Bending LightRefraction at it’s finest!

VocabularyRefraction- the bending of light

as it passes from one material into another.

Prism- a polyhedron with two congruent and parallel faces (the bases) and whose lateral faces are parallelograms

A Change in DirectionThe bending of light as it passes from

one material into another is called refraction.

The change in the speed of the light as it moves through other materials is what actually causes the light to change directions.

Example:Speed of Light through air= 186,000mi/sSpeed of Light through

water=140,000mis/s

A Change in SpeedWhen light waves pass from air

into water, they slow down. This change in speed of the light is what causes the light to refract , or change directions.

Bill Nye the Science Guy can show us this!

What’s Going On??

The white light slows down as it enters the left side of the prism, causing the beam of light to refract. But the different colors are bent at different angles. So a rainbow, or spectrum, is produced.

Tricks with Refracted LightTry the fishing game!Why was it so hard to catch the

fish?Light reflecting from the fish is

refracted as it leaves the water. The light enters your eye, and your brain “assumes” that the light has traveled in a straight line.

Your brain forms an image of where the fish is but is fooled!

Tricks with Reflected LightTry looking at the fish while you

are straight over top of it.

When light rays move from one material to another along a line that is perpendicular to the surface, there is no refraction.

No refraction = No false image

What Can Happen to Light When it Strikes an Object?We know light can reflect or

bounce off of the object.

We know light can be absorbed by an object. Think about color!

We know light can be refracted or change direction.