Question

you look at the surface of a pond (nwater=1.33) and see a fish that appears to be at angle of 40 degrees to normal. whats the actual angle of the light under water

Answer 1

The actual angle of the light underwater is approximately 25 degrees, as calculated using Snell's law.

Step-by-step explanation:

The actual angle of the light underwater can be found using Snell's law, which relates the angles of incidence and refraction when light passes through a boundary between two different media. Snell's law states: n1 * sin(theta1) = n2 * sin(theta2) In this case, the incident medium is air (n=1.00) and the refracted medium is water (n=1.33). The angle of incidence is 40 degrees with respect to the normal, so we can rearrange Snell's law to solve for the angle of refraction:

sin(theta2) = (n1/n2) * sin(theta1) Plugging in the values, we get: sin(theta2) = (1.00/1.33) * sin(40) theta2 ≈ 25 degrees