Question

Professor told our class that if someone wants to define refraction in words, it can be done as the following, The deviation of light from its path when it passes from one medium to another is called refraction. And i found normal incidence when i putted i = 0° in Snell's law, and found that angle of refraction was also 0°. I think that this contradicts the definition of refraction because in this case the light ray didn't bend.

I think maybe the light ray bend in normal incidence also but it bend downward direction instead of sideways bending.

Answer 1

The student's understanding of refraction is partially correct. Refraction is the deviation of light from its original path when it passes from one medium to another. In normal incidence, the light ray bends in a downward direction, towards the normal, which is a line perpendicular to the surface of the medium.

Step-by-step explanation:

The student's understanding of refraction is partially correct. Refraction is indeed the deviation of light from its original path when it passes from one medium to another. However, the student's observation about normal incidence is also correct. When the angle of incidence (i) is 0°, the angle of refraction (r) will also be 0°. This means that the light ray does not bend sideways in this case.

However, it is important to note that even though there is no lateral bending, there is still a change in the direction of the light ray. In normal incidence, the light ray bends in a downward direction, towards the normal, which is a line perpendicular to the surface of the medium. So, while there may not be a noticeable sideways bending, there is still a change in direction as the light ray enters the new medium.