Practice question
Question
A ray of light passes from air (\( n = 1 \)) to glass (\( n = 1.5 \)) at an angle of incidence of \(
40^\circ \). What is the angle of refraction?
Explanation
**Critical angle** C satisfies sinC = n₂/n₁, n₁>n₂, n₂=1 for air, n₁=1.52 for glass gives sinC=1/1.52=0.6579, C≈41.1°, for water n=1.33 C=48.75°. Beyond C, total internal reflection occurs, all light reflected, no refracted ray, used in optical fibers and prisms. Snell’s law: n₁ sin i = n₂ sin r . Air ( n₁ = 1 ), glass ( n₂ = 1.5 ), i = 40° . 1 × sin 40° = 1.5 × sin r . sin 40° ≈ 0.643 ⇒ 0.643 = 1.5 sin r ⇒ sin r = (0.643/1.5) ≈ 0.429 . r = sin⁻¹(0.429) ≈ 25.4° . Substituting values gives 25°, which matches
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