A ray of sodium yellow light travels from air into flint glass (n = 1.58) at an angle of incidence of 30o. Calculate the angle of refraction.
Use Snell's Law.
sin angle incidence = n*sin angle refraction
Post your work if you get stuck.
remember: angles are measured to the nomal (the perpendiculat line to the surface).
To calculate the angle of refraction, we can use Snell's Law, which states that the ratio of the sine of the angle of incidence (θ1) to the sine of the angle of refraction (θ2) is equal to the ratio of the indices of refraction (n1/n2) of the two media involved.
Given:
Angle of incidence (θ1) = 30 degrees
Index of refraction of air (n1) = 1 (approximate value)
Index of refraction of flint glass (n2) = 1.58
Using Snell's law, we can write the equation as:
sin(θ1) / sin(θ2) = n1 / n2
Plugging in the known values, we have:
sin(30°) / sin(θ2) = 1 / 1.58
Now, we need to solve for the angle of refraction (θ2). Rearranging the equation, we get:
sin(θ2) = sin(30°) * (1.58/1)
To find θ2, we take the inverse sine (or arcsin) of both sides:
θ2 = arcsin(sin(30°) * (1.58/1))
Using a calculator, we can evaluate the expression:
θ2 ≈ 34.94 degrees
Therefore, the angle of refraction is approximately 34.94 degrees.
To calculate the angle of refraction, we can use Snell's law. Snell's law relates the angle of incidence (θ₁), the angle of refraction (θ₂), and the refractive indices of the two mediums.
Snell's Law: n₁sin(θ₁) = n₂sin(θ₂)
Given:
Angle of incidence (θ₁) = 30°
Refractive index of air (n₁) = 1 (approximated)
Refractive index of flint glass (n₂) = 1.58
We know that sin(θ) = sin(θ°), so we can rewrite Snell's law as:
n₁ x sin(θ₁) = n₂ x sin(θ₂)
Plugging in the values:
1 x sin(30°) = 1.58 x sin(θ₂)
Now, we can solve for θ₂ by rearranging the equation:
sin(θ₂) = (1 x sin(30°)) / 1.58
sin(θ₂) = 0.5 / 1.58
θ₂ = arcsin(0.5 / 1.58)
Using a scientific calculator, find the inverse sine (arcsine) of (0.5 / 1.58).
θ₂ ≈ 19.04°
Therefore, the angle of refraction of the sodium yellow light ray when it enters flint glass is approximately 19.04°.