Question

Explain the following:

A stick immersed in water obliquely, appears bent and short?

Answer 1

Light from the part of the stick under water refracts as it passes from water into air, bending away from the normal. The eye traces these refracted rays backwards in straight lines, so the submerged part appears to come from a point higher than its actual position. Thus, the stick appears bent at the water surface and its immersed part appears shortened.