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प्रश्न
Explain ‘mirage’ as an illustration of refraction.
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उत्तर
- On a hot, clear, sunny day, along a level road, there appears a pond of water ahead of the road. However, if we physically reach the spot, there is nothing but the dry road, and the water pond again appears some distance ahead. This illusion is called a mirage.
- Mirages result from the refraction of light through a non-uniform medium.
- On a hot day the air in contact with the road is hottest, and as we go up, it gets gradually cooler. The refractive index of air thus decreases with height. Hot air tends to be less optically dense than cooler air, which results in a non-uniform medium.
- Light travels in a straight line through a uniform medium but refracts when travelling through a non-uniform medium.
- Thus, the ray of light coming from the top of an object gets refracted while travelling downwards into less optically dense air and becomes more and more horizontal, as shown in the figure.

- As it almost touches the road, it bends (refracts) upward. Then onwards, upward bending continues due to denser air.
- As a result, for an observer, it appears to be coming from below, thereby giving an illusion of reflection from an (imaginary) water surface.
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संबंधित प्रश्न
Name the factors affecting the critical angle for the pair of media.
The figure shows a ray of light falling normally on the face AB of an equilateral glass prism having refractive index`3/2`, placed in water of refractive index `4/3`.Will this ray suffer total internal reflection on striking the face AC? Justify your answer.

Draw the diagram of a right-angled isosceles prism which is used to make an invented image erect.
A light ray does not bend at the boundary in passing from one medium to the other medium if the angle of incident is ______.
The observation made by Swarali while doing the experiment is given below. Based on these write answers to the questions:
Swarali found that the light ray travelling from the denser medium to rarer medium goes away from the normal. If the angle of incidence (i) is raised by Swarali, the angle of refraction (r) went on increasing. However, after certain value of the angle of incidence the light ray is seen to return back into the denser medium.
Questions:
- What is the specific value of∠i called?
- What is the process of reflection of incident rays into denser medium called?
- Draw the diagrams of three observations made by Swarali.
(i) Define critical angle.
(ii) State one important factor which affects the critical angle of a given medium.
If a light ray does not undergo, refraction at the boundary between two media, the angle of incidence is:
Make the correct choices for each of the following :
Total Internal reflection takes place when
(where ∠i = angle of incidence, ∠r = angle of refraction, ∠C = critical angle)
A ray of light incident at an angle of incidence ‘i’ passes through an equilateral glass prism such that the refracted ray inside the prism is parallel to its base and emerges from the prism at an angle of emergence ‘e’.
How is the angle of emergence ‘e’ related to the angle of incidence ‘i’?
What is meant by the statement, ‘the critical angle for diamond is 24°’?
A ray of light is incident on a glass surface at an angle of 50° with the corresponding angle of refraction 30°. Find the value of the R.I. of glass.
A spherical marble, of refractive index 1.5 and curvature 1.5 cm, contains a tiny air bubble at its centre. Where will it appear when seen from outside?
Choose the correct option.
Select the WRONG statement.
Solve Numerical example.
A monochromatic ray of light is incident at 37° on an equilateral prism of refractive index 3/2. Determine angle of emergence and angle of deviation. If angle of prism is adjustable, what should its value be for emergent rays to be just possible for the same angle of incidence?
Observe the given figure and write appropriate phenomenon of light in the box.

A green light is incident from the water to the air-water interface at the critical angle (C). Select the correct statement.
Which one of the following is NOT the correct formula for refractive index of glass w.r.t. air (aμg) (i = angle of incidence, r = angle of refraction)
Which of the following statements about total internal reflection is true?
The critical angle is defined as the angle of incidence at which the total internal reflection starts to occur.
What is a mirage? How does it occur?
A given ray of light suffers minimum deviation in an equilateral prism P. Additional prism Q and R of identical shape and of the same material as P are now added as shown in the figure. The ray will now suffer ______.

Find the value of θ in the given figure.

- Assertion (A): Propagation of light through an optical fibre is due to total internal reflection taking place at the core-cladding interface.
- Reason (R): Refractive index of the material of the cladding of the optical fibre is greater than that of the core.
The diagram below shows a fish in the tank and its image seen on the surface of the water.

Name the phenomenon responsible for the formation of this image.
As the angle of incidence increases for light going from a denser medium to a rarer medium, the angle of refraction:
