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Light - Refraction

Light - Refraction: Encyclopedia II - Light - Refraction

All light propagates at a finite speed. Even moving observers always measure the same value of c, the speed of light in vacuum, as c = 299,792,458 metres per second (186,282.397 miles per second). When light passes through a transparent substance, such as air, water or glass, its speed is reduced, and it undergoes refraction. The reduction of the speed of light in a denser material can be indicated by the refractive index, n, which is defined a ...

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Light, Light - Visible electromagnetic radiation, Light - Speed of light, Light - Refraction, Light - Optics, Light - Color and wavelengths, Light - Measurement of light, Light - Light sources, Light - Theories about light, Light - Early Greek ideas, Light - 10th century optical theory, Light - The 'plenum', Light - Particle theory, Light - Wave theory, Light - Electromagnetic theory, Light - Particle theory revisited, Light - Quantum theory, Light - Wave-particle duality, Light - A light wave

Light, Light - 10th century optical theory, Light - A light wave, Light - Color and wavelengths, Light - Early Greek ideas, Light - Electromagnetic theory, Light - Light sources, Light - Measurement of light, Light - Optics, Light - Particle theory, Light - Particle theory revisited, Light - Quantum theory, Light - Refraction, Light - Speed of light, Light - The 'plenum', Light - Theories about light, Light - Visible electromagnetic radiation, Light - Wave theory, Light - Wave-particle duality, Color temperature, Huygens' principle, Fermat's principle, International Commission on Illumination, Light pollution, Lighting, Photic sneeze reflex, Photometry, Spectrometry

Light: Encyclopedia II - Light - Refraction

Light - Refraction

Main article: Refraction

All light propagates at a finite speed. Even moving observers always measure the same value of c, the speed of light in vacuum, as c = 299,792,458 metres per second (186,282.397 miles per second). When light passes through a transparent substance, such as air, water or glass, its speed is reduced, and it undergoes refraction. The reduction of the speed of light in a denser material can be indicated by the refractive index, n, which is defined as:

Thus, n=1 in a vacuum and n>1 in matter.

When a beam of light enters a medium from vacuum or another medium, it keeps the same frequency and changes its wavelength. If the incident beam is not orthogonal to the edge between the media, the direction of the beam will change. Refraction of light by lenses is used to focus light in magnifying glasses, spectacles and contact lenses, microscopes and refracting telescopes.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Refraction", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

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