinter
face 2.Ar ayofl
ightf
rom ai
rpassessuccessivel
y
asshown.Calcul
ate‘
r’
.(Taket
herefracti
veindexof throughparall
ell
ayer
sofwat er,
oil,gl
assandthen
gl
assandwat eras3/
2and4/ 3respecti
vely
. i
nt oairagai
n.Theref
racti
veindi
cesofwat er,
oiland
46 3
glassar e , and respecti
vely.TheLightr
ayis
35 2
i
nci dentatt
heairwateri
nter
faceatanangl eof600.
 4.Abeam ofl ightpropagat i
ngt hr
oughairstr
ikesa
stackoftransparentmat erialswithr
efr
acti
ve
i
ndicesasshowni nt hefigureatanangleof32° .
Calcul
atetheangl esofincidenceandr efr
acti
onall
thewayt hroughthest acksandov er
all
angleof
refr
act
ionoft hest ackwithr espectt
othefir
st
i
ncomi ngbeam.

Cal
culat
e.
a)Theangl
eofr
efl
ect
ioni
nwat
er BySnel
l
’sl
aw;

6.Alaserbeam enterstheendofanopticalfi
berat
b)Theangl
eofi
nci
denceatt
heoi
lgl
assi
nter
face. anangleof23°f r
om thenormaltotheendoft he
fi
berasshown.Cal cul
atetheangl
eofrefracti
onof
thebeam insidethefi
berift
heref
ract
iveindexof
thefi
beris1.45.

3.Thefigur
ebelowshowal i
ghtbeam thattr
avel
s
from ai
rint
ooli
veoilandt henint
owat er.I
fƟ2
=27.4°andref
ract
iveindexofol i
veoil
is1.47and
4
thatofwateri
s, determinethev al
uesofƟ1 andƟ3.
3

Factor
st hataffectstheref
ract
ivei
ndexofamedi
um
Natureoft hemat eri
al.
Wav el
engt hofl
ightused
Temper ature
Natureoft hesurroundingmedium.

Appli
cati
onofRefracti
veIndex
(a)
Iti
susedinanalyti
calchemist
rytoi denti
fyt
hepuri
tyofasubstance.Puresubstanceshav
edefi
nit
e
ref
ract
ivei
ndi
ceswhi chcanbecalculated.
(b)
Iti
salsouti
l
izedinmaki ngopt
icalinstrument
ssuchasmicroscope,tel
escope,cameraswher
etheref
ract
ive
i
ndexofglassisused.

Tot
ali
nter
nalRef
lect
ionandcr
it
icalangl
e
Total i
nternal
reflectionoccur swhent heentir
einci
dentlightraytravel
li
ngthroughanoptical
lydensermedi um
i
sr eflectedbackatt heboundar ybet
weent hatmedium andanot herofloweropti
caldensit
yinsteadofpassing
throughandbei ngr efracted.
Whenar ayofl i
ghtt ravelsfrom anoptical
l
ydensermedi um toalessopt i
cal
lydensermedium boththeanglesof
i
nci denceandr efractioni ncreasessuchthatatacertai
npointtheangleofrefract
ioni
s90°andt herefr
actedray
travelsalongtheboundar yoft hetwomedi a.

Theangleofincidenceforwhichtheangleofrefr
acti
onis90°istermedasCr it
icalangl
ewhichisdef
inedas
theangl
eofincidenceint heopti
call
ydensermedium forwhichtheangleofrefract
ioni
nthelessopti
call
y
densemedium is90° .
I
ftheangleofincidenceisgreat
erthanthecri
ti
calangl
etherefr
actedraywil
lnotemer gefr
om themedium buti
t
wil
lberefl
ect
edi nter
nall
ybackintheoptical
l
ydensermedium.

Condi
ti
onsf orTot alInt
ernalRefl
ecti
on
a)Therayoflightmustbet rav
ell
ingfrom opti
cal
lydensermedi
um t
oopti
call
ylessdensemedium.
b)Theangleofi ncidenceintheoptical
lydensermedium mustbegr
eat
erthanthecri
ti
calangl
e.

