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Chapter 9: Problem 26

A piece of glass is immersed in water. If a light ray enters the glass from the water with an angle of incidence greater than zero, in which direction is the ray bent?

Short Answer

Expert verified
Answer: When a light ray enters the glass from the water at an angle greater than zero, it will bend towards the normal as it passes from a less optically dense medium (water) to a more optically dense medium (glass).

Step by step solution

01

Understand Snell's Law

Snell's Law describes the relationship between the angles of incidence and refraction in two media. It is given by the formula: \[n_1 \sin(\theta_1) = n_2 \sin(\theta_2)\] where \(n_1\) and \(n_2\) are the refractive indices of the first and second media respectively, and \(\theta_1\) and \(\theta_2\) are the angles of incidence and refraction, respectively.
02

Determine the refractive indices

We need the refractive indices of water and glass. The refractive index of water is around 1.33, and the refractive index of glass can vary, but a common value is around 1.50. Since glass has a refractive index greater than that of water, we can conclude that light is moving from a less optically dense medium (water) to a more optically dense medium (glass).
03

Use Snell's Law to find the direction

According to Snell's Law, when light moves from a medium with a lower refractive index to a medium with a higher refractive index, the angle of refraction will be smaller than the angle of incidence. This means that the light ray entering the glass from the water will bend towards the normal (the imaginary line perpendicular to the surface at the point where the light ray enters the glass).
04

Conclusion

When a light ray enters the glass from the water at an angle greater than zero, it will bend towards the normal as it passes from a less optically dense medium (water) to a more optically dense medium (glass).

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