Refraction & Snell's Law Lab
Explore how light bends across different media and discover Total Internal Reflection.
The Concept: Refraction
Refraction is the bending of light as it passes from one medium to another. This happens because the speed of light changes depending on the material it's traveling through. The "refractive index" (n) is a measure of how much a material can slow down light. This bending is precisely described by Snell's Law.
How to Use the Lab
- Use the Angle of Incidence slider to change the incoming ray's angle.
- Use the Medium 1 & 2 sliders to set the refractive index for each region.
- Watch the calculation panel to see Snell's Law in action.
- Try making light go from a dense to a less dense medium (e.g., $n_1 > n_2$) and increase the angle to find Total Internal Reflection!
Controls
Presets: Air (1.00), Water (1.33), Glass (1.52), Diamond (2.42)
Snell's Law
$n_1 \sin(\theta_1) = n_2 \sin(\theta_2)$