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Chapter 2: Problem 20

Why is your vision so blurry when you open your eyes while swimming under water? How does a face mask enable clear vision?

Short Answer

Expert verified
When you open your eyes underwater, the refractive index of water is closer to that of the eye's components, reducing the eye's ability to focus light effectively, causing blurry vision. A face mask creates an air pocket in front of your eyes, separating water from the cornea and lens. This allows for reduced light bending and enables the eye to focus light rays on the retina effectively, resulting in clear vision.

Step by step solution

01

Understanding Light Refraction

When light passes from one medium to another, it bends due to a change in the speed of light. This bending of light is known as refraction. In the case of vision, when light passes through the air, it is slightly bent as it enters the eye's cornea and lens. This refraction enables the lens to focus light rays on the retina, producing a clear image. The eye's ability to perceive clear images strongly depends on the refraction of light.
02

Refractive Indices of Water and Air

The refractive index of a medium represents how much the light bends when it passes through the medium. Water has a higher refractive index than air, which means light bends more when it passes from water to the eye's cornea. This increased bending of light makes it difficult for the lens to focus light rays on the retina, causing a blurry vision.
03

Blurry Vision Underwater

When you open your eyes underwater, the refractive index of the water is much closer to that of the eye's components (cornea, aqueous humor, and lens), which reduces the ability of the eye to refract and focus incoming light effectively. This leads to the light bending too much and the cornea and lens's inability to focus on the incoming light rays, ultimately resulting in blurry vision.
04

How a Face Mask Enables Clear Vision

A face mask works by creating an air pocket in front of your eyes, which separates the water from direct contact with the cornea and lens. When wearing a face mask, the light first passes through the water, then through the air pocket, and finally into the cornea. Since the refractive index of air is significantly lower than that of the water, the light bending is reduced, allowing the eye's cornea and lens to focus light rays on the retina effectively and produce a clear image.

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