Rel
ati
onshi
pbet
weencr
it
icalangl
eandRef
ract
ivei
ndexoft
hemat
eri
al

From Snel l’
slaw
si
ni
( n )=
Ai
r medi
um si
nr
si
ni
( n)= buti
=Ɵcandsi
n90°=1
2 1 sin90°
sinƟc
( n)=
2 1 1
1
( n)=
1 2 sinƟc

Examples 2.Calculat
et hecri
ti
calangl
eforgl
asswater
1.Cal
culat
ethecr
it
ical
angl
eofgl
assi
fit
sref
ract
ive i
nterf
acegi venthattheref
ract
ivei
ndi
cesofgl
ass
i
ndexis1.33. 3 4
andwat erare and
2 3
3.Calcul
atethespeedofl
i
ghti
namedium whose
cri
ti
calangleis45°gi
vent
hespeedofl
i
ghti
nairi
s 4.Thespeedsofli
ghti
nmedi um 1andmedi um 2
3.0×108m/ s are2.2×108m/sand2.4×108m/ srespecti
vel
y.
Calcul
atet
hecri
ti
calangl
eofar ayoflightr
efr
acti
ng
fr
om medium It
omedi um 2.

Ef
fect
soft
otali
nter
nalr
efl
ect
ion
Mi
rage
Thi
sisanatural
lyoccur
ri
ngopt
icali
ll
usi
onoccur
ri
ngduet
oref
ract
ionofl
ightasi
tpassest
hroughai
rlay
ersof
di
ff
erentdensi
ti
es.
Mir
agecanbecat
egor
izedi
ntoei
ther
:
I
nfer
iormi
rage
Thisoccur swhenadensel ayerofcoldairislocatedabov et heobserver’
slineofsightandal ayeroflessdense
airbelowt heobserver’sl
ineofsightsuchthatt hemi rageislocatedbelowt herealobject.
Thisappear sasadi splacedinvert
edimageofdi stantobjectorblueskyt hatappearslikeapool ofwat erona
tarmacr oad.
Thishappensf requentlyduri
nghotsummerday swhent hegr oundgetsheat edupandi nturnitheatsupt heai
r
abov eitwhichexpandsbecomi nglessdense.
Denserai rhasahi gherrefr
acti
veindexthanl essdenseai rtherefor
erefractivei
ndexincr easesgr aduall
y
upwar dsfrom theground.
Al i
ghtrayt r
avell
i
ngi nairfr
om theskytowar dst hegroundpassesf r
om col dert
owar merai roflessrefracti
ve
i
ndexhencei tbendsgr aduall
yawayf r
om thenor malandbackupt owar dstheobserver ’
sey e.
Thebr ainassumest heli
ghtraytakesastraightpat hfrom theobjecttoourey essotheyhav eoriginatedont he
ground

Super
iormi
rage
Thisoccurswhenal essdensel ayerofwar m ai
rislocat edabov et
heobserver’
sli
neofsightwi t
hadensercool
l
ayerbeneathit.
Thisisobserv
edinver ycoldregionswher etheairneart hegroundiscolderanddenserthanairinhigher
alt
it
udeshencear ayoflightbendsgr aduall
ydownwar dst owardsthenormalsuchthataninvertedimageis
for
medi nthesky.
Astheey eassumest heli
ghttravelsstrai
ght,t
heobj ectappearshigherthanitact
uall
yissucht hatanimageor
i
tsinversi
onisseenabov ewher eitactual
lyise.g.apol arbearseemsappearupsidedowni nt hesky.
Atmospher
icrefr
acti
on
Thisi
stheref
racti
onofli
ghtbytheear
th’
satmospher
ecausedbybendingoflightray
swhent
hey
passthr
oughlayersoft
heeart
h’satmospher
ewhichhav
ediff
erentopt
icaldensit
ies.
Theearth’
satmosphereismadeupofl ay
erswit
hdi
ffer
enttemper
atureshencedi
ffer
entopti
caldensi
ti
esand
ther
eforedi
ffer
entref
ract
ivei
ndices.
Whenl i
ghtraypassesthr
oughtheatmospher
ehavi
nglayer
swithdi
fferentr
efr
act
iveindi
cestheli
ghtr
ay
undergoesconti
nuousrefr
act
ion.

