Question

Answer the following question:
Explain the term ‘refraction’. State the laws of refraction. Write the refractive index of benzene and diamond. 

Answer 1

Definition: The phenomenon of change in the direction of light when it passes from one transparent medium to another is called refraction.

 

The laws of refraction can be stated as follows:

(a) The incident ray and the refracted ray are on the opposite sides of the normal at the point of incidence and all three lie in the same plane.

 

(b) For a given pair of media, the ratio of the sine of the angle of incidence to the sine of the angle of refraction is constant.

i.e. `"sin i"/"sin r"` = constant

Where,

i = angle of incidence,

r = angle of refraction.

 

(c) Refractive index of benzene = 1.52

And, refractive index of diamond = 2.42