Index of Refraction Problems, 4

Category: Physics

"Published in Newark, California, USA"

The water in a swimming pool is 6 m deep. How deep does it appear to a diver looking straight down into it?

Solution:

The given problem is about the refraction of light in which the incident ray and refracted ray are coincide with the normal line. To illustrate the problem, it is better to draw the figure as follows 

Photo by Math Principles in Everyday Life

From the Table of Index of Refraction, the index of refraction of water at 20°C is 1.333. Therefore, the apparent depth of a diver in a swimming pool is 

Index of Refraction Problems, 3

Category: Physics

"Published in Newark, California, USA"

A tank of benzene is 1.5 m deep. How deep does it appear when one is looking vertically downward?

Solution:

The given problem is about the refraction of light in which the incident ray and refracted ray are coincide with the normal line. To illustrate the problem, it is better to draw the figure as follows

Photo by Math Principles in Everyday Life

From the Table of Index of Refraction, the index of refraction of benzene at 20°C is 1.501. Therefore, the apparent depth of a tank of benzene is

 

Index of Refraction Problems, 2

Category: Physics

"Published in Newark, California, USA"

A layer of ice lies on a glass plate. A ray of light makes an angle of incidence of 60° on the surface of the ice. Find the angle of refraction in the ice and the angle of refraction in the glass.

Solution:

The given problem is about refraction of light in which the speed of light will change as it passes through the material. There's a bending of ray of light also in the material. To illustrate the problem, it is better to draw the figure as follows 

Photo by Math Principles in Everyday Life

According to Snell's Law, the index of refraction is inversely proportional to angle of refraction. The higher the value of index of refraction, the smaller the angle of refraction is.

From the Table of Index of Refraction, the index of refraction of air at 20°C is 1.000, ice at - 8°C is 1.310, and glass (crown pure) is 1.500. 

Since there are three materials in the refraction, then we need to consider two materials one at a time in solving for the angle of refraction. 

For air and ice, the angle of refraction of air to ice is

                

                               or

Finally for ice and glass, the angle of refraction of ice to glass is

                               or