Applicati
onofat mospher i
cr efracti
on
a)Theappar entrandom wav eri
ngorf li
cker i
ngofobj ectseenthroughat urbulentstream ofhotai rri
singabov e
fi
reorar adiator.
b)Twi nkl
ingofst ars.
Li
ghtf rom thest arunder goesr efracti
oncont i
nuouslyasitpassesthrought hedi f
ferentlayersofthe
atmospher ewi thdi fferentrefractiveindices.
Sincet heupperhot terlayerhasal owerr efract
iveindexthanthecool erlowerl ayerstarlightbendst owardsthe
normal hencet hest arposi t
ionappear sslightl
ydiff
erentfrom i
tsactual posi t
ion.
Ast hephy sicalcondi ti
onsoft heat mospher ekeepchangi ngthe,apparentposi ti
onoft hest arf
luctuatesaswel l
hencet hestarlightatt imesappearbr i
ghterandatot herti
mesfainterandt hi
sgi vesrisetot hetwinkli
ngeffect.
Planetsdonott wi nkleast heyar eclosertot hetotheear t
handunl i
kest ar swhi chbehav elikepointli
ghtsources
areconsider edasex tendedsour ceoflighthencel i
ghtf r
om them null
ifyt hetwinklingeffect.

c)Advancedsunriseanddel
ayedsunset
.
Thesunisvisi
bleforabout2minut
esbefor
etheact
ual
sunri
seandabout2mi
nut
esaf
tert
heact
ual
sunset
hencethedayislongerbyabout4minut
esduetoat
mospheri
cref
ract
ion.

d)Apparentf
lat
teni
ngofthesun’
sdiscatsunri
seandsunset
.
Atsunsetandsunri
se,
thesunisnearthehori
zonhencether
aysofl
i
ghtf
rom t
heupperandl
oweredgeoft
he
sunbendunequal
l
ywhi
l
etr
avel
l
ingt
hrought
heat
mospher
ether
efor
ethesunappear
sov
alorf
lat
tened.

Atnoont hesuni soverheadhencethelightraysfrom thesunent ertheatmospherenormall

yanddonotbend
thereforethesunappearci r
cul
ar.
Thesunal soappearbi ggerdur
ingsunsetandsunr i
seast heopt i
calpat
hoft hel
ightt
hroughtheatmosphereis
verylonghencer ef
ractionismaximum thereforet
heappar entimageofthesuni sver
ymuchcl osertotheeye
thusitappear sbigger.
e)Thest ar
sseem hi gherthantheyact
uallyare.
Ther efracti
veindexofat mospheregraduallyincr
easest owar dstheeart
h’ssurf
aceduetot heincr
easi
ngoptical
densitiesoflayersoftheat mospherehencest arl
ightgraduallybendstowardsthenormaltherefor
ethestar
appearhi gheritactual
lyis.

Appl
icat
ionsoft
otal
int
ernalr
efl
ect
ion
Pr
ism Per
iscope
Prismsar epr eferredtoplanemirrorswhenmaki ngper i
scopesandot heropti
calinstr
umentsduetothe
fol
lowingr easons
a)Ther efl
ect i
onofl i
ghti
s100%hencenosi gnif
icantlossofenergytheref
oreabr i
ghteri
mageisfor
medwhil
e
formirrorsitisabout95%asmi r
rorsabsorbsomeoft heinci
dentli
ghthencelossofenergy.
b)Itdoesnotr equi r
esil
veri
ngwher esil
ver
ingonmi r
rorscanbecomet arni
shedandpeel soff
.
c)Mul tipl
er efl
ect i
onsdonott akeplaceinar ef
lecti
ngPrism henceonlyonebrightimageisfor
medunli
ket
hick
mirror
swhi chpr oducemul t
ipl
eimages.
Aperiscopeisanopt i
cal
instr
umentusedf orvi
ewingobj
ect
sthatar
eabovethel
evelofdi
rectl
i
neof
si
ghtorinanobst ruct
edfiel
dofvi
sion.
Apr i
sm periscopeconsi
stsoftworightangl
edglasspri es450,
smsofangl 900and450arr
angedas
shownbel ow.

