Question

Hello people.....

If the angles of incidence in medium 1 is greater than angle of refraction in medium 2 ,

What can you tell about the media , Which is denser and which is rarer. Why does light bend towards or away from the normal

Answer 1

Hey there!

Given that, Angle of incidence in medium 1 is greater than Medium 2 ,

So i > r,

The light has bent towards the normal.

We know that, When a light ray passes from rarer medium to denser medium , it suffers refraction and bends towards normal.

From this, We can say that Medium 1 is rarer medium and Medium 2 is denser .

The reason why a light ray passing from rarer medium to denser medium, bends towards the normal and the same light ray while traveling from denser to rarer medium it goes away is

Speed of light is rarer medium is comparatively more than a denser medium.

We know that, n = c/v .

So, Velocity of light in the medium is inversely proportional to its refractive index.

Morer the refractive index, lesser the speed of light in that media.

Also, A medium which has a greater refractive index is known as denser medium, and the one lesser refractive index is known as rare medium.

From the above statements, We can say that Speed of light is lesser in denser medium because of higher refractive index.

So, When light ray moving with high speed from rarer medium, when it enters denser medium where speed of light is lesser , it loses its speed, slows down and bends towards normal.

Finally,
When light ray passes from optically denser medium to optically rarer medium, It goes away from the normal.

When light ray passes from optically rarer medium to optically denser medium, It bends towards the normal

Answer 2

Because the light ray will bend towards the normal when light is travelling from a rarer medium to a denser medium. So there can't be any angle such that light in denser medium goes along the surface of separation of the two media.

hope it helps you ✌