Science & Nature · 2
What is the name of the phenomenon where light bends as it passes through a medium?
Answer
Refraction
Refraction is the bending of light rays as they pass from one transparent medium to another with a different refractive index (speed of light). When light travels from air into denser materials like water or glass, it slows and bends toward the normal, following Snell's law. This optical phenomenon explains how lenses focus light, prisms disperse white light into spectrum colors, and mirages appear in deserts. Understanding refraction was crucial for developing microscopes, telescopes, and corrective eyeglasses.
💡 Did you know?
A straw appears bent in water because light bends at the water-air interface, and your brain interprets it as a straight object at a different angle.
Other options people guess
- Reflection
- Diffraction
- Dispersion
Topics
- physics
- light
- optics
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