Apr i
sm havi
nganangl eof90°betweenitstworef
racti
ngsurfaceandtheothert
woangl eseachequal
to45°ister
medast otalref
lect
ingpri
sm becausetheinci
dentli
ghtnormall
yonanyofi t
sfaces
undergoestot
ali
nternalr
efl
ecti
oninsidethepri
sm.
Lighti
sdeviat
edthrough90°byt hefi
rstpri
sm whi
lethesecondprism dev
iatesi
tfar
ther90°int
he
opposi
tedir
ecti
on.
Theimageformedisupr
ightandv
irtual
.
Lat
erali
nversi
onpr
oducedbythefi
rstpri
sm r
efl
ect
ioni
scompensat
edbyt
hesecondr
efl
ect
ionbyt
he
l
owerprism.

Pri
sm bi
nocular
s
Thear
rangementoflensesandprismsi
sasshownbel
ow.Bi
nocul
arsr
educet
hedi
stanceofobj
ect
s
sucht
hattheyseem tobenearer
.

Usesthepri
ncipl
ethata45°/
45°pri
sm cancauseli
ghtray
stobendt
hrough180°whent
hel
i
ghti
s
i
ncidentatr
ightangl
esontothehy
potenuseofthepri
sm.

Twopr i
smsar ear
rangedtobendt heli
ghtr
aysfr
om anobjectt
hrough360.
Prismsareusedtoreducethedistancebet
weentheeyepi
eceandtheobject
ivesl
enses,
thati
s,
reduci
ngthelengt
hofthetelescopeandalsotoerectt
hei
nvert
edimage.

Pentaprism
Usedinsi nglelensrefl
excamer ast
orefl
ectt
hei ncomi
ngli
ghttovi
ewfi
ndert
oal l
owthephotographer
toactuallyseet heli
ghtwhichisent
eri
ngthelensofthecamerahencegi
veactualpi
cturei
nfrontofthe
photographer.
Thetwot ot
al i
nternalr
efl
ecti
onsconver
tthei
nv ert
edimagesfor
medintoer
ectandact ual
imagein
fr
ontoft hephot ographer
.

Opti
calfi
bre
Thisisathinfl
exibl
eglassrodofsmal ldiamet erwhichconsist
soft woconcentr
iclay
ersofaglass
cor
eofhighr ef
racti
veindexcoatedwi t
hagl assofl owerrefr
acti
veindexcal
ledcladdi
ng.
Ali
ghtenteri
ngthroughthem undergoesr epeatedinter
nal r
efl
ect
ionsattheboundaryofthehi
ghand
l
owr ef
racti
veindexglassenabl
inglighttotravelthr
ought heenti
relengt
hoft hef
iberwit
houtany
get
ti
nglosthencepr ovi
deaneffici
entwayoft r
ansmi tt
ingli
ghtenergy.
Areusedi ntelecommuni cationinsteadofor dinarycabl esastheyhav et hefoll
owingadvantages;
a)Hav ehighercar r
yingcapaci tyast heytransmi ti
nformat i
onusingvisi
bl eli
ghtorinfr
aredradiat
ion
whichhashi gherfrequencyandt hi
sensur eopt i
calfi
brescar r
ymor ei
nf ormationthanradi
owav esand
microwav es.
b)Aret hi
nnerandl ighter.
c)Claddingall
owscompl eteinternalref
lecti
onensur ingl i
ghtdoesnotgr aduall
yleaksoutandthis
maket hem mor esecuret hanot herformsofi nformat i
ont r
ansmissi
on
Theyar eusedi nmedi cinet oobser veorv i
ewi nter
nal organsofthebodyusi nganendoscopewhi ch
havetwobundl esoff i
bres:onesetoff i
brestransmi t
sl i
ghtintothebodycav ityandtheotherset
ret
urnsani magef orobser v
ation.

Dispersi
onofwhi teli
ght
Thisistheseparati
onofwhiteli
ghti
ntoi
tsconst
it
uentsev
encol our
sonpassi
ngthrougha
transparentmedium suchasgl
asspri
sm.
Wasf ir
stdemonst r
atedbySirI
saacNewtonwhousedaprism t
oseparat
ethedi
ff
erentcol
our
sandso
form aspectrum.

Thesecol
our
sar
e:Red,
Orange,
Yel
l
ow,
Green,
Blue,
Indi
goandVi
olet
.

Causeofdi
sper
sionofwhi
tel
ight
.
Dispersionofwhiteli
ghtiscausedbyt hedif
ferentveloci
ti
eswi thwhichthesel ightt
ravelwit
hindiff
erent
medi a.
Whitelightisacomposi t
ionofcolourswit
hdifferentwavelengt hswhichtravelwi t
hthesamev eloci
ti
esin
vacuum butt hei
rvel
ociti
esvaryinothertr
ansparentmedial ikeglassandwat er.
Thesedi ff
erentvel
ocit
iesmaket heanglesofrefract
iondif
f erentcausingthel i
ghttotravel
insli
ghtl
ydif
fer
ent
dir
ections.

Redlighti
sdevi
atedleastasiti
ssloweddownt heleasthenceitt
ravel
swit
hgreatestveloci
tyasithasl
ongest
wavelengt
hhencesmal l
estrefr
acti
veindexwhil
eviol
etisdeviat
edmostasitissloweddownt hemost
ther
eforet
rav
elswiththeleastvel
ocit
yasi thassmall
estwavelengt
hhencelargestr
efracti
veindex.

Purelightisknownasmonochr omat i
clightwhil
eimpureli
ghtli
kewhit
eli
ghtiscall
ednonmonochr
omat i
cor
composi teli
ght.
Thecol ouredbandproducediscal l
edvisibl
espectr
um buti
thascolour
soverl
appinghencei
tisi
mpuresuch
thatonlytheedgesofredandv ioletar
ecl ear.
Inordertoobt ai
napurespectrum wher eeachcolouri
sdist
inctanachr
omati
cdoubl el
ensar
eusedoneplaced
beforethepr i
sm andaft
ertheprism.
Thel ensar
eplacedsuchthatthesour
ceofl i
ghtisatit
spri
nci
palf
ocussuchthataparal
lelbeam emergesf
rom
thelensandfall
sontheprism wheret
helightisdisper
sedi
ntocomponentcol
ourswherethesecolour
sare
broughttofocusonthescreenbythesecondlens.

Recombinati
onofthecoloursofthespectr
um
Thecol
oursofthespectr
um canbecombi nedt ofor
m awhi
tel
i
ghtbyusi
ng;
a)Anot
herprism.
Thetwoprismsactli
kear ect
angulargl
assblock

b)Concavemirr
or;
Aconcav emirr
orfocusesthecol
oursonthescreenasawhitespot.
c)Newton’sdi
scs;
Thi
sisacar dwit
hthecoloursoft
hespectrum pai
ntedoniti
nequalareas.Whenrot
atedf
ast
,itl
ooksgr
ey-
whi
te
ascol
oursarerecombinedbutnotpurewhiteasthepai
ntsarenotpurecolour
s.

Appl
icat
ionofdi
sper
sionofl
ight
.
Rai
nbow.
Thisisanopti
calil
l
usionthatappearsasbowshapedcolourbandoft
hevi
sibl
espectr
um seeni
ntheskywhenwhi
tel
i
ghti
s
ref
racteddi
spersedandtotal
lyint
ernal
lyr
efl
ectedbyther
aindr
ops.
I
tcanal sobeseenonsprayf ount
ainsandwaterf
all
swhenthesunshi
nesonthedropsofwater
.

Whytheskyisblue
Theskyi
sblueasf i
neat
mospheri
cpar
ticl
eshav
esizesmall
erthanthewavel
engt
hofv
isibl
eli
ghttheref
oret
heyscat
ter
bl
ueli
ghtf
rom thesunmoreasi
thasshort
erwavel
engt
hthantheredli
ghtwhi
chhasalongerwavelengt
h
Thesunsetl
ooksr
edandorangeasthebl
ueli
ghthasbeenscat
ter
edoutandawayf
rom t
hel
i
neofsi
ght
.
I
ftheeart
hhasnoatmospher
etheskywouldappeardar